Your Upgraded Win10/11 from 7/8.1 was disactivated ? Microsoft investigating

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Microsoft investigating Windows activation issues after closing a key loophole

Microsoft closed a Windows 7 / 8 key loophole last month, and now people are experiencing issues reactivating some Windows 10 / 11 installs…

Microsoft is investigating Windows activation issues that appear to be linked to the company’s recent move to block Windows 7 and Windows 8 keys from activating copies of Windows 10 and Windows 11. If you have an installation of Windows 10 / 11 that has been activated using the free upgrade from Windows 7 or 8, then there’s a chance it might become deactivated if you swap some hardware components or even upgrade your BIOS version…

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Microfix

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ha! just seen this the other day, device owner completely vexed with MS and W10 and has ordered an mac, I did offer to put linux on the device, which he may consider later. :>)

Windows - commercial by definition and now function...

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johnf, Alex5723

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I’ve had no such issues.  All four of my Windows installations are Retail Channel.

Always create a fresh drive image before making system changes/Windows updates; you may need to start over!

We all have our own reasons for doing the things that we do with our systems; we don't need anyone's approval, and we don't all have to do the same things.

We were all once "Average Users".

Computer Specs

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This problem is only happening when an existing Windows 7/8 upgrade to Windows 10/11 needs to be “reactivated” (i.e. new motherboard, new PC, possibly new BIOS) and only after Sep 20 2023 when Microsoft turned off the Windows 7/8 to Windows 10/11 activation servers.

bbearren,

If the hardware/BIOS on your four PC’s hasn’t changed since the Sep 20 shutdown, they don’t need to be “reactivated” so this problem wouldn’t effect them.

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Alex5723

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n0ads wrote:

If the hardware/BIOS on your four PC’s hasn’t changed since the Sep 20 shutdown, they don’t need to be “reactivated” so this problem wouldn’t effect them.

All of my Windows licenses are Retail Channel, not OEM, so activation on new/different hardware is not an issue.  From the EULA:

“Stand-alone software. If you acquired the software as stand-alone software (and also if you upgraded from software you acquired as stand-alone software), you may transfer the software to another device that belongs to you. You may also transfer the software to a device owned by someone else if (i) you are the first licensed user of the software and (ii) the new user agrees to the terms of this agreement. You may use the backup copy we allow you to make or the media that the software came on to transfer the software. Every time you transfer the software to a new device, you must remove the software from the prior device. You may not transfer the software to share licenses between devices.”

Always create a fresh drive image before making system changes/Windows updates; you may need to start over!

We all have our own reasons for doing the things that we do with our systems; we don't need anyone's approval, and we don't all have to do the same things.

We were all once "Average Users".

Computer Specs

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Nowhere in the article does it indicate what license version (OEM/Retail) was used to upgrade any of the individuals PC’s.

In the article Alex7523 posted, when an individual contacted customer support about their problem reactivating Windows 10, Microsoft’s answer was…

They told me because my Windows 10 license had been upgraded from Windows 7, and that they had discontinued support for Windows 7 product keys, that they could not continue my license for Windows 10 Pro after the hardware change

Even though they specified that “changing the hardware is not a violation of the Windows license”.

There’s also this Nov 9 post made by user barich on the ars open forum (partial quote with bold text added for emphasis.)

I just replaced the motherboard on a system I built 10 years ago. It was still meeting my needs, so why build a whole new system when I could replace the bad part cheaply and keep going for a while longer?

But as far as Windows was concerned, even though the key I used to activate Windows 8 (subsequently upgraded to 8.1 and 10 for free) on that when I built it was a retail key and is supposed to allow for transfers to different systems, the key would no longer work. I tried to use the activation troubleshooter to use the digital license linked to that system in my Microsoft account, but that also refused to work.

So, at this point, having used a retail license for the upgrade is obviously not a guarantee reactivation will work after any hardware/BIOS changes!

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Sueska

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Perhaps everyone else knows this, but I don’t.

bbearren wrote:

Every time you transfer the software to a new device, you must remove the software from the prior device.

What is the mechanism for ‘removing the software from the prior device’ (the MS record of license assignment, I assume) when a motherboard has died and been replaced?

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PaulK wrote:

What is the mechanism for ‘removing the software from the prior device’ (the MS record of license assignment, I assume) when a motherboard has died and been replaced?

Format the OS partition.  I use a BootIt UEFI USB thumb drive to do this.  Other tools are available.  Or in the case of a hardware upgrade, one might just put the old drive into the new build, effectively removing it from the prior device.

Always create a fresh drive image before making system changes/Windows updates; you may need to start over!

We all have our own reasons for doing the things that we do with our systems; we don't need anyone's approval, and we don't all have to do the same things.

We were all once "Average Users".

Computer Specs

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PaulK

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That comply with their planned “free upgrade”, they said free for the life of the device, as in intact or modified

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abbodi86 wrote:

That comply with their planned “free upgrade”, they said free for the life of the device, as in intact or modified

Bear in mind that a stand-alone software license is not tied perpetually to a particular machine.  That applies to an OEM license.  Does not apply to Retail.  Mine are all Retail.

See this post, and also this post.

Always create a fresh drive image before making system changes/Windows updates; you may need to start over!

We all have our own reasons for doing the things that we do with our systems; we don't need anyone's approval, and we don't all have to do the same things.

We were all once "Average Users".

Computer Specs

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