Fix Windows Update Error 0x80072EE2

The Windows Update service, just like other services in Windows 10 may sometimes experience some issues and stop behaving properly. One of the issues you might encounter as you use the Windows Update service is the Windows Update error 0x8024A10A. This kind of error code signifies that the Windows Update service is shutting down. So if you encounter this error, read on as this post will guide you on how you can fix it. When you receive the Windows Update error 0x8024A10A, you may see this error message on your screen: “USO_E_SERVICE_SHUTTING_DOWN indicates that the WU Service is shutting down. This may happen due to a very long period of time of inactivity, a system hang leading to the service being idle and leading to the shutdown of the service. Ensure that the system remains active and the connections remain established to complete the upgrade.” You could try to restart your computer to resolve the problem since there are instances when a simple restart can fix errors. However, if it does not work, you might find the options provided below useful.

Option 1 – Try to restart the Windows Update Service

The first thing you can do to fix Windows Update error 0x8024A10A is to restart the Windows Update Service from the Services Manager. To do so, follow these steps:

• In the Cortana search box, type “services” and click on the Services icon to open the Services Manager. Alternatively, you can also tap the Win + R keys to launch the Run prompt and then type “services.msc” in the field and hit Enter to open the Services Manager.
• After opening the Services Manager, look for the Windows Update Service.
• Once you found it, right-click on it and check if the Service is stopped. If it is, then select the Start option. On the other hand, if the Windows Update Service is already started, just select the Restart option.
• After that, try to run the Windows Update again and see if the error 0x8024A10A is now fixed.

Option 2 – Run the Windows Update Troubleshooter

Since the Windows Update troubleshooter reviews the status of the services that support the process, it would prompt and fix it if there is anything that’s not right. Thus, you might want to run a built-in Windows Update troubleshooter to resolve the Windows Update error. It is one of the things you can check out as it is known to automatically resolve any Windows Update errors like error 0x8024A10A. To run this troubleshooter, go to Settings and then select Troubleshoot from the options. From there, click on Windows Update and then click the “Run the troubleshooter” button. After that, follow the next on-screen instructions and you should be good to go.

Option 3 – Run Microsoft’s online troubleshooter

Aside from the Windows Update troubleshooter, running Microsoft’s online troubleshooter might also help you fix the Windows Update Error 0x8024A10A. This online troubleshooter is known to help in fixing Windows Update errors, it scans your computer for issues that might be causing the problem and then fixes them automatically.

Option 4 – Try to run the Windows Update Service in a Clean Boot State

There are some instances that some conflicting programs installed in your computer might be the one that’s causing Windows Update error code 0x8024A10A. To identify which program is causing the problem, you need to put your computer in a Clean Boot State. To do so, follow the steps below.

• Log onto your PC as an administrator.
• Type in MSConfig in the Start Search to open the System Configuration utility.
• From there, go to the General tab and click “Selective startup”.
• Clear the “Load Startup items” check box and make sure that the “Load System Services” and “Use Original boot configuration” options are checked.
• Next, click the Services tab and select the “Hide All Microsoft Services” check box.
• Click Disable all.
• Click on Apply/OK and restart your PC. (This will put your PC into a Clean Boot State. And configure Windows to use the usual startup, just simply undo the changes.)
• Now try to run the Windows Update Service again and see if Windows Update error 0x8024A10A is now gone.

VSSControl: 2147467259 Backup jobs failed. Cannot create a shadow copy of the volumes containing the writer’s data. VSS asynchronous operation is not completed. Code: [0x8004231f]

This message pops up when you are creating a snapshot system restore, usually, the issue is tied with insufficient space or service stopping. We will go into detail about how to fix both so you can finish the operation without any issue.

1. Check Volume Shadow Copy Services

   Easier and faster fix than the next one. Launch Services from the Start Menu, look for Volume Shadow Copy, double-click on it, and check the Service status. If it is stopped, click on the Start button. If it’s running, restart it by clicking Stop > Start.

