Activation

[Ian4220]

I have experianced a problem with my windows 7 Ulitmate after up gradng my processor and motherboard.

I did not need to reinstall windows on the system as after the upgrade it booted straight to the operating syatem.

However the problem I have now is it asked for the windows activation key which I put in all went well and windows was shown as activated.

It has now reported my activation key was not valid. How do I over come this problem

[bludgard]

Windows Activation By Phone has always settled my issues.

A little history:Windows Activation

As long as the software is Genuine,no worries....

[jmaster18]

I had this problem too with windows vista.The problem is that the key your windows have right now is the one that you had when you first installed windows.What you can do is click on ''change product key'' under your current product key which you can find by right clicking on my computer and then click properties.When you click change product key you need to insert another key which is usually located on the microsoft genuine product sticker(the one you might have sticked on your computer).Then you will get another product key.After that I recommend phone activation and everything will be fine.

[bludgard]

Windows authenticates a system by many ways.

One way is through hardware.If a windows installation doesn't recognize it's native environment,it reacts as if it has been pirated and installed on another computer.

When you change major hardware components around,you essentially have a new system.Hence the Activated/Not Active responses.

Wasn't this a very astute observation?

[pa1916]

If you have installed Vista or W7 two or three times activate by the phone and make shure you say you have it on just one computer.

[markhelenski]

The common problems associated with Windows 7 activation are as follows:

Problems in finding product key for Windows 7 activation

If you cannot find product key then look for it on the installation disc holder in the Windows package. If you still cannot locate it then you might have to buy a new one. Without entering the product key you will not be able to activate Windows 7.

Invalid product key while activating Windows 7

The error “Invalid Product key” can occur if you have mistyped the product key, or the key does not match the Windows 7 version installed on your PC.

Error message “Product key in use on another computer” while activating Windows 7

This error occurs if you are trying to activate Windows 7 on a second computer while it has already been installed on one. Windows 7 cannot be activated on more computers than the Microsoft Software License Terms. You can seek professional help to know on how many computers Windows 7 can be activated.

Error message “Your activation period has expired” while activating Windows 7

This message is displayed if the activation period of Windows 7 has expired. Every operating system comes with a timeframe by which it has to be activated failing which Windows 7 will not be loaded on your PC. You need to seek professional help to troubleshoot the problem.

Windows 7 activation error: 0xC004F061

This error occurs if you are using a product key for an upgrade version of Windows 7 and the previous version was not installed on your PC. To install an upgraded version you need to have Windows 7 installed on your PC. This error also occurs if you have formatted the drive before installing Windows 7.