windows suddenly deciding it is not genuine- what is the difference?

Roadkillv1

Roadkillv1

Roadkillv1

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a while ago i had hardcore computer issues, new mobo, new cards etc, new ram. finally got it working, but it then came back saying windows wasn't genuine. the machine needed formatting anyway, so i did, and it was fine after. now is about....6 weeks later roughly i guess, and it has said it again. i have run all the google tests in cmd that i can find and it didn't fix it. in the end, i suppose all i want to know is what the difference is. are certain things not going to work until i get it activated again? i have the windows key, i could probably phone them up and get it sorted, but if nothing actually changes (cuz atm the only thing seems to be my wallpaper keeps reverting), then...i don't really care tbh. i know it is genuine, nothing has changed in the last 4 years since i have had it to make it suddenly not be a real copy. it has the original hard drive that it was installed on too.

so...does it matter?
 
oem. and yeah when it puts the key in it tells me to contact the manufacturer.

edit- this error, to be precise. i have googled it but nothing much helps me in relation to it.

xc004e003

oh, win7 64bit btw.
 
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There is no reduced functionality mode in Windows 7 (unlike vista) so all you should see are the popups and watermark stating you are not using genuine windows. Security essentials wont work unless the system is activated if you use it.

You can rearm the pc which should stop the non genuine stuff from popping up by using slmgr -rearm at an elevated command prompt. This should give you 120 days before you get non genuine popups again. This can be used 3 times I believe.

The error itself is 0xC004E003 The Software Licensing Service reported that license evaluation failed.

Click the Start button, click Computer, and then click System properties on the tool bar.
In the Windows activation section, click the Change product key. If you are prompted for an administrator password or for confirmation, type your password, or click Continue.
In the Product key box, type the product key, and then click Next.

Note Use your original product key.
Follow the steps in the Windows Activation Wizard to complete the activation process.

If that doesn't work then


Click the Start button, and then click Computer.
Click System properties on the tool bar, and then click Click here to activate Windows now in the Windows activation section.

If you are prompted for an administrator password or for confirmation, type your password, or click Continue.
Click Show me other ways to Activate.
Click Use the automated phone system, and then follow the instructions that are provided.


The automated system should sort you out with no need to speak to a human - answer that you are a home user and license is on 1 pc only.
 
i tried the top one before, didn't work, there's where i got the error message from. the 2nd one, when i click that i don't have a 'show me other ways to activate'. i used to, before i did the format, but this time around it just tells me...what was it...'buy a product key', 'change your product key', or 'contact PB'

MrrVWSu.png


if all else fails and it starts to annoy me, i'll phone pb up. otherwise i'm not really bothered. I KNOW IT'S REAL AND BY GUM THAT'S ENOUGH FOR ME!
 
I'd guess that for some reason it's picking up that your copy is already activated, perhaps from your previous installation. I've had something similar before and a quick phone call using the automated service fixed it, it took around 10 mins and really wasn't any hassle.
 
It was my understanding that OEM copies are "tied" to the hardware. Could a change of motherboard knock this out?

Phone activation is possibly the best bet.
 
HecFam said:
It was my understanding that OEM copies are "tied" to the hardware. Could a change of motherboard knock this out?
Click to expand...

A change of board can certainly trip activation - I believe Microsoft view a motherboard replacement as a "new pc" where changing vga/ram would be an upgrade and shouldn't trip activation.

Found this from a quick google search realating to windows vista

"Microsoft Product Activation detects the configuration values of the hardware where the product is being installed and creates hash values for that configuration.
Product Activation can tolerate some change in hardware configuration by allowing a current hash value to have some difference from the hash value that was originally activated.
Common changes to hardware, such as upgrading a video card, adding a second hard disk, adding RAM, or upgrading a CD-ROM device, do not require the system to be reactivated. Specifically, Product Activation determines tolerance through a voting mechanism. Ten hardware characteristics are used to create the hardware hash. Each characteristic is valued as one vote, except the network card. The network card is valued as three votes.
When you think about tolerance, think about what has not changed, instead of what has changed. When the current hardware hash is compared to the original hardware hash, seven or more points must match for the two hardware hashes to be considered in tolerance. If the network card is the same, only four additional characteristics must match, because the network card is worth three, for a total of seven. If the network card is not the same, seven characteristics other than the network card must be the same.
If one component is changed one day, and then another change is made the following day, two changes are counted. The changes are cumulative. However, if a user is asked to reactivate, the hardware profile is reset to the new configuration."
 
Yes thats correct there was a counter in Windows 7 to set the number of times hardware changes and it asks you to activate so changing a motherboard did mean it asked to activate again.

Loads of people complained about it when Windows 7 came out.

Like has been said just ring the 0800 number to activate windows again over the phone using the automated woman just make sure when it asks how many PC's its installed on put 1 or it used to send you to their sales line.
 
lol i got stuck right off the bat. first question was for my installation id- had no idea what that was. i googled it and it said it should appear on the activation screen, i can ask for a certificate or something. i get no such option.
 
it looks to me like an OEM install media was used but you no longer have the OEM motherboard to match it :(

I was under the impression that the product key had to match the one stored in the BIOS alongside the Digital Certificate which is then used to authorise the copy of windows. If the BIOS information is missing as the mobo has been changed then this wont happen and the copy of windows will be unlicensed.
 
Ploppy2k3 said:
it looks to me like an OEM install media was used but you no longer have the OEM motherboard to match it :(

I was under the impression that the product key had to match the one stored in the BIOS alongside the Digital Certificate which is then used to authorise the copy of windows. If the BIOS information is missing as the mobo has been changed then this wont happen and the copy of windows will be unlicensed.
Click to expand...

That's a new implementation on win8 as far as I know. So doesn't apply to win7
 
Win 7 definitely had this in there. some of our old HP laptops for example wont ectivate on a HP OEM install but the newer ones do.

I can also remember dodgy boot loaders for Win7 that emulated the BIOS with the certificate for this reason. I don't know if all OEMs used it but I figure the big ones like HP, DEll etc did.
 
Just ring MS and tell them your MOBO failed! It will be fine

Or, have you actually tried typing in thr Product key num you already have?

This has happened to me and when i have typed the same num back in all went ok!
 
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