Do you have a black wallpaper and an information on the bottom right of your screen telling you your Windows version isn’t genuine? Maybe you get a prompt every once in a while telling you that you might be a victim of software counterfeiting.

That only happens because your Windows version isn’t activated. In this tutorial we’re going to learn how to activate Windows with and without a product key. This applies to both Windows 7, Windows 8 and Windows 10.

Activating your Windows copy with a product key is pretty straightforward and requires you to have a legitimate copy of Windows.

If your Windows copy isn’t genuine (or if you’ve lost your product key) you will need to use a Windows Activator. Luckily, it’s a simple process and you get to activate Windows for free.

How To Activate Windows With A Product Key

Activating Windows with a product key is very easy. To do so you obviously need to have a Windows product key — this means you need to have bought Windows legitimately, or a computer that came with a legitimate Windows version installed.

Windows product keys are typically 25-characters long and are usually located on the back or at the top of your computer case, or at the bottom of your laptop if Windows came preinstalled.

If you bought a Windows disc, then the Product key will be located inside the case. If you bought it online, then you will have received the product key in a confirmation email.

Activating Windows 10 With a Digital License or Product Key

If you have the prompt to activate Windows 10 on the bottom of your screen, activating Windows removes the annoying feature.

If you do not have a product key and have already installed Windows 10, you can activate it by buying a digital license. Here’s how you do it:

1. Go to Settings
2. Click on Update & Security
3. Click on the Activation tab on the left side
4. If you have a Product Key choose Change Product Key and insert your valid Key

If you wish to purchase a Digital License click on Go to Store

The Go to Store option will open the Windows Store where you’ll be able to choose your preferred Windows 10 version. After completing your purchase your Windows copy will be activated.

Changing your Product Key to a valid key will also activate your Windows 10 version and remove the annoying prompts.

If you wish to confirm if your Windows 10 copy activated successfully just go back to the Activation tab under Update & Security and check if it’s correctly activated.

Activating Windows 7 With a Product Key

To activate Windows 7 with a product key you just need to:

1. Click the Start Button
2. Right-click on Computer and choose Properties
3. Click the Activate Windows online now button located at the bottom of the system properties window
4. Type in your product key.
5. Click Next to activate your Windows copy. It might take a while to complete the process.

After following these steps your Windows 7 copy will be legitimately activated. You will eventually notice that the prompts about not having a legitimate copy of windows will have disappeared.

If you wish to confirm that your Windows 7 Copy activated successfully then you just need to go back to the Windows properties window and see if it shows the message “Windows is Activated”.

Don’t despair if you don’t know the whereabouts of your Windows product key (or even if you don’t have one) and want to get rid of the annoying prompt. There are also ways to activate Windows without having a product key.

How to Activate Windows Without a Product Key

Activating Windows without a product key usually requires you to use a Windows Activator. Using a Windows Activator without owning a legitimate copy of Windows isn’t legal, since it’s basically stealing Windows.

On the plus side, activating Windows without a digital license or product key is free.

There are also ways to activate Windows without using an activator, although Windows activators are arguably easier to use.

Here are two ways of activating Windows without using a product key. One method requires a Windows Activator while the other doesn’t. Choose your preferred method – they both have the same end result.

Method 1: Activate Windows 10 Using a Batch File

This is one of the fastest ways to activate Windows 10 for free. It just requires you to create a batch file, run it as an admin and reboot your computer. Here’s how you do it:

