Remove Windows 10 Watermark Activate Windows

Windows 10 activation watermark appears on the desktop if you don’t activate your copy of Windows 10 once the 90-day trial period is over. It may also happen is that you are still seeing this watermark even when you have activated your Windows 10. In that case, if you are thinking how to remove the Windows 10 activation watermark permanently, this article will help you out. Simply follow these easy methods and the activation watermark will be gone in no time at all.

  1. Remove Windows 10 Watermark Activate Windows 8
  2. Remove Windows 10 Watermark Activate Windows 8.1
  3. Windows 10 Activate Windows Watermark Remove
  4. Hide Activate Windows Watermark

Fix-1 Modify your Registry-

Well, do not worry, we’ve got your back. Here are the top three ways to permanently remove the Activate Windows watermark on Windows 10 PC. Remove ‘Activate Windows’ Watermark from Windows 10 Why Do You See Activate Windows The post 3 Ways to Remove Activate Windows Watermark on Windows 10 appeared first on Gadgets To Use. Remove Activate Windows 10 Watermark: 4 Easy Methods Method 1: Edit the Registry. You need to modify the registry to remove the activate watermark from Windows 10. Method 2: Run Batch File. Another method to remove the “Activate Windows” watermark from Windows 10 is a simple notepad.

Changing the value of the ‘Start‘ key will solve this issue for you.



1. Click on the Search box and then type “regedit“.

2. Now, click on “Registry Editor” from the search results to open it on your computer.

NOTE

Once the Registry Editor appears, click on “File” > “Export” to create a backup of the registry. Don’t forget to save the backup in an easily accessible place.

If anything bad happens to your system, you can retrieve your registry by simply importing the backup.

3. In Registry Editor window, on the left-hand side, navigate to this location-

ComputerHKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEMCurrentControlSetServicessvsvc

4. Now, on the right-hand side, double click on “StartDWORD value to modify it.

5. Simply set the ‘Value Data‘ to “4” and then click on “OK” to save the changes on your computer.

Once done, close Registry Editor window. Reboot your computer and the watermark will be gone.

Fix-2 Run a batch file-

Create and run a batch file on your computer to kill the watermark process.

1. At first, type “Notepad” in the search box.

2. Then, click on “Notepad“.

3.Copypaste these following lines in the Notepad window.

4. After doing so, click on “File” in the menu-bar and then click on “Save as“.

5. In Save As window, name the file as “watermark.bat“. Choose the location of your choice to save this batch file.

6. Select the ‘Save as type:‘ as “All Files” from the drop-down.

7. Click on “Save” to save the file on your computer.

Go to the location where you have saved the batch file.

8. Double click on the “Watermark” batch file to execute it on your computer.

Remove Windows 10 Watermark Activate Windows 8

You will see the activation message has gone from your screen.

But when you reboot your computer the activation message will pop up again.

Now if you want to program Windows to automatically run the watermark batch file follow these steps-

1. Click on the Search box beside Windows icon and type “Task Scheduler“.

2. Click on “Task Scheduler” from the elevated Search result to open Task Scheduler.

3. In the Task Scheduler window, on the right-hand side, click on “Create Basic Task…“.

4. Name the task as “Watermark“.

5. Then, click on “Next” to proceed further.

6. Now, choose “When the computer starts” as the frequency of when this task is going to take place.

7. Again, click on “Next” to move on.

8. Now, choose “Start a program“.

9. Now, click on “Next” to proceed further to choose the program.

10. Click on “Browse“.

11. Now, navigate to the location where you had stored the “watermark.bat” file.

12. Select “watermark” and then click on “Open“.

13. Then, click on “Next“.

14. Finally, click on “Finish” to finish scheduling the task.

Remove Windows 10 Watermark Activate Windows 8.1

Close Task Scheduler window.

Form now on, whenever you start your computer, this batch flile will be run automatically, removing the watermark during startup.

If the problem is still there, follow our next fix.

Fix-3 Modify your registry-

Watermark

If you continue to see the watermark on your computer, go for these steps-

Windows 10 Activate Windows Watermark Remove

1. Press the Windows icon to access the Search box. Now, type “regedit“.

2. Then, click on “Registry Editor” to access the editor.

3. Once the Registry Editor opens up, go to this location-

4. On the right-hand side, double clickon the “PaintDesktopVersion” value to modify it.

5. In the Edit DWORD (32-bit) Value window, click on the ‘Value data:‘ to “0“.

6. Finally, click on “OK” to save the changes on your computer.

Once done, close Registry Editor window.

