Recent content by Superfly

I'm not quite sure at what stage the activation went awry - but once the HDD has been cloned to the SSD we can wade through any activation issues. A product key is not required to transfer data.

That appears to be a Win 7 factory PC that was upgraded by Dell service centre - if you have a backup of the obliterated partition then we can retrieve the key from that, otherwise you are SOL. Best then to install Win 7 and activate with the COA key - then upgrade to Win 10 for free while it...

Yup ... get genuine

Welcome to Eight Forums @Michael Rabik Haven't heard of Cambridge... is this a MS affiliated outlet (partner?) if not they are bogus keys sold to every Dick, Tom, Harry, Sally and whomever cares to fall for their scam. Which error messages do you get when trying to activate?

Please delete your screenshot - it shows your Win 8.1 RTM Core OEM: DM key. What edition do you have installed? Pro, Single Language etc won't activate with that key. Please post a diagnostic report and make sure you mask the key under OA3 in the report (if it shows there.) Please Read...

Please run a diagnostic and post the report and make sure you mask the key under OA3 in the report (if it shows there.). Please Read: Activation troubleshooting

Hi @Elia (you are from my home town) Drop me a PM I'll come fix it if you are close by and when I have some time ... @axe0 I think your reservations are warranted... there is no KMS info, which is unusual for a legit machine... exploits tend to hide that info ( from the /dlv report)...

You can use the Media Creation Tool to get the installation media. You won't be able to upgrade the existing installation and keep data (thus backup personal data beforehand) Do a clean install of 8.1 and copy back personal data. That's all fully legit. Doing an upgrade on a previously...

You can just install Win 8.1 (not Pro) and the OEM key will activate it....

What did ShowKey display as OEM?

Yes, that is a bogus installation - You will need a proper key.

Hi Paul Yup, that key is blocked... how it happened is the problem... It could have been installed on multiple PC's.... or the hardware has changed significantly on the current machine.

Sorry I don't reply as often as I should, but I'm glad that it did it's job...Your comments are much appreciated :)

Suggest restore the backup. If it's activated, then upgrade to Windows 10 anyway, even if just to get digital entitlement before MS cuts it off... Win 10 is OK - I just firewall the heck out of it and only let through what I want.

Yup, blocked key - where did you get it from? Chances are it was sold to too many and someone has pushed the activation count over the edge since you last activated, as even the spare phone activation count is now history. If you have a backup of the activated system we may be able to restore...