2. Increase Shadow Storage Space

   If the first fix didn’t resolve the issue then you need to increase Shadow Storage Space. Launch Command Prompt as an administrator. Now, type the following command to check your Shadow Storage Space. vssadmin list shadowstorage Now, type the following command to allocate more storage (you can change 10GB with the amount of space you want to allocate) vssadmin resize shadowstorage /For=C: /On=C: /MaxSize=10GB

Google Chrome is the most used browser in the world with the most user downloads. Most users are using browsers how it is, open it up and just surf but Chrome offers more than just plain surfing. Here we are presenting you with some interesting features that most users do not use but should.

Use Omnibox to search inside websites

Chrome's Omnibox, also known as the address bar got its name because it can do much more than just search the internet. You already probably know that just by typing any word you will search the internet with Google or another search engine of choice.

You can also set specific keywords inside Chrome settings to tie them with specific websites, for example, you can tie the letter E with errortools, and then just by typing E windows error you will search term windows error on website errortools. There are some already predefined things and you can add anything you want so this is a great feature in order to speed up your work skipping part of actually opening the site.

Search the internet for selected text

On any webpage, you can simply select any text and right-click on it to get a new menu entry that will say search Google for "your selected text" and by clicking on it you will automatically search the net for the selected term.

Grouping tabs

When we surf the internet some of us tend to have plenty of open tabs and over time they can clutter and shrink in width making the surfing experience an unpleasant one.

Chrome has tab groups and you really need to start using them since you can organize much better all the tabs, even color-code them.

Search all open tabs

On top right part on title bar right next to minimize button there is small arrow pointing down, once you clik on it all opened tabs will be displayed by name as a listand by clicking on it you will automatically switch to it.

Change download location

Google Chrome has its default download destination but you can change that destination and even turn on option to be asked where you would like your download to be saved each time.

Live Captions

YouTube has cations for its videos but Chrome itself has live caption option in order to provide you with automatic AI captions for any type of video or audio on any website. If you are struggling with following what is being said try this awesome option.

Extensions

Using extensions in Chrome is awesome, specialy if extensions are usefull but if you go incognito they are not active. There is an option in Chrome to turn on the extensions even in incognito mode and even better, you can even choose which ones you want to be active, you do not need to turn all of them.

When you try to open a website but instead encounter an “Access Denied, You don’t have permission to access on this server” error message along with the ULR which you aren’t able to access with a reference number, then it is most likely caused by some network-related issue in your browser. Note that this error mostly occurs on Firefox browsers. The “Access Denied” error appears when your Mozilla Firefox browser uses a different proxy setting or VPN instead of what’s really set on your Windows 10 PC. Thus, when a website detected that there is something wrong with your browser cookies or your network, it blocks you which is why you can’t open it. To resolve this error, here are some suggestions you can try. And if you got the same error message on a different browser, you can still follow the possible solutions given below.

Option 1 – Try clearing everything about the website

• Open your browser and tap the Ctrl + H keys on your keyboard.
• After that, look for the listing of the website from your browser history and right-click on it.
• Then select the “Forget about this site” option. This will get rid of all the data such as browsing history, cache, cookies, and passwords. Thus, if you have a password saved or other important data of the website, you have to save it first before you tap the Ctrl + H keys.

Option 2 – Try disabling the VPN

As pointed out earlier, if you are using VPN, this could be the reason why you’re getting the “Access Denied” error so the most obvious thing to do is for you to turn off the VPN and try to run the Windows Update once more. And if you use a VPN software that works using their software, you can just completely exit or log-off from its account. On the other hand, if you are using a built-in Windows 10 VPN, you can simply turn it off or delete all the settings you have created there.

Option 3 – Uninstall the VPN service you are using or use a different provider

If you disabling the VPN service worked in fixing the “Access Denied” error, you might want to uninstall it. As mentioned, website administrator blocks IP ranges if they notice any malicious activities and because of this, your IP address might fall into the banned range even if you didn’t do anything at all. To uninstall the VPN service, follow the steps below.

• Tap the Win + R keys to open the Run dialog box
• Then type “appwiz.cpl” in the field and hit Enter to open the Programs and Features in Control Panel.
• From there, look for the VPN service you are using, select it and then click on Uninstall to remove it.
• After that, restart your computer and try to install the latest version of the program again. It should work now. If not, proceed to the next available option below.

