Reactivating Windows 10 after a hardware change

Activation helps verify that your copy of Windows is genuine and hasn’t been used on more devices than the Microsoft Software License Terms allow.

When installing Windows 10, the digital license associates itself with your device’s hardware. If you make significant hardware changes on your device, such as replacing your motherboard, Windows will no longer find a license that matches your device, and you’ll need to reactivate Windows to get it up and running.

To activate Windows, you’ll need either a digital license or a product key. To find out which you need, see «What activation method do I use, product key or digital license?» in Activate Windows 10. Then, use the following info to help you successfully prepare for a hardware change and reactivate Windows 10.

Prepare your Windows 10 device for a hardware change

First, follow these steps to find out if Windows 10 is already activated.

Select the Start button, then select Settings > Update & Security > Activation .

If you’re not activated, complete the activation process with the steps you see on the Activation page. If you experience an error while activating, see Get help with Windows activation errors.

Once you’ve confirmed that Windows 10 is activated, follow these steps:

In Windows 10 (version 1607 or later), it is essential that you link your Microsoft account with the Windows 10 digital license on your device. Linking your Microsoft account with your digital license allows you to reactivate Windows using the Activation troubleshooter whenever you make a significant hardware change.

First, you’ll need to find out if your Microsoft account (What is a Microsoft account?) is linked to your Windows 10 digital license. To find out, select the Start button, then select Settings > Update & Security and then select Activation . The activation status message will tell you if your account is linked.

Windows is activated with a digital license

This means that your Microsoft account is not linked to your digital license.

Follow instructions for Add an account.

Windows is activated with a digital license linked to your Microsoft account

This means that your Microsoft account is already linked to your digital license.

No further action is required. You are ready to use the activation troubleshooter.

If your Microsoft account is not linked to your digital license, follow these steps to Add an account:

Sign in as an administrator to add your Microsoft account. To confirm that you’re using an administrator account, select the Start button, then select Settings > Accounts > Your info . Under your name, you’ll see Administrator. If you’re not an administrator, see Create a local user or administrator account.
Go to Your info in Settings

Confirm that the administrator account is also your Microsoft account by checking to see if an email address is displayed above Administrator. If an email address is displayed, this is a Microsoft account. If not, you’re logged in using a local account. If you don’t yet have a Microsoft account, see How to create a new Microsoft account.

Once you confirm that you’re an administrator and using your Microsoft account, go back to the Activation page, select Add an account, enter your Microsoft account and password, then select Sign in.

After your Microsoft account has been added, the message on the Activation page will change to: Windows is activated with a digital license linked to your Microsoft account.

Make sure that the edition, Windows 10 Home or Windows 10 Pro, is the same before and after your hardware change. Your digital license and product key will reactivate only if the edition remains the same.

You can see your edition on the same Activation page where you checked your activation status. To see which edition you have, select the Start button, then select Settings > Update & Security > Activation .

If you used a product key to get to Windows 10, then you’ll need that key again after the hardware change. To find out how to locate your key, see Find your Windows product key.

For more info about product keys and digital licenses, see Activate Windows 10.

Reactivate Windows 10 after a hardware change

When you’re ready to reactivate, make sure that your device is connected to the internet and then follow the steps for either a digital license or product key.

You’ll need to first add your Microsoft account and link your account to the digital license on your device. After linking your Microsoft account, run the Activation troubleshooter to reactivate Windows 10.

This troubleshooter will only be available if your copy of Windows 10 (version 1607 or later) isn’t activated.

To use the Activation troubleshooter:

Select the Start button, then select Settings > Update & Security > Activation > Troubleshoot . The troubleshooter will show Windows can’t be activated on your device.

Select I changed hardware on this device recently, then select Next.

Enter your connected Microsoft account and password, then select Sign in. The troubleshooter will only work with the connected Microsoft account.

From the list of devices that are linked to your Microsoft account, select the check box next to This is the device I’m using right now.

If you don’t see the device you’re using in the list of results, make sure that you signed in using the same Microsoft account you associated with the Windows 10 digital license on your device.

If you continue to experience errors while activating, see Get help with Windows activation errors and locate the error you’re getting.

If you didn’t link your Microsoft account to the digital license before the hardware change AND you used a product key to upgrade to Windows 10, then continue to next section.

If Windows 10 wasn’t pre-installed on your device when purchased and you used a product key to upgrade to Windows 10, then you’ll need that same product key after the hardware change.

