Missing BIOS license

[stebbinsd]

I just got a Gigabyte GA-970A-UD3P motherboard in the mail. The ebay listing said it was manufacturer refurbished.

My copy of Windows 7 Ultimate said that, due to a hardware or driver update, I need to re-activate Windows.

So I go into the Activate Windows app and enter my product key. I get error code 0xC004F063.

When I click on the link to provide more information, I get this message:

The BIOS is supposed to be a part of the motherboard. This makes sense, since it's the biggest piece of hardware I recently swapped out for, plus the board was manufacturer refurbished. So everything definitely fits together.

Ok, so ... how do I upgrade the BIOS license to fix this problem?

 

[steve6375]

When you activate Windows, it will check the product key on the Microsoft database to see if it has been previously activated. It recognises if it is the same machine or not by looking at things like the UUID and Ethernet MAC address. OEM Product keys may also look at the BIOS to see if it has been pre-programmed by the original Manufacturer. These will be different on your replacement board.
An OEM licence does not allow you to change motherboard. You could try to ring Microsoft and explain the situation but they will probably tell you that you need to buy another Win7 licence.
I would simply buy a new Win7 Product Key from eBay for £3. I have done this myself and it is legal (at least from the purchasers perspective).

 

[kaptainkuftic]

I would simply buy a new Win7 Product Key from eBay for £3. I have done this myself and it is legal (at least from the purchasers perspective).

It's fairly likely that this advice is the kind of thing that got him into this situation. Product keys for Windows are sold for around 100 USD, buying one for £3 is probably somebodies attempt at selling stolen/pirated keys.

 

[Lutfij]

It's fairly likely that this advice is the kind of thing that got him into this situation.

Yeah, OP can't remember if it was from Ebay or the likes. Though he can recall that it was bought for a cut throat bargain.

...£3 is probably somebodies attempt at selling stolen/pirated keys.

and adding one more victim to counterfeiting.

 

[DSzymborski]

It's fairly likely that this advice is the kind of thing that got him into this situation.

Yeah, OP can't remember if it was from Ebay or the likes. Though he can recall that it was bought for a cut throat bargain.

...£3 is probably somebodies attempt at selling stolen/pirated keys.

and adding one more victim to counterfeiting.

Yup. We wasted a bunch of time helping this guy who refused to give answers and when pressed on an honest answer, he became indignant and stormed off.

 

[kaptainkuftic]

It's fairly likely that this advice is the kind of thing that got him into this situation.

Yeah, OP can't remember if it was from Ebay or the likes. Though he can recall that it was bought for a cut throat bargain.

...£3 is probably somebodies attempt at selling stolen/pirated keys.

and adding one more victim to counterfeiting.

Yup. We wasted a bunch of time helping this guy who refused to give answers and when pressed on an honest answer, he became indignant and stormed off.

At least it was entertaining. lol