Option 4 – Try disabling the proxy server for your LAN

If your PC was just attacked by some adware or malware as of late, it is possible that it has changed the network settings in the system and might display spam advertisements. Thus, you have to disable the proxy server for your LAN. To do that, refer to these steps:

• Tap the Win + R keys to open the Run dialog box.
• Then type “inetcpl.cpl” in the field and hit Enter to pull up the Internet Properties.
• After that, go to the Connections tab and select the LAN settings.
• From there. Uncheck the “Use a Proxy Server” option for your LAN and then make sure that the “Automatically detect settings” option is checked.
• Now click the OK and the Apply buttons.
• Restart your PC.

Note: If you are using a third-party proxy service, you have to disable it.

The Windows Defender program can both scan and monitor almost the entire folder on a Windows 10 computer. So if you have a folder that may have files that could trigger an alarm to Windows Security, then it would be better if you add an exclusion to Windows Security. Note that it is okay to do this as long as you’re certain that the contents of the folder you want to exclude are safe and that Windows Defender is only throwing out warnings for nothing. This way, Windows Defender won’t scan those folders in the future. And besides, there are also some Windows folders and files that you may exclude from the Antivirus scans, especially if you want to save your scan time. This kind of feature also comes in handy when you trust a file type or folder or any process that you believe is safe but the Windows Security considers as malicious. To exclude a folder or a file or process or a file type from the Windows Security scan, here are some steps you can follow. Make sure to do them carefully. Step 1: Search for “Windows Security” in the Search box and then click on it from the search results to open it. Step 2: Next, click on Virus & threat protection > Manage settings > Add or remove exclusions. Step 3: After that, on the next screen, click on Add an exclusion > Folder. It will show you a list that includes File, Folder, File Type, and Process. Step 4: Now click on “+Add and exclusion” on the next window and then select a folder you want to exclude and click OK to add it in the Exclusions list. Step 5: Click on the down arrow button to remove it and then click on the Remove button. Note: If you want to only ignore a few file types, it’s better if you configure your antivirus program to ignore these files with a specific extension. This way, it will ignore all of them no matter what their location is. Also keep in mind that when you select a folder, all the subfolders in it will also be excluded from the scan. Thus, you need to understand what you’re about to do. Once you’re done excluding the folder, it is recommended that you protect the folder using the Controlled Folder Access since this folder is not monitored for threat. The Controlled Folder Access will ensure that an external program does not alter it. This way, you can be sure that even though this folder is not included in the scan, it is still secure.

MovieGoat is a browser extension that allegedly lets you search for your favorite videos using its simple search engine. From the author:

Search for your favorite movies online, stay updated with the latest news and trends, and keep an eye on what’s up and coming in the world of cinema.

Simply type goat+ SpaceTab + query at the chrome search bar.

MovieGoat hijacks your browser, replacing your default search engine, displaying sponsored videos when you use its search and will display pop-up ads during your browsing experience. This extension has been detected as a Browser Hijacker by several anti-virus scanners and is not recommended to keep on your computer, especially because it serves no other purpose than to display pop-up ads and negatively impact your browsing experience.

About Browser Hijackers

Browser hijack is a common type of internet fraud where your internet browser configuration settings are modified to make it carry out things you never intend. There are numerous reasons why you may have an internet browser hijack; however commercial, advertising, and marketing are definitely the primary reasons for their creation. Usually, hijackers are made for the benefit of cyber hackers usually through income generation from forced ad clicks and site visits. Most people assume that these types of websites are legitimate and harmless but that is incorrect. Almost every browser hijacker poses an actual threat to your online safety and it’s important to categorize them under privacy risks. Some browser hijackers are designed to make particular modifications beyond the web browsers, like altering entries on the system registry and permitting other types of malware to further damage your PC.

How you can recognize a browser hijack

When your browser is hijacked, the following could happen: your homepage has been reset to some unfamiliar webpage; you find yourself regularly directed to some other site than the one you meant; The default search page of web browser is altered; you are finding new toolbars you have never witnessed before; you’ll notice random pop-ups start showing regularly; websites load very slowly and sometimes incomplete; Inability to navigate to particular websites, particularly anti-malware as well as other computer security software websites.

