Windows 8.1 Product Key and Activation

Anonymous
2013-11-22T04:35:23+00:00

About a week ago, I downloaded Windows 8.1 from MS Store. This was an upgrade for Windows 8 which came installed on my new HP PC.

The download was successful and Win 8.1 installed. However, Win 8.1 did not get activated and I keep getting a reminder screen to Activate Win 8.1.

This Activate Screen asks me to enter a Product Key. It gives me an error code of 0xc004c003 which states that the activation server has blocked my product key. It also gives the last five(5) characters of the blocked product key.

Well, I never entered a product key during the upgrade so I'm not sure where the product key came from.

I did a web search for the last five characters of the product key and it appears to be all over the web.

I used an application that showed the last fifteen(15) characters of the product key in my PC for Win 8.1 and they match the product key that I found all over the web.

It's no wonder that MS has blocked this key.

My question is. How do I activate Windows 8.1 since I have no product key.  MS Store did not provide a key with the download.

Dennis J. Ferrier

Windows for home | Previous Windows versions | Licensing and activation

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  1. Anonymous
    2017-10-09T20:01:35+00:00

    Read my comments before yours, and in fact you need to go through the whole of the list. Basically yet again I reiterate you have to upgrade through the original supplier. Exactly the reasons I do not get a machine of the shelf.

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  2. Anonymous
    2017-09-06T18:19:29+00:00

    @ MacHesney -- That would be why, on March 18, 2017, I asked (at the end of my reply to somchai yang) : "why did you just copy an earlier posting/reply word-for-word?"  *grin*

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  3. Anonymous
    2017-09-06T17:02:49+00:00

    You should have a product key from your purchase of Windows. 

    If Windows came pre-installed on the computer, contact your system manufacturer for support and/or get the product key off the sticker on the machine or it could be embedded in the BIOS.

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  4. Anonymous
    2017-09-06T16:52:35+00:00

    Can you provide product key code to activate windows in pc settings Windows license

    will expire 09-14-2017 Upgrade to windows 8.1 07-2016

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  5. Anonymous
    2017-07-09T01:54:20+00:00

    Comprehend: phone activation is just another way to activate your Windows __ OS License *if* you cannot activate online.  There is no 'web page' that you can use to activate using.

    https://support.microsoft.com/en-US/help/15083/windows-how-to-activate

    Glass houses, stones, all that...

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