Select the Start button, then select Settings > Update & Security > Activation > Change Product Key, then enter the product key.

If you installed a retail copy of Windows 10 on your device using a Windows 10 product key and then made hardware changes, follow this same process using your Windows 10 product key.

If you continue to experience errors while activating, see Get help with Windows activation errors and locate the error you’re getting.

If you don’t have a digital license or product key

If you don’t have a product key or digital license, you can purchase a Windows 10 digital license after installation finishes. Follow these steps to make a purchase:

Select the Start button, then select Settings > Update & Security > Activation . Then select Go to Store to go to the Microsoft Store app where you can purchase a Windows 10 digital license.

Need more help?

If you need additional help reactivating Windows on your device, contact customer support.

How to disable auto lock feature on Windows 10?

Original title:- auto lock

how do I disable auto lock

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Thank you for posting your query on Microsoft Community. Let me assist you.

I would like to inform you that, this option is still not present on Windows 10.. I suggest you to send a feedback to Microsoft regarding this feature. Type Feedback on Search bar and go to Feedback app.

Hope this information is helpful. Please do let us know if you need further assistance, we’ll be glad to assist you.

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I would like to inform you that, this option is still not present on Windows 10.. I suggest you to send a feedback to Microsoft regarding this feature. Type Feedback on Search bar and go to Feedback app.

Is this a joke? Out of the many annoyances/bugs I’ve encountered after «upgrading» from Windows 7 to Windows 10, this is the most pointless and irritating feature I’ve encountered.

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i had the same problem but fixed it by hitting the window ss button on the keyboard, then type in settings and click enter, next it should open up setting so and then go to personalisation, look on the side panel on the left hand side and click lock screen, then scroll all the way down till you see screen timeout options at the bottom then tap that and turn everything to never.

That should help u

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I did this and it does not work on the revised version of Win 10. comes back as «Windows cannot find ‘settings’. Make sure you typed the name correctly, and then try again.»

I WANT TO TURN OFF the AUTO TIME OUT.

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Kindly follow this steps if you want to turn off screen time out option:

1. Right click on your Desktop then choose personalize.
2. On your left choose Lock Screen
3. Click on Screen Timeout Settings
4. On the Screen option, Choose Never
5. On the Sleep option, Choose Never

You can also check your Power Settings and make sure that the options are set to Never turn off.

Let us know what happens.

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Kindly follow this steps if you want to turn off screen time out option:

1. Right click on your Desktop then choose personalize.
2. On your left choose Lock Screen
3. Click on Screen Timeout Settings
4. On the Screen option, Choose Never
5. On the Sleep option, Choose Never

You can also check your Power Settings and make sure that the options are set to Never turn off.

Let us know what happens.

I did all of that already and my screen still times out after like 10 seconds of me not moving my mouse and it goes to the lock screen. I already turned off all of the above options and it still does it, it is very annoying

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Windows 10 indexing — reset to default options

How do I reset the Windows 10 indexing locations to the default values?

I would like to set it back to the «out of the box» state.

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By default, Windows will use the index when searching to give you faster search results. The search index only includes your selected locations . These locations can be filtered for what file types , file properties, and file contents you want yo be indexed. Here are the steps that you can follow to rebuild search index in Windows 10:

1. Open the Control Panel (icons view) , click/tap on the Indexing Options icon, and close the Control Panel.
2. Click/tap on the Advanced button.
3. In the Index Settings tab, click/tap on the Rebuild button under Troubleshooting .
4. Click/tap on OK to confirm.
5. Indexing will now be in progress.
6. When indexing has completed, click/tap on Close .

Let us know if you need further help.

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FIX: Windows 10 restarts randomly

• Restarting your PC can be an ideal solution for when you need to finalize software installations, or when you simply need to perform a clean boot of your system.
• Various software and hardware issues can cause your PC to restart on its own, which can severely hinder work productivity and gameplay experiences.
• Most restarts are caused by a failing hard drive, so maybe it is time that you upgrade yours to a better model that offers a lot of storage space.
• Since you’re using Windows 10 on a daily basis, don’t forget to check out our in-depth Windows 10 errors page.

1. Download Restoro PC Repair Tool that comes with Patented Technologies (patent available here).
2. Click Start Scan to find Windows issues that could be causing PC problems.
3. Click Repair All to fix issues affecting your computer’s security and performance

• Restoro has been downloaded by 0 readers this month.

