Windows won't activate after being imaged

Question

I bought 8 new inspirons from dell outlet and I manually reinstalled a fresh copy of windows 8.1 on one and then upgraded to windows 10. Then I took an image of that and imaged it to the remaining 7. For some reason, 4 of them worked fine and on 3, windows is not activated.

I was advised by a peer that the product key is in the bios and windows should have automatically pulled it from there. Since there's no sticker with product keys, what should I do to get these windows to activate?

DELL-Jesse L · Answer

br1ckhouse, You can click the link below for information on Windows 10 activation. Why Cant I Activate Windows 10

Fab_Bear · Answer

Hello,

Getting almost the same annoying problem. Mind you, it was a little more complicated:

I replace the palmrest of my Inspiron 7378 2 in 1 as one hinge got broken (bolts/screws).

When i got it all together, Windows would not start because of Bitlocker. It decided to ask me for an unlock key - i have no idea where it is. I did not install it nor even remember it. The laptop has passed hand, therefore no chance to recuperate it.

So i removed the disk and re-imaged to factory a new disk through the OS Recovery Tool. All went smoothly until i realized Windows was not activated?!? It is supposed to be stored in the BIOS/Motherboard. Why isn't it activated??? It says i have no digital key, no product key...

Machine works perfectly though.

Need help ASAP.

Thank you.

XPS_Man · Answer

Yes Product key is associated with your hardware (motherboard)

1. Ensure they all have latest windows updates

2. once updated > Run activation troubleshooter on affected machines. This will remove the existing product key (probably copied with the image)

If still no go, open CMD as admin and run following

slmgr /upk

slmgr /cpky

slmgr /rearm

Reboot and run activation troubleshooter again

Windows General

Windows won't activate after being imaged

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