Windows 10 Key Code

[jraparrish]

I had to replace a motherboard on my Windows 10 Pro computer. I specifically replaced it with an identical board hoping Windows would not require re-activation. Unfortunately, the serial number is apparently part of the hardware profile it is looking at. Anyway, this is my issue. I did not have time at that moment to look thru my paper files for the Windows sticker with the keycode for this machine, and just simply opened Speccy to find it. I entered it and was rejected. So I entered a chat with Microsoft support and they dug around in the OS and found the key code, which was completely different from the original key I entered. Long story short, they could see the installation date was 6 months ago, and I showed them a digital copy of the receipt for the board. The came up with a new key and activated windows for me. Here is the problem, the key code they used to activate, is totally different than the one Speccy displays now. It did however change, but it is different than either one of the keys I used. Can anyone tell me if this is a common issue?

[Andavari]

From what I've seen in multitudes of software that read the key from the registry they won't help because what's required during setup is the Certificate of Authenticity (at least it was back in the day), and I've never had any software successfully display what's printed on the install discs or the physical sticker on the computer case -- they're reading something entirely different.