Windows 10 is a stable operating system, but some users are having a different experience with it. According to them, the random restart occurs in Windows 10, and that can be quite inconvenient, so let’s see how to fix this issue.

Here are some more examples of this or similar issues:

• PC randomly restarts when playing games
• Windows 10 restarts automatically
• My Windows 10 random restart no BSOD
• Windows 10 restarts when idle
• Windows 10 random restart update
  

How do I fix random restarts in Windows 10?

Table of contents:

1. Change Advanced Power Settings

1. Press Windows Key + S and type Power Options.
2. From the list of results choose Power Options.
   
3. When Power Options window opens, find your plan and click on Change plan settings.
   
4. Now click on Change advanced power settings.
   
5. Scroll down and locate Processor Power Management.
   
6. You should see the Minimum Processor State value that is set to 100%.
7. Change Minimum Processor State to some other value, such as 0.
8. Save changes.

If you are having random restarts on Windows 10, you might want to try changing the power settings.

2. Make sure the Sleep mode is enabled

1. Open Power Options, find your current plan and click on Change plan settings.
2. After you’ve done that, find Put the computer to sleep option and choose any value except Never.
   
3. Click Save changes and your problem should be fixed.

Sometimes random restart on Windows 10 can be triggered if Sleep mode timer is set to Never. In order to fix this issue, you need to set Sleep mode timer to any other different value.

3. Uninstall your antivirus

If you’re having random restarts, this can be caused by your antivirus software.

Users have reported that Kaspersky antivirus is sometimes the cause for a random restart on Windows 10, so if you’re using Kaspersky antivirus, you might want to temporarily uninstall it or upgrade it to a newer version.

If that doesn’t work, you might want to consider switching to different antivirus software.

We strongly recommend you Bitdefender as the world’s No. 1 Antivirus. It has a bunch of useful features that will keep your computer safe and optimized.

4. Update / uninstall your graphics card drivers

1. Press Windows Key + X and choose Device Manager from the list.
   
2. When Device Manager opens, locate your graphics card, right-click and choose Uninstall.
   
3. Check Delete the driver software for this device and click OK.
   
4. After the driver has been uninstalled, restart your computer.
5. Download the latest driver from your graphics card manufacturer’s website and install it.

As you know, Windows 10 automatically installs its drivers, and if you install graphics card drivers from your graphics card manufacturer, you can sometimes cause conflicts and random restarts.

To fix this issue, you need to install additional drivers after Windows 10 performs its update and installs the necessary drivers first.

If you have already installed your graphics card drivers, you might need to uninstall them and install them again in order to fix this issue.

4.1 Update drivers automatically

If you try to install the drivers manually you risk to damage your system by downloading and installing the wrong version, thus we recommend using a dedicated tool.

This is a tedious process and we suggest to do it automatically by using Tweakbit’s Driver Updater tool.

This tool is approved by Microsoft and Norton Antivirus and uses an advanced updating technology. After several tests, our team concluded that this is the best-automatized solution.

Below you can find a quick guide on how to do it.

1. 1. Download and install TweakBit Driver Updater
   2. Once installed, the program will start scanning your PC for outdated drivers automatically. Driver Updater will check your installed driver versions against its cloud database of the latest versions and recommend proper updates. All you need to do is wait for the scan to complete.
   3. Upon scan completion, you get a report on all problem drivers found on your PC. Review the list and see if you want to update each driver individually or all at once. To update one driver at a time, click the ‘Update driver’ link next to the driver name. Or simply click the ‘Update all’ button at the bottom to automatically install all recommended updates.
      
      Note:Some drivers need to be installed in multiple steps so you will have to hit the ‘Update’ button several times until all of its components are installed.

Disclaimer: some features of this tool are not free.

5. Change your power plan to High performance

1. Open Power Options.
2. When Power Options window opens, choose High performance.
   

If you’re having random restarts on Windows 10, sometimes the best solution is to change your power plan to High performance.

We have to mention that by changing your mode to High performance your PC or laptop will consume more power, so keep that in mind.

This is especially important for laptop users because your battery will drain faster and you’ll have to recharge it more often.

6. Update your BIOS

Sometimes you can fix random restarts on Windows 10 by updating your BIOS. To update your BIOS, you need to visit your motherboard manufacturer’s website and download the latest version of BIOS.

Before you update BIOS, make sure that you check your motherboard’s manual in order to update BIOS properly.

If you’re not careful, you can cause permanent damage to your computer, so be careful if you decide to update your BIOS. If you don’t know how to do it properly, please contact an expert.