Hi my Dell laptop died (Win 8 Pro x 64), I replaced it with a Lenovo running Win 8.1 with Bing x 64, as my Dell laptop had died I installed my OLD HD in the new Lenovo and it WIN would not activate.  So I reinserted the the original Win 8.1 with Bing x 64 back and through the Add Features Option to Windows 8.1 in the control panel I entered my WIN 8.1 Pro key and this was accepted and the system updated to WIN 8.1 Pro BUT WAS NOT ACTIVATED, how can I activate?

Currently I have reverted back to Win 8.1 with Bing x 64 using system restore.

Can you please advise how I can activate my WIN 8.1 Pro license.

Thanks in advance.

Enis

You mean the 8.1 Pro license that came with the Dell? That license is not transferable.

• Proposed as answer by MeipoXuMicrosoft contingent staff, Moderator 4 hours 31 minutes ago

Thanks for your reply, I bought the WIN 8.1 Pro license as an extra as the the Dell laptop only came with Win 8 Home.

I thought by upgrading I would not run in to this problem as I was not aware that the WIN 8.1 Pro license was only for the lifetime of the laptop.

Enis

• Edited by EnisMcF 16 hours 5 minutes ago
• Proposed as answer by MeipoXuMicrosoft contingent staff, Moderator 4 hours 32 minutes ago

You mean the 8.1 Pro license that came with the Dell? That license is not transferable.

• Proposed as answer by MeipoXuMicrosoft contingent staff, Moderator Wednesday, July 15, 2015 2:52 AM

You mean the 8.1 Pro license that came with the Dell? That license is not transferable.

• Proposed as answer by MeipoXuMicrosoft contingent staff, Moderator Wednesday, July 15, 2015 2:52 AM

Thanks for your reply, I bought the WIN 8.1 Pro license as an extra as the the Dell laptop only came with Win 8 Home.

I thought by upgrading I would not run in to this problem as I was not aware that the WIN 8.1 Pro license was only for the lifetime of the laptop.

Enis

• Edited by EnisMcF Tuesday, July 14, 2015 3:19 PM
• Proposed as answer by MeipoXuMicrosoft contingent staff, Moderator Wednesday, July 15, 2015 2:52 AM

Thanks for your reply, I bought the WIN 8.1 Pro license as an extra as the the Dell laptop only came with Win 8 Home.

I thought by upgrading I would not run in to this problem as I was not aware that the WIN 8.1 Pro license was only for the lifetime of the laptop.

Enis

• Edited by EnisMcF Tuesday, July 14, 2015 3:19 PM
• Proposed as answer by MeipoXuMicrosoft contingent staff, Moderator Wednesday, July 15, 2015 2:52 AM

Hi EnisMcf,

I agree with Tripredacus, the key is not transferable.

To get more help, it is recommended to contact the support directly.

Contact us

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/contactus

Best regards

If the Windows 8.1 Pro was a retail license it should be fine. There is no upgrade from Core to Pro. In order to determine why your OS won't activate, you'd need to run this command and post the report.txt contents.

Licensingdiag.exe -report %userprofile%\desktop\report.txt -log %userprofile%\desktop\repfiles.cab