How it infects your computer

Browser hijackers can get into a computer in some way or other, for example via downloads, file sharing, and email too. They may also be deployed through the installation of a web browser toolbar, add-on, or extension. A browser hijacker can also come bundled up with some freeware which you unwittingly download and install the browser hijack, compromising your computer security. A good example of some infamous browser hijackers includes Anyprotect, Conduit, Babylon, SweetPage, DefaultTab, Delta Search, and RocketTab, however, the names are constantly changing. Browser hijacking can bring about severe privacy problems and even identity theft, affect your browsing experience by taking control over outbound traffic, substantially slows down your computer by consuming lots of resources, and cause system instability also.

Removal

One thing you could try to eliminate a browser hijacker is to locate the malicious software within the “Add or Remove Programs” list of the Windows Control Panel. It might or might not be there. If it is, uninstall it. But, most browser hijackers are hard to eliminate manually. Irrespective of how much you attempt to get rid of it, it could come back again and again. On top of that, manual removal demands you to carry out several time-consuming and complicated procedures which are very hard to complete for new computer users.

What you can do if Virus Prevents You From Downloading Or Installing Antivirus?

Malware can cause all sorts of damage if they invade your PC, ranging from stealing your personal information to erasing files on your computer. Some malware is created to restrict or block things that you want to do on your PC. It may not allow you to download anything from the net or it will prevent you from accessing a few or all of the internet sites, particularly the antivirus sites. If you’re reading this article, odds are you’re stuck with a virus infection that is preventing you to download or install Safebytes Anti-Malware software on your computer system. There are a few solutions you can attempt to get around with this particular obstacle.

Boot your computer in Safe Mode

If the malware is set to load automatically when Microsoft Windows starts, entering safe mode could block this attempt. Just the minimum required applications and services are loaded whenever you boot your computer or laptop in Safe Mode. Here are the steps you need to follow to boot into the Safe Mode of your Windows XP, Vista, or 7 computers (visit Microsoft site for directions on Windows 8 and 10 PCs). 1) At power on, hit the F8 key before the Windows splash screen begins to load. This would conjure up the Advanced Boot Options menu. 2) Select Safe Mode with Networking using arrow keys and hit Enter. 3) Once you get into this mode, you will have internet access once again. Now, obtain the malware removal program you want by using the internet browser. To install the software, follow the directions in the installation wizard. 4) Following installation, do a complete scan and allow the program to remove the threats it detects.

Use an alternate web browser to download security software

Malicious code could exploit vulnerabilities in a particular browser and block access to all antivirus software websites. If you are not able to download the anti-virus software program using Internet Explorer, it means malware may be targeting IE’s vulnerabilities. Here, you need to switch over to another web browser such as Chrome or Firefox to download Safebytes Anti-malware software.

Install and run anti-malware from a USB drive

Here’s yet another solution which is utilizing a portable USB antivirus software package that can check your computer for viruses without the need for installation. Follow these steps to use a USB flash drive to clean your corrupted computer system. 1) Download Safebytes Anti-Malware or Windows Defender Offline onto a clean PC. 2) Insert the USB drive into the clean computer. 3) Double-click the exe file to run the installation wizard. 4) When asked, choose the location of the USB drive as the place in which you would like to store the software files. Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the installation. 5) Disconnect the flash drive. You can now utilize this portable anti-malware on the affected computer system. 6) Double-click the antivirus program EXE file on the USB flash drive. 7) Hit the “Scan” button to run a full computer scan and remove viruses automatically.

