Fix: “This copy of Windows is not genuine” Error

This guide will show you how to fix “This copy of Windows is not genuine” Error. One of the most typical errors in the Windows operating system is “This copy of Windows is not genuine.” If you get this problem, your desktop wallpaper will turn into a black screen, the laptop’s battery life will go down as this notice continues flashing up, and more.

Some parts of Windows 11/10 won’t work if you don’t get rid of this notification. This notice flashes up all the time, which can be bothersome, especially while you’re working on vital things. But you can still do other things on your PC, like do your work and use it as you used to.

Once you install the Windows OS on your computer, you have a few days to use the activation key to turn it on. Activating your copy makes sure that it is real and licensed. If your copy of Windows isn’t activated or if Windows thinks it’s been stolen, you can get the message This version of Windows is not the real deal.

Ways Fix “This copy of Windows is not genuine” Error

Resetting the licensing status of your computer

Once you have removed update KB971033, you must reset your computer’s license status so that the “This copy of Windows is not genuine” notice no longer appears on your desktop. To do so, you need to:

• Open the Start Menu.
• Search for “cmd”.
• Right-click on the search result named cmd and click on Run as administrator. This will launch an elevated Command Prompt that has administrative privileges.
• Type the following command-line into the elevated Command Prompt and press Enter:

slmgr -rearm

• You will see a confirmation window. Click on OK.
• Restart your computer, and once it boots up, you will see that the “This copy of Windows is not genuine” message is no longer there. Your desktop will still have a blank black background, but you are going to have to fix that yourself by right-clicking on an empty space on your desktop, clicking on personalizing and changing your desktop background.

Uninstalling update KB971033

First, you need to remove update KB971033 from your machine. But bear in mind that this is only half of the solution to getting rid of the “This copy of Windows is not genuine” notice and won’t fix the problem on its own. You can also go to the official Microsoft support site for more information about this error. To get rid of KB971033 update, you need to:

• Open the Start Menu.
• Search for “windows update”.
• Click on the search result titled Windows Update under the Programs
• Click on View installed updates in the left pane.
• Once all of your installed updates have been loaded and you can see them in the right pane, sift through them, locate update KB971033, right-click on it and click on Uninstall in the contextual menu.
• Go through the uninstallation process and then restart your computer. Move onto Phase 2 once your computer boots up.

Reconfiguring Plug and Play Service

In some situations, your computer’s policy might not be set up correctly, which could stop some services from starting on your computer. In this stage, we’ll alter some of the system’s rules and make sure that the Plug and Play Security service can start up automatically. This is why:

• Press “Windows” + “R” on your keyboard to launch the Run prompt.
• Type in ‘Rsop.msc” and press “Enter”.
• Setup should start after you perform the above step, let the setup complete and the Resultant Set of Policy window will open up.
• Double click on the “Computer Configuration” option to expand it and then double click on the “Windows Settings” option.
• After that, double click on the “Security Settings” and then double click on the “System Services” option.
• In the right pane, there should be a comprehensive list of services that are supposed to be running in the background.
• Find the “Plug and Play” service from the list and double click on it to open its properties.
• In the “Select Service Startup Mode” option, check the “Automatic” option, and make sure to save your changes.
• Now exit out of the window after making sure that your changes have been saved.
• Press “Windows” + “R” to launch the Run prompt again and type in the following command.

gpupdate/force

• Press “Enter” to execute this command and wait for its execution to be completed.
• Restart your computer and check to see if the issue still persists.