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Easiest ways to make the “Activate Windows” watermark go away forever
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This wikiHow teaches you how to temporarily remove the Windows activation notifications and watermark from an unactivated version of Windows. You can do this by changing a value in the Services menu, or by editing the Windows Registry . Keep in mind that the only way to permanently remove Windows activation notifications is by activating Windows.
How do you remove the activation watermark on Windows?
- Type "services" into the Start menu.
- Click the "Services" option that pops up with a gear icon.
- Click on the "Software Protection" option on the list.
- Hit the "Properties" option.
- Hit "Stop," followed by "OK."
Steps
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Open Start . Click the Windows logo in the bottom-left corner of the screen. The Start menu will open.
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Type services into Start. Doing so searches for the Services app, which lets you control which system processes run.Advertisement
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Click Services . It's a gear-shaped icon at the top of the Start window. The Services window will open.
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Scroll down and click Software Protection . You'll find this service in the "S" section of the window.
- On some computers, this will say sppsvc instead.
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Click the "Properties" icon. It's the folder-shaped icon just below the View tab in the upper-left side of the window. A new window will open.
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Click Stop . This option is in the middle-left side of the window. Doing so will prompt the Software Protection service to stop running.
- If this button is greyed out, you will need to use the Registry instead.
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Click OK . It's at the bottom of the window. Your activation will remain off until you restart or update your computer, at which point you will need to disable it again.
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Open Start . Click the Windows logo in the bottom-left corner of the screen.
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Type regedit into Start. This will search for the Registry Editor command.
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Click regedit . It's a collection of blue blocks at the top of the Start window.
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Click Yes when prompted. Doing so will open the Registry Editor window.
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Expand the "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE" folder. Click to the left of the "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE" folder in the top-left side of the Registry window.
- If you see an indented column of folders below "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE", it's already expanded.
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Expand the "SYSTEM" folder. It's near the bottom of the list of folders inside of the "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE" folder.
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Expand the "CurrentControlSet" folder.
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Expand the "Services" folder. This will result in a long list of folders appearing.
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Scroll down and select the "sppsvc" folder. Click this folder to prompt its contents to display on the right side of the window.
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Select the "Start" file. It's near the bottom of the list of files that's on the right side of the window.
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Click the Edit tab. This option is near the top-left corner of the Registry window. A drop-down menu will appear.
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Click Modify . It's at the top of the drop-down menu. A new window will open.
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Type 4 into the window. This value change will disable the activation notifications.
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Click OK . It's at the bottom of the window. Your activation will remain off until you restart or update your computer, at which point you will need to disable it again.
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Open Start . Click the Windows logo in the bottom-left corner of the screen.
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Open Settings . Click the gear-shaped icon in the left-hand side of the Start window.
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Click Update & security . This circular arrow-shaped icon is at the bottom of the Settings window.
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Click Activation . It's a tab on the left side of the window.
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Activate your copy of Windows. You can do this in one of two ways, depending on whether you have to buy a key or already upgraded for free on a different computer: [1] X Trustworthy Source Microsoft Support Technical support and product information from Microsoft. Go to source
- Free Upgrade - Click Troubleshoot , enter your Microsoft email address and password if prompted, click Activate Windows , and click Activate when prompted.
- Purchased Key - Click Go to store , click Buy below your preferred version of Windows, and enter your payment information.
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Restart your computer. Click Start , click Power , and click Restart . Once your computer finishes restarting, your version of Windows should be activated.
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Community Q&A
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QuestionI can't do the 5th step. The troubleshoot option is not shown and I can't find it anywhere.Community AnswerIf you are in the activation settings window, it should be on the bottom of the screen.
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Tips
- The paid version of Windows has significantly more options for customization than does the free trial version.Thanks
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Warnings
- Avoid software that claims to disable permanently Windows activation notifications, as such programs are usually malware (and even if they aren't, they're highly illegal).Thanks
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About This Article
Thanks to all authors for creating a page that has been read 796,370 times.
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