Protect your PC from Malware With SafeBytes Security Suite

If you are looking to install anti-malware software for your computer, there are plenty of tools on the market to consider nonetheless, you should not trust blindly anyone, no matter whether it is a paid or free software. A few are good ones, some are ok types, and some are simply just bogus anti-malware applications that can damage your personal computer themselves! You need to pick one that is efficient, practical, and has a strong reputation for its malware protection. On the list of strongly recommended software by industry analysts is SafeBytes Anti-Malware, the safest program for Microsoft Windows. SafeBytes anti-malware is a trusted software that not only secures your computer permanently but is also very user-friendly for people of all ability levels. With its outstanding protection system, this tool will automatically detect and remove most of the security threats, including browser hijackers, viruses, adware, ransomware, PUPs, and trojans. SafeBytes possesses a plethora of amazing features that can help you protect your PC from malware attack and damage. Here are a few of the best ones: Most effective AntiMalware Protection: Using its enhanced and sophisticated algorithm, this malware removal tool can identify and eliminate the malware threats hiding within your computer system effectively. Active Protection: Malware programs trying to get into the system are identified and stopped as and when detected by the SafeBytes active protection shields. It will constantly monitor your laptop or computer for hacker activity and also gives users advanced firewall protection. Web Protection: SafeBytes checks and provides a unique safety rating to every single website you visit and block access to web pages considered to be phishing sites, thus safeguarding you against identity theft, or known to contain malware. High-Speed Malware Scanning Engine: This tool has got one of the fastest and most efficient virus scanning engines in the industry. The scans are very accurate and take a little time to complete. Lowest CPU and Memory Usage: SafeBytes is a lightweight tool. It consumes a very small amount of processing power as it operates in the background so you are free to use your Windows-based PC the way you really want. 24/7 Online Support: For any technical queries or product support, you can get 24/7 expert assistance through chat and e-mail.

Technical Details and Manual Removal (Advanced Users)

If you wish to manually remove MovieGoat without the use of an automated tool, it may be possible to do so by removing the program from the Windows Add/Remove Programs menu, or in cases of browser extensions, going to the browsers AddOn/Extension manager and removing it. You will likely also want to reset your browser. To ensure the complete removal, manually check your hard drive and registry for all of the following and remove or reset the values accordingly. Please note that this is for advanced users only and may be difficult, with incorrect file removal causing additional PC errors. In addition, some malware is capable of replicating or preventing deletion. Doing this in Safe Mode is advised.

The following files, folders, and registry entries are created or modified by MovieGoat

One of the essential parts of the Windows 10 operating system is the Microsoft Store as it is the distribution hub of numerous applications such as Netflix, Facebook, and many more. In fact, Microsoft is planning to make it a hub not just for UWP applications but also Windows Classic applications. Microsoft has already built a bridge with the power of Project Centennial which allows developers to migrate and upload their Windows Classic applications to the Microsoft Store. Although the Microsoft Store has been constantly improving, there are still times when you might face an error while using it. One of these errors is error 0x80131500. When you encounter this error, you will get the following error message on your screen:

“Try that again, Something happened at our end, Waiting a bit might help, The error code is 0x80131500 in case you need it.”

To fix this error, you can try changing your internet connection, toggle the date & time settings, change DNS, create a new user account, run the Microsoft Store Apps troubleshooter or reset the Microsoft Store as well re-register it using Windows PowerShell.

Option 1 – Try changing your internet connection

The first thing you can do is to change your internet connection. If you are using Ethernet, you can try to connect to a Wi-Fi connection instead and see if it helps.

Option 2 – Try to toggle the Date and Time settings

The first thing you can try is to sync the Date and Time of your computer as the wrong Date and Time settings are one of the most common causes of connection problems like the error 0x80131500. This is because of the incompatibility between the SSL Certificate validation date and the System Clock. Thus, you have to sync your System Clock. Refer to the steps below to do so.

• Start by tapping the Win + I keys to open the Windows Settings.
• Next, go to Time & Language > Date & time.
• From there, turn the toggle on for the “Set time automatically and Set time zone automatically” option on the right-side panel.
• After that, click on Region & language located on the left side panel and make sure that the Country or region on the right-side panel is set to the country you live in.
• Now close the Settings app and restart your computer and see if it fixes the problem or not.

Option 3 – Try to change the DNS Server

In this option, you can try changing your current DNS settings to the Google Public DNS as it could also help in fixing error 0x80131500. To do so, follow the steps below.

