Solved Activation suddenly required

[cranberry]

6-month-old Dell computer, 64-bit, running windows 8. When the computer was about a month old, I was having problems...a Dell tech installed a new motherboard. All was well until last week, when I was restoring files from my old computer to this new one, using Carbonite, and ran out of hard drive space. I solved that by deleting the Norton backup.
Then a screen popped up that said I need to Activate Windows. The Dell tech had given me a new Windows 8 product key, so I entered it. Everything worked OK for a little while, but now I keep getting the Activation screen. I was able to enter the key several times, but now there is no place to enter the key, just a button to activate by phone. Strangely, I can get rid of the screen and get back to work by hovering in the lower left corner and clicking on the tiny Start screen and going to my desktop.
Windows 8 was installed when I got the computer. I do not know the old product key nor how to get it.
Please help!

 

[Brink]

Hello Cranberry, and welcome to Eight Forums.

Sometimes changing out a motherboard will trigger you to have to activate like that even when using a new key.

You should be able to activate by phone though.

Hope this helps,
Shawn

 

[wrog]

This has happened to me on Widows 7 twice, for no reason just random! First time it solved itself, server problem.
Second time I emailed Microsoft and they gave me a new key (both keys work now

 

[cranberry]

Brink--before I could do the steps to Activate by Phone, a new screen popped up "Control Panel>System & Security>Action Center>Windows Activation". I typed in my newer key, it appeared to accept it, and now says my current key ends in the correct 5 digits. I sure hope this is the end of the problem, but I'm not so sure...it also says it was activated 4 days ago. In case the problem happens again, I have saved a link to your Activate by Phone info. And if that fails, I will do as Wrog did and call Microsoft.
Thank you very much!

 

[Brink]

I'm glad to hear that it activated for your Cranberry. Hopefully it will not deactivate on you again.