I upgraded my CPU on my PC running Win 11 Pro 22H2 (OS build 22621.3527). Windows will now not activate even when I enter my original product key for Windows 10 Pro.

Good day James, thanks for your question. I am glad to be able to provide assistance to you today. What is the error code or message that you are seeing from your end? Also, Press Windows key + R and from the run box type in there cmd and press Enter or click OK and from the Command Prompt window type in there slmgr /dlv and post back the result from the Windows Script Host pop-up.

Regards,
Paul R.

Hello Paul,

The error code during the activation was 0x803fa067

Here is a snip of the Windows Script Host report.

Thanks.

James Marden

For the purposes of activation, a computer with a new CPU is considered a new computer, and a new computer needs a new Windows license.

Kindly check and try the methods below and see how it goes.

Method 1:
- Press Windows key + X and click on Run
- Type in services.msc and press Enter or hit OK and this open up the Services window
- Look for Software Protection and double click on it, and try to Stop and Start the service or Start it whichever is applicable
- After doing the above check and try the product key again

Method 2:
- Type in cmd from the search bar on the taskbar
- Right click on the command prompt from the search result and click on Run as administator
- Copy/paste the command below and execute then one by one
dism.exe /online /cleanup-image /scanhealth
dism.exe /online /cleanup-image /restorehealth
dism.exe /online /cleanup-image /startcomponentcleanup
sfc /scannow
- After doing the above check and try the product key again

Method 3:
- In the event that you will still encounter the issue, you can opt to download the ISO and try to do a clean install of Windows 10 and you can check out the links below for reference and then try your product key again afterwards

Download Windows 10:
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-downlo...

Clean Install guides:
https://www.groovypost.com/howto/clean-install-...
https://www.howtogeek.com/224342/how-to-clean-i...
https://www.windowscentral.com/how-do-clean-ins...

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Note: This is a non-Microsoft website. The page appears to be providing accurate, safe information. Watch out for ads on the site that may advertise products frequently classified as a PUP (Potentially Unwanted Products). Thoroughly research any product advertised on the site before you decide to download and install it.
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Method 4:
- press Windows key + R and then on the run box type in there cmd and press Enter or hit OK and then on the Command Prompt execute the commands below and press Enter after each command
slmgr.vbs /ato - proceed to the next one if this will not work
slmgr.vbs /upk - this will uninstall your product key
slmgr.vbs /ipk XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX (X represents your 25 character product key)
- Check if this will activate Windows
- If it will still not work, kindly try to reach out either by call or chat to reactivate Windows and check this with the appropriate team on what is transpiring behind this issue

- Go to this link https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/home/contac... or or you can also launch the Get help app on your PC
- Type in talk to support
- Click on the blue button on the below part
- Sign in/Log in when prompted and try to connect to an agent/support from there and kindly take note that it might take a couple or several attempts before you will be able to get a hold of someone

Hello par_0511,

Thank you for the detailed reply. I tried all these options and none of them allowed me to re-activate my Windows license. I think Chien Sage's reply is the correct one which is a bit annoying as it means I have to spend another £200 on a new licence :-(. I have one other question - if the old license is now linked to the old CPU I replaced can I now build another PC with this CPU and re-activate the license for this machine? It seems crazy that every time you upgrade a machine you have to buy another software license, although for Microsoft it makes great business sense.

I have another question - what are the hardware change criteria that a new license will be required if I decide to upgrade my PC again in the future?

It seems crazy that every time you upgrade a machine you have to buy another software license, although for Microsoft it makes great business sense.

Apologies for sticking my unsolicited nose into the conversation.

It isn't "every time you upgrade a machine." People commonly upgrade their RAM, hard drives, network cards, etc. and the computer remains activated. It's only when you replace the CPU or the motherboard that you lose activation, because a computer with a new motherboard or a new CPU is a different computer, and a different computer needs its own Windows license.