Are you getting the “This copy of Windows is not genuine” error on your PC? Lets show you how to fix this problem once and for all.
Some Windows users have complained of a pop up error-message, which reads “This copy of Windows is not genuine” or “Windows 7 build 7600”. And it’s commonly encountered during startup on Windows 7 PCs.
While several factors could be in play here, the most notorious cause is expired license keys.
To fix this error, we’ll be showing you some workarounds in this guide.
Fix: Windows Not Genuine
This error is practically harmless, except for the blackened background display. It is neither a bug nor is it a corruption caused by cyber threats, but rather a system notification; hence, it can easily be bypassed by closing the pop up window.
The main problem here is that; the error just keeps coming back, no matter how many times you close it, to the point of becoming a nuisance.
In any case, you can try the fixes below:
Fix in Command Prompt
To fix this error in Command Prompt, follow the steps below:
- Open Start menu: click on the ‘Windows’ icon
- In the menu, key in “cmd” in the searchbar and press Enter.
- On the search results, locate and right-click on exe.
- Select Run as administrator. This will take you to the Command Prompt window.
- In the cmd window, type in the following command
- “SLMGR -REARM”.
- Press Enter.
- Confirm action in the confirmation prompt.
- Exit Command Prompt and restart PC.
- Check if the error is fixed.
Normally, if it’s fixed, the “This copy of Windows is not genuine” error (or the likes) would not come up during startup (restart). If it persists, you can try the next fix.
Uninstall Faulty Update(s)
At times, this error is caused due to faulty or incomplete installation of some updates. Typically, if this error is experienced after an update, a faulty update is probably the cause of the error.
To fix this, all you have to do is to identify and remove the faulty update(s).
Follow the guidelines below to do this:
- Navigate to the Start menu, and select Control Panel.
- Locate and click on Windows Update.
- Select View installed updates.
- Locate an update tagged “KB971033” (or something similar), and uninstall it.
- Restart PC.
Check if the error is fixed. If it persists, you can go back to: Start > Control Panel > Windows Update > Check for updates. And install available updates. This should fix the error.
Closing Note
As emphasized in this tutorial, the most probable cause of this error is an expired license or activation key. Hence, the ultimate solution would be to obtain a new activation/license key(s).
However, at times, it could that you’re actually running a counterfeit copy of Windows, in which case, there is nothing you can do to fix the error.
Hope you find this post helpful?
Daniel Segun is a Content Writer with over 4 years experience revolving around Technology, Digital Marketing, and Business. When he is not writing, he is probably busy building websites. You can reach him at his official website.