1. Open Notepad
2. Paste the following code:

@echo off

title Windows 10 ALL version activator&cls&echo ************************************&echo Supported products:&echo – Windows 10 Home&echo – Windows 10 Professional&echo – Windows 10 Enterprise, Enterprise LTSB&echo – Windows 10 Education&echo.&echo.&echo ************************************ &echo Windows 10 activation…

cscript //nologo c:\windows\system32\slmgr.vbs /ipk TX9XD-98N7V-6WMQ6-BX7FG-H8Q99 >nul

cscript //nologo c:\windows\system32\slmgr.vbs /ipk 3KHY7-WNT83-DGQKR-F7HPR-844BM >nul

cscript //nologo c:\windows\system32\slmgr.vbs /ipk 7HNRX-D7KGG-3K4RQ-4WPJ4-YTDFH >nul

cscript //nologo c:\windows\system32\slmgr.vbs /ipk PVMJN-6DFY6-9CCP6-7BKTT-D3WVR >nul

cscript //nologo c:\windows\system32\slmgr.vbs /ipk W269N-WFGWX-YVC9B-4J6C9-T83GX >nul

cscript //nologo c:\windows\system32\slmgr.vbs /ipk MH37W-N47XK-V7XM9-C7227-GCQG9 >nul

cscript //nologo c:\windows\system32\slmgr.vbs /ipk NW6C2-QMPVW-D7KKK-3GKT6-VCFB2 >nul

cscript //nologo c:\windows\system32\slmgr.vbs /ipk NW6C2-QMPVW-D7KKK-3GKT6-VCFB2 >nul

cscript //nologo c:\windows\system32\slmgr.vbs /ipk 2WH4N-8QGBV-H22JP-CT43Q-MDWWJ >nul

cscript //nologo c:\windows\system32\slmgr.vbs /ipk NPPR9-FWDCX-D2C8J-H872K-2YT43 >nul

cscript //nologo c:\windows\system32\slmgr.vbs /ipk DPH2V-TTNVB-4X9Q3-TJR4H-KHJW4 >nul

cscript //nologo c:\windows\system32\slmgr.vbs /ipk WNMTR-4C88C-JK8YV-HQ7T2-76DF9 >nul

cscript //nologo c:\windows\system32\slmgr.vbs /ipk 2F77B-TNFGY-69QQF-B8YKP-D69TJ >nul

echo ************************************ &echo.&echo.&set i=1

:server

if %i%==1 set KMS_Sev=kms.chinancce.com

if %i%==2 set KMS_Sev=NextLevel.uk.to

if %i%==3 set KMS_Sev=GuangPeng.uk.to

if %i%==4 set KMS_Sev=AlwaysSmile.uk.to

if %i%==5 set KMS_Sev=kms.chinancce.com

if %i%==6 set KMS_Sev=kms.shuax.com

if %i%==7 exit

cscript //nologo c:\windows\system32\slmgr.vbs /skms %KMS_Sev% >nul

cscript //nologo c:\windows\system32\slmgr.vbs /ato | find /i “successfully” && (echo.&  ************************************ & echo. & choice /n /c YN /m “Do you want to restart your PC now [Y,N]?” & if errorlevel 2 exit) || (echo The connection to the server failed! Trying to connect to another one… & echo Please wait… & echo. & echo. & set /a i+=1 & goto server)

shutdown.exe /r /t 00

1. Save the file as a .bat file
2. Run the saved .bat file as an admin
3. Wait for the command prompt to do its thing
4. Press Y and then enter when prompted to reboot your computer

After rebooting your computer you will notice that the “Activate Windows” prompt is gone. That means your Windows 10 version is successfully activated.

Method 2: Activate Windows using a Windows Activator

KMSPico Activator is one of the most known Windows Activators. You should only download it from websites you trust – some sites mask viruses as Windows activators and your computer will get infected.

Here’s a complete guide how you activate Windows 10 using the Windows activator KMSPico:

1. Download KMSPico from their website or another website you trust
2. Install it using the provided installer
3. Go to the installation directory and run exe
4. Click on the red switch button
5. Wait for it to complete the activation process

After the activation process is complete, your Windows 7 or Windows 10 copy should be successfully activated.

Other Windows activators work in similar ways, however KMSPico is one of the most used activators, which means you’ll easily find it online.

After following any of these steps your Windows copy will be successfully activated and you’ll no longer see the “not genuine” prompts.

Which way did you use to activate your Windows copy? Let us know in the comments below. If you have any other question we’re here to help.