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Question about error code 0xC004E003 AKA reusing my own CD key.
So to begin with, I used to have a Dell Studio XPS laptop that I had been using for about 3 1/2 years that finally died on me about a month ago. I just finished building my new desktop last night and installed windows just fine. However right now however there is a button that says "3 days until automatic activation. Activate Windows now." and so I clicked the button. Before my old laptop went belly up, I used Belarc administration tools to extract the Windows 7 CD key from my lap top. I have it written down and I used this Dell reinstallation disk below:
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I tried inputting my CD key that I extracted from my laptop last night and it gave me error code 0xC004E003. Do you guys know of any legitimate solutions to this? I mean the other machine is out of commission so it's not like I'm trying to pull a fast one on Microsoft and use windows on two machines at the same time. Any legitimate ways to solve this issue? Otherwise I may just resort to software cracks or something like that to fix it before I can buy a new CD key.
EDIT: I should also add that this new desktop is a custom built PC. I did not just buy another dell. I bought the individual pieces of hardware for it.
Thanks!