Windows activated but says I need to activate Windows to personalize

I was given a Windows 8 laptop from an old buddy. He did a "reset this PC" before giving it to me and when I got home, I set the computer up.

However, I am UNABLE to put a vanity background or an account picture. It tells me "You need to activate windows before you can personalize this PC"

But when I go to "Properties" on My Computer, at the bottom it says "Windows is activated"

My Computer properties seems to think that Windows is activated but personalization settings seem to think otherwise.

This PC came with Windows 8 because there is a Windows 8 sticker on the bottom of the laptop.

Does anybody know what the problem could be?

reboot/restart the laptop and check the Win8 activation status again to see if it is really activated or not

type winver.exe in the Run dialog box to see if the correct Windows 8 edition is installed (whether Windows 8 Core/Home or Windows 8 Pro)

Ornithophilia said:

I was given a Windows 8 laptop from an old buddy. He did a "reset this PC" before giving it to me and when I got home, I set the computer up.

However, I am UNABLE to put a vanity background or an account picture. It tells me "You need to activate windows before you can personalize this PC"

But when I go to "Properties" on My Computer, at the bottom it says "Windows is activated"

My Computer properties seems to think that Windows is activated but personalization settings seem to think otherwise.

This PC came with Windows 8 because there is a Windows 8 sticker on the bottom of the laptop.

Does anybody know what the problem could be?

Click to expand...

Hi,
It's possible that the "reset this PC" process didn't fully activate Windows on your laptop. Windows 8 uses a product key for activation, and if that key wasn't properly entered or isn't valid, it can cause issues with certain features, such as setting a custom background or account picture.

One thing you can try is to manually activate Windows by going to the Control Panel and selecting "System and Security," then "System," and finally "Activate Windows" or "Change product key." It's a good idea to confirm the product key on the bottom of the laptop with the key you use to activate it. If the key fails to activate, or if you are unable to find the key on the bottom of the laptop, it's possible that the key has been used on another computer or has been blocked for some reason. Another way to check the activation status is by running command prompt as an admin and running "slmgr /xpr" command which will tell you the expiry date of your license, thus providing if the license is activated or not. If nothing works it's recommended to reach out to Microsoft support for help with activating Windows on your laptop.