• The first thing you have to do is right-click on the network icon in the Taskbar and select Network and Sharing Center.
• Next, click on the “Change Adapter Settings” option.
• After that, search for the network connection that you are using to connect to the internet. Note that the option might be “Wireless Connection” or “Local Area Connection”.
• Right-click on your network connection and click on Properties.
• Then select the new window to choose the “Internet Protocol 4 (TCP/IPv4)” option.
• After that, click on the Properties button and click the checkbox in the new window for the option “Use the following DNS server addresses”.
• Type in “8.8.8.8” and “8.8.4.4” and click OK and exit.

Option 4 – Try to create a new Administrator User account

If you have a standard account, you can try creating a new account but this time, you create an administrator user account and then see if the error is fixed or not. Note that you have to sign in with your main account before you can create an admin account.

Option 5 – Run the Microsoft Store Apps troubleshooter

The Microsoft Store Apps Troubleshooter will help you in fixing the error 0x80131500. This is a great built-in tool from Microsoft that helps users fix any app installation issues. So this is worth a try to solve the problem. This built-in tool also helps you fix the Windows 10 Store if it isn’t working. To use the Windows Store Troubleshooter, follow the steps below.

1. Tap Win + I keys again to open the Windows Settings panel.
2. Go to Update & Security and then go to Troubleshoot.
3. On your right-hand side, scroll down to find the Windows Store Apps and then click on the Run the troubleshooter option and see if it fixes the problem.

Option 6 – Try to reset the Microsoft Store cache

Just like browsers, Microsoft Store also caches as you view apps and games so it is most likely that the cache is no longer valid and must be removed. To do so, follow the steps below.

• Right-click on the start button and click on Command Prompt (administrator).
• Next, type in the command, “exe” and tap Enter. Once you do, the command will clear the cache for the Windows Store app.
• Now restart your PC and afterward, try opening Microsoft Store again and then try to install your app or update your computer again.

Option 7 – Try to re-register the Microsoft Store app via PowerShell

• Tap the Win + X key combination or right-click on the Start button and click on the Windows PowerShell (Admin) option.
• If a User Account Control or UAC prompt appears, just click on Yes to proceed and open the Windows PowerShell window.
• Next, type in or copy-paste the following command to re-register the Microsoft Store app and tap Enter:

powershell -ExecutionPolicy Unrestricted Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register $Env:SystemRootWinStoreAppxManifest.xml

• Wait for the process to be completed and then restart your computer.

QuickLook app is one of the best options to preview files without opening them in Windows 10. It works similar to the Quick Look feature of macOS. This Microsoft Store app has some really interesting features. It lets you preview images, documents, and media files. Also, just a hotkey is needed to preview the content of a file. There is no interface for the app. Only a preview window is visible. You can also expand the preview window to full size. Apart from that, it lets you keep the preview window on top of the other opened applications. For image files, it also provides the EXIF data. After installing this app, just select some file that you want to preview, and press the Spacebar key. That’s it! The preview window will open immediately to view the file content. If you would like to read more helpful articles and tips about various software and hardware visit errortools.com daily.

Razer is a well-known brand among PC gamers and users, it started as a peripheral manufacturer focused on keyboards and mouse but after years passed Razer expanded its inventory offerings. It soon started offering headphones and lately has branched into wider product lines like gaming chairs and protection masks. It is not a big surprise that Razer is expanding into other branches of the PC industry. This time, however, it has revealed not one but three new hardware for your PC. Case fans, all in one liquid cooler and power supply. There are not many details about the products themselves but one thing is one hundred percent confirmed, they come with Razer Chroma, all of them, even the fans.

Katana Chroma ATX PSU

Most interesting for me personally is Razers Katana, the power supply unit. It is a modular power supply ranging from 750W to 1200W with the additional option of Titanium rated one with an impressive 1600W of power. Power supply will start shipping in early 2022 and at the time of writing this article no price range has been released.

Razer Hanbo AIO

Hanbo liquid cooler will feature an optimized intake design so it can ensure greater heat transfer and fluid dynamic for improved reliability and silent operation. Radiator comes in 240mm size with two fans and a larger one of 360mm with three fans. The pump will be able to rotate in any direction of full 360 degrees so it can fit in any case. Hanbo will be released in November this year but no pricing has been released so far.

