Existing Dell Laptop with Windows 11, recently patched, now my Dell Windows License is not valid.

John Couch

25 May 2023, 11:39 UTC

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I have had this laptop from Dell for 4 years and it was running fine. Microsoft patch updated the OS to windows 11, things were still fine. Got another patch, and not it says I need to Activate Windows. Microsoft wont help me and Dell won't help me unless I pay either 199 for a new license, or 99 for Dell support. WHY do I need to buy a new license for a laptop and Windows that was previously legally licensed until Microsoft update put some patch on it. I did nothing special to this laptop, it was ordered and purchased from DELL. No changes to it.

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2 answers

Alexandr S

27 May 2023, 11:39 UTC

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Hello, John Couch.

To clarify exactly what happened, post a screenshot of the command window here:

slmgr.vbs /dlv

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It was brand new from Dell with Windows 10 Pro.

Unfortunately, the information in the screenshot does not confirm this.

Open attachment: User's image

The "Description", "Product Key Channel" of the pre-installed OS must have an OEM:DM, if Windows is pre-installed at the factory and the key is embedded in the BIOS, or OEM_COA_NSLP/OEM:NONSLP, if the OS is installed by a small assembler/seller, and the key is printed on a COA (certificate of authenticity) glued to the laptop case. In any of these cases, the key must be unique. And the screenshot shows the well-known VK7JG-NPHTM-C97JM-9MPGT-3V66T stub key, which is used either for the Windows 10 Professional license, obtained as part of the free upgrade promotion from genuine 7/8/8.1 in 2015-16, or when purchasing an upgrade from the Home version to the Professional version in the Microsoft Store. However, the "product key channel" does not change. Error 0xC004F034 indicates that "The license was not found or could not be used" due to "The user is trying to activate the PC by the KMS server or the key does not match".

Download the ShowKeyPlus utility from MicrosoftStore. Run it and upload a screenshot of the program's homepage here, coloring over the key except for the last five characters. For an example: