Hello. I have a problem with my Windows activation status. I enjoyed my Precision M3800 (Late 2013) for over a year now. It came with an activated, pre-installed version of Windows 8.1. Recently I tried out the Windows 10 Insider Preview from the official Microsoft page, however since it was buggy I shift-restarted and restored the system back to its factory image.
Windows 8.1 reinstalled successfully and synchronised everything back from my MS account, however now it reports that it is not activated and my product key is invalid. This is the first time I restored the system on this laptop, so I don't know if it's Windows 10 or Dell Restore at fault.
I tried extracting the key from BIOS using 3rd party software, and it displays the same key that's being reported by Windows as invalid (or at least, the last visible 5 characters matched).
I contacted Microsoft over chat and the assistant walked me through the 'slui 4' activation, however upon giving her the codes displayed she said she was unable to activate and I should contact Dell.
Restoring to factory again and updating the BIOS didn't help.
How can I get my Windows activation status back to what it was when I first opened the box? It would be especially nice to have it since only genuine systems will carry on the genuine status when I upgrade to the finished Windows 10.
My hardware:
Precision M3800 (Late 2013), the 2.20GHz / 8 GB version with Windows 8.1 Pro.