Razer Kunai Chroma case fans

Kunai fans will boast high static pressure performance with lowered noise. They will go as far as 2200rpm for the 120mm version where the 140mm version will go up to 1600rpm. They will come with addressable LEDs and up to eight fans will be able to be connected to Razer’s PWM fan controller that will come with a magnet at the back for easy attachment to any steel part of PC casing. PWM will use Razer’s Synapse software to customize pulse width modulation in order to improve airflow and noise. PWM will be priced at $49.99 in the Razer Store and it is available for preorder. Fans are priced at $44.99 for one 120mm or $129.99 for a three-pack of 120mm. One 140mm will go for $49.99 and a three-pack will be $129.99.

If you suddenly encounter Activation Error codes such as 0xC004E016, 0xC004F210, 0xC004F034, and 0xC004F00F on your Windows 10 computer, then they all point to the same issue – Invalid Product Key or Version mismatch. When you see any of the aforementioned error codes above, it indicates that you are either entering a wrong product key or you are using an incorrect ISO when installing it on your computer. In such cases, you may see either of the following error messages:

“You are running Windows 10 Pro, but you have a valid digital license for Windows 10 Home.” Or: “The specified product key is invalid or is unsupported by this version.”

If you got the error code 0xC004F00F then it means that you’ve entered a product key for the Enterprise edition of Windows to activate Windows 10 Pro or Windows 10 Home. It could be that you have a key from your work and you accidentally use it on your Home PC. If you got the error codes 0xC004E016, 0xC004F210, then it means that you have entered a product key that is meant for a different edition or version of Windows. On the other hand, if you got the error code 0xC004F034 instead, then it means that you have entered an invalid product key or a product key for a different Windows version. Whichever error codes you have, refer to the possible solutions given below to fix the Invalid Product Key or Version mismatch Activation Error in Windows 10.

Option 1 – Try running the Windows 10 Activation Troubleshooter

The first thing you can do to resolve this Activation error is to run the Windows 10 Activation Troubleshooter. To do so, follow these steps:

• Go to Settings and then select Activation.
• After that, click on the Windows Activation and then troubleshoot. This will help you address most of the commonly found activation issues in Windows devices.

Option 2 – Try purchasing a new license

There is an exception offered by Microsoft – if you are connected to a Microsoft account prior to the hardware change, then you can most certainly use the same license key to reactivate Windows 10 again. Microsoft calls this an “Exception path” which should be fixed easily by the Windows Activation Troubleshooter as pointed out earlier. However, if the Windows Activation Troubleshooter isn’t able to resolve the error you can try purchasing a new license. In such rate case, even if you do have a Microsoft account available on your Windows 10 computer, and if Windows was never activated, this solution will not work. And if you haven’t connected your Microsoft account with your Windows 10 computer prior to the major hardware change, then your only option left is to purchase a new license. For you to do that here are some steps you can follow.

• To purchase a new Windows license, the first thing you have to do is click on the Start button > Settings > Update & Security.
• From there, go to Activation and select the “Go to Microsoft Store” option.
• After receiving your new license, you need to go back to Update & Security then go to Activation and select the “Change product key” option.
• Now update your Windows 10 computer using the new key and it should automatically activate your computer.
• Next, you have to create a Microsoft account or connect to your existing local account to your online account.
• Once the system links the key and the account, you need not buy a new license in case something like this happens again.

Note: If you are an IT administrator, you need to keep in mind that there is a limit to the number of times you can reactivate Windows on your computer. Moreover, if you don’t see any option to reactivate the license, and it is a work computer, you need to contact your organization’s tech support.

Option 3 – Try activating Windows 10 via mobile phone

Activating Windows 10 can also be done using your phone. Just note that you have to call Microsoft to do so.

• In the Start Search box, type in “Slui 4” and tap Enter.
• Next, select your country and click on Next.
• Keep the window open and call the toll-free number of the country you’re from.
• Afterward, a confirmation ID should be given by the automated system which you must take a note of.
• Finally, in the box on the window, type in the confirmation ID and click on the Activate button. That should do it.