Forum Discussion
Win 8.1 Activation
I have Windows 8.1, bought legally a long time ago - it worked for years without any problems, recently I had to reinstall it, and now I have a problem with activation. I installed it for the first time on the same mainboard but a different one, the old one broke and I had to replace it. I also changed the primary HDD drive to an SSD, and I also changed the graphics card, but I still have the old network card, but on the new configuration, Windows worked normally until I reinstalled it. It installed normally, but now I can't activate it, but it's still the same computer, although modified. The system is on one home computer, I would like to activate it.
2 Replies
Thanks for the reply, it's a retail license and slui 4 generates an activation ID, but Microsoft says the key is blocked, all phone numbers redirect to the Microsoft website, and when I connected to someone in the chat, they directed me here, there's no way to talk to a live person from my country, and live people from other countries are from another galaxy, not Microsoft, it's legal Windows that I normally paid for, and there's no one to talk to about it.
Hi, the motherboard replacement is probably the key detail here.
If the Windows 8.1 license was OEM, it may have been tied to the original motherboard. In that case, Windows can work for years on the old installation, but after a reinstall it may no longer activate on the changed hardware. If it was a retail license, you should have a better chance of reactivating it, possibly through phone activation if that option is still available in your region.
Try entering the original product key again and running `slui 4` to see whether phone activation is offered. Do not post the key online. Also keep in mind that Windows 8.1 is out of support, so activation support options may be limited. If the key is OEM and the motherboard was changed, Microsoft may treat it as a different PC.
