Windows suddenly not activated! help

MaXimus

New Member
Power User
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107
Location
Dubai
I used my retail Windows 8 Pro key to activate Windows 8.1 RTM

Then used my Windows Media Center to add features and get Windoes Media Center

I used my laptop for like 5 days

now suddenly I see the build number mentioned on the desktop, so I checked my activation status and it said windows is not activated

I clicked Activate Now, and it shows my product key ending in: GBFNG-2X3TC-8R27F-RMKYB-JK7QT

that is a default installation key and not an actual product key

so I hit the Enter key button and enter my Windows 8 key again, that says :

"this key cannot be used to activate this edition of Windows"

I used the WMC key, that also says "This key didn't work try another key"

I don't know how on earth did this happen

could this be because I tried to use the Windows Setup box yesterday?

what can I do to resolve this without formatting again?

Trying to change the product manually in CMD also didn't work:

15oj97p.png
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    ALIENWARE 18 Laptop
    CPU
    Intel Core i7-4940MX Extreme CPU @ 4 GHz
    Motherboard
    Alienware 0FT9KT
    Memory
    32 GB Kingston HyperX 1866MHz DDR3 PC3-14900 RAM
    Graphics Card(s)
    Dual GeForce GTX 780M SLI 2x4GB GDDR5 RAM
    Sound Card
    Realtek ALC668 HD Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell 18.4" WLED FHD (1920 X 1080) TrueLife Display IPS 16:9 1080p [SDC4C48]
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    2x SanDisk Extreme PRO 960GB SSDs + 850 EVO 1TB mSATA SSD
    Keyboard
    Alienware TactX Keyboard
    Mouse
    Logitech G602 Wireless Gaming Mouse
    Internet Speed
    50 MBPS Download / 10 MBPS Upload
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    ESET NOD32 Antivirus
Where did you get your media center key from?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 x64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    0i812
    CPU
    Intel Core i7 4770K LGA1150
    Motherboard
    Asus Maximus VI Formula
    Memory
    Corsair 32GB (4x8GB) DDR3 CMY32GX3M4A1866C9 1866MH
    Graphics Card(s)
    2 x Crappy GeForce GT 640 2GB DDR3
    Sound Card
    I haz lollies ..
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x LG / 2 x Samsung 21 Inch
    Screen Resolution
    Crispy
    Hard Drives
    2 x Samsung 250GB SSD 840 EVO (OS / Other)
    1 x Kingston 120G HyperX SSD (Swap)
    3 x Seagate SATA III 2TB Barracuda (Data Drives)
    1 x Seagate SATA III 1TB Barracuda (Media to XBox)
    1 x W/Digital SATA II 300G VelociRaptor (Image)
    PSU
    Silverstone 1500w
    Case
    NZXT Phantom 820 White Full Tower
    Cooling
    Noctua NH-D14
    Keyboard
    Logitech G19
    Mouse
    Logitech G700 / Logitech T650 Touchpad Thingy
    Internet Speed
    ADSL 2+ (Australian version ... lol)
    Browser
    All of them
    Antivirus
    Nortons IS
    Other Info
    This one time at band camp ...
Where did you get your media center key from?

upgraded with Microsoft through the Add features thingy

then I got my key in the email

I just got off the phone with Microsoft, they said there is no way to fix this without a format, because my current Windows Edition is Windows 8.1 Pro with Media Center, so my original Windows 8 Pro key will not activate this edition. I cannot also use the Media Center key as that cannot be used to activate Windows. So I have to format, activate my Windows 8.1 Pro again, then re-apply the Media Center upgrade! bloody hell. this is a day's work since I have a lot of software to install

I think this problem happened because I tried using the Windows 8.1 Setupbox just to see if I can download a new ISO from MS so I entered a default installation key, that's when the activation was lost. now my original windows 8 Pro key will not be able to activate until I get rid off the Media Center, so it's a format :(
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    ALIENWARE 18 Laptop
    CPU
    Intel Core i7-4940MX Extreme CPU @ 4 GHz
    Motherboard
    Alienware 0FT9KT
    Memory
    32 GB Kingston HyperX 1866MHz DDR3 PC3-14900 RAM
    Graphics Card(s)
    Dual GeForce GTX 780M SLI 2x4GB GDDR5 RAM
    Sound Card
    Realtek ALC668 HD Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell 18.4" WLED FHD (1920 X 1080) TrueLife Display IPS 16:9 1080p [SDC4C48]
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    2x SanDisk Extreme PRO 960GB SSDs + 850 EVO 1TB mSATA SSD
    Keyboard
    Alienware TactX Keyboard
    Mouse
    Logitech G602 Wireless Gaming Mouse
    Internet Speed
    50 MBPS Download / 10 MBPS Upload
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    ESET NOD32 Antivirus
Do youreself one massive favor and after installing os and maybe your main software make a system image. Then install media centre etc
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 x64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    0i812
    CPU
    Intel Core i7 4770K LGA1150
    Motherboard
    Asus Maximus VI Formula
    Memory
    Corsair 32GB (4x8GB) DDR3 CMY32GX3M4A1866C9 1866MH
    Graphics Card(s)
    2 x Crappy GeForce GT 640 2GB DDR3
    Sound Card
    I haz lollies ..
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x LG / 2 x Samsung 21 Inch
    Screen Resolution
    Crispy
    Hard Drives
    2 x Samsung 250GB SSD 840 EVO (OS / Other)
    1 x Kingston 120G HyperX SSD (Swap)
    3 x Seagate SATA III 2TB Barracuda (Data Drives)
    1 x Seagate SATA III 1TB Barracuda (Media to XBox)
    1 x W/Digital SATA II 300G VelociRaptor (Image)
    PSU
    Silverstone 1500w
    Case
    NZXT Phantom 820 White Full Tower
    Cooling
    Noctua NH-D14
    Keyboard
    Logitech G19
    Mouse
    Logitech G700 / Logitech T650 Touchpad Thingy
    Internet Speed
    ADSL 2+ (Australian version ... lol)
    Browser
    All of them
    Antivirus
    Nortons IS
    Other Info
    This one time at band camp ...
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