Hide Activate Windows Watermark

Restart your computer and after rebooting your computer, the watermark issue will be resolved.

Sambit is a Mechanical Engineer By qualification who loves to write about Windows 10 and solutions to weirdest possible problems.

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Are you seeing the “Activate Windows; Go to Settings to activate Windows” watermark on your computer’s homescreen? Well, do not worry, we’ve got your back. Here are the top three ways to permanently remove the Activate Windows watermark on Windows 10 PC.

Remove ‘Activate Windows’ Watermark from Windows 10

Why Do You See Activate Windows Watermark?

The ‘Activate Windows’ watermark indicates that the copy of the Windows on your computer hasn’t been activated yet or its license has expired. If you have a valid Windows 10 product key, you can activate and remove the Activate Windows watermark.

However, you can’t just use the keys available online which have already been used by others. Instead, you’ll have to buy the key from Microsoft Official Store, Amazon, or any authorized sales channel. Some third-party sellers sell keys for cheap, but it isn’t something that we recommend.

Another reason for the watermark could be a different Windows version. For instance, you bought the product key for Windows 10 Professional but installed Windows 10 Home Edition instead. So, make sure this isn’t the reason in your case.

Activated vs. Unactivated Windows

There aren’t any major differences between activated and unactivated versions of Windows. That said, apart from the watermark and “Activate Windows” notifications, you get limited personalization options, including wallpapers and themes.

Furthermore, the unactivated version will only download critical updates. Stuff like optional updates, extra services, and apps from Microsoft usually bundled with an activated copy will be blocked. Other than that, the system will run just fine.

Ways to Remove Activate Windows Watermark Permanently

If you don’t have a product key and want the watermark to disappear, it can be done using a couple of methods stated below.

Method 1: Using Registry Editor

  1. Press Windows + R to open run.
  2. Type “Regedit” and press Enter or OK.
  3. Once the Registry Editor opens, click Files > Export and save it as a backup.
  4. Click on HKEY_CURRENT_USER and then on Control Panel.
  5. Now, tap on Desktop.
  6. On the right, scroll down and click the PaintDesktopVersion key.
  7. Double click on it and change the value from 1 to 0.
  8. Click OK to save changes.
  9. Close Registry Editor and restart your computer.

Method 2: Kill the Process to Remove Watermark

If the Regedit method above doesn’t work for you, you can use the notepad method, as follows:

  1. Open the Notepad on your computer. You’ll find it in the Start menu.
  2. Copy and paste the following, as shown in the screenshot below:
    @echo off
    taskkill /F /IM explorer.exe
    explorer.exe
    exit
  3. Click File on the menu bar and then tap Save as.
  4. While saving the file, click on save as all files and name it “xyz.bat.” Make sure that the extension is .bat.
  5. Now, go to the location where you saved the file.
  6. Double-click the batch file to run it on your computer.

Once you execute the batch file, the activation message will be gone from your screen. However, note that it’ll re-appear once you restart your computer. In that case, you can keep the batch file on your homescreen and tap it once every time you turn on your PC.

Activate

You can also make the batch file run automatically on startup by using Task Scheduler on Windows. This way, the watermark won’t re-appear after reboot. To do it:

  1. Search for Task Scheduler in Start Menu. Open it.
  2. Click on “Create Basic Task” under Actions at the right.
  3. Name the task and proceed further.
  4. Now, select “When the computer starts” and click Next.
  5. Choose “Start a program” and press Next.
  6. Click Browse and select the ‘removewatermark.bat’ file.
  7. Then tap ‘Open’ and press ‘Next.’
  8. Click ‘Finish’ to schedule the task.

Method 3: Using Command Prompt

Windows

If your Windows computer has test mode enabled, it’ll cause the Activate Windows watermark to appear on your screen. You can disable the test mode using some simple commands in CMD, as follows:

  1. Open the Start menu and type ‘CMD’ in the search bar.
  2. Right-click on Command Prompt and tap Run as administrator.
  3. In the CMD window, type bcdedit -set TESTSIGNING OFF and press Enter.
  4. You’ll see the message, “The operation completed successfully.”
  5. Now restart your computer.

Wrapping Up

I hope that you’re now able to remove the Activate Windows watermark on your Windows 10 PC. The registry editor method should work well for most of the users. Yet, do let me know which method worked for you. Feel free to reach out via comments in case of any related doubts or queries.

Also, read- 6 Different Ways to Open the Device Manager on Windows 10

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