On Windows 10, when you make a significant change, such as replacing the motherboard, hard drive, or processor, the system may fail to recognize the computer. As a result, the installation will become deactivated (with error 0xC004F211).

In older versions, if Windows lost its activation because of a hardware change, you needed to go through the tedious process of contacting Microsoft support to reactivate, which is not an ideal solution, and no many users were aware of the option.

However, the activation process has changed since the original release of Windows 10, and you can now link your device digital license to your Microsoft account, which you can then use to reactivate the installation using the Activation Troubleshooter in the same or clean installation of the OS.

In this Windows 10 guide, we'll walk you through the steps to properly use the Activation Troubleshooter to reactivate your device.

How to prepare reactivation before hardware change on Windows 10

To ensure that you can reactivate Windows 10 after a hardware change, use these steps:

Open Settings. Click on Update & Security. Click on Activation. If under the "Windows" section, the Activation reads: Windows is activated with a digital license, then under the "Add a Microsoft account" section, click the Add an account option. Quick note: You must be using an administrator account to complete the process. If under the "Windows" section, the Activation reads: Windows is activated with a digital license linked to your Microsoft account, then your device license is already linked to a Microsoft account, and you can skip these steps, and continue with the reactivation process below. Confirm your Microsoft account credentials. Click the Next button. Confirm your account password. Confirm your local account password. Click the Next button.

Once you complete the steps, you should see the Windows is activated with a digital license linked to your Microsoft account message in the "Activation" page, indicating that the link was successfully processed. You can now continue with the hardware change process, and then use the instructions below to reactivate Windows 10.

How to reactivate installation after hardware change on Windows 10

To reactivate Windows 10 after a hardware change, use these steps:

Open Settings. Click on Update & Security. Click on Activation. Under the "Windows" section, click the Troubleshoot option. Click the I changed hardware on this device recently option. Confirm your Microsoft account credentials (if applicable). Click the Sign-in button. Quick note: If you're reactivating an existing installation that already had the Microsoft account configured, then you won't be prompted to sign in. Select the device that you're trying to reactivate. Quick tip: If the device isn't on the list, click the See other devices linked to your Microsoft account option, and select the device. Check the This is the device I'm using right now option. Click the Activate button.

After you complete the steps, Windows 10 will reactivate, and you start using the device and all the features available with the OS.

If you're no able to activate, you may need to acquire a new license to install and activate Windows 10 on the device. If this is the case, we recommend getting the Windows 10 Pro, which unlocks all the features available for the platform.