How to Get Rid of the Activate Windows Watermark

After getting the OS installed on the system, the first that all of us want to do is to personalize our computer according to our liking, but windows do not allow us to do that. Because most of us do not buy the product key from Microsoft and hence our system keeps reminding us to do us. Another reason why we are discussing this is the fact that every time we try to capture our screen or record it, the ACTIVATE WINDOWS watermark is there to embarrass us. 

This problem is not unique. Almost everyone wants to get rid of the ACTIVATE WINDOWS watermark from the bottom right corner of the desktop. If you have come across the message which says – 

Activate Windows 10 – Go to Settings to activate Window

Then you are also one of us.

There are many reasons why we see this watermark on our screen like when the windows is not activated or have expired. Or maybe you have purchased the windows for a professional one and are using it on a personal computer, you may come across this issue.

In this article, we have listed a number of ways in which you can remove that watermark without buying the product key from Microsoft and, you won’t have to repeat the process again. Choose a method which suits you the best.

Method 1:  when you have a product key

Click on the start menu and go to settings 

Search for ‘ACTIVATION SETTINGS’ and then click on it

Enter your product key in the box

Activate

You will get a confirmation of windows 10 activation in a few moments

Restart the system you will find the watermark gone

This is the way to activate the window when you have a product key but most of the time none of us have one, so the following are a few ways to remove the ACTIVATE WINDOWS watermark when you don’t have a product key

Method 1: ease of access

Open the start menu and search ‘control panel ’

Open the control panel on your computer 

Change the view by to ‘small icons’

Find the ease of access center (it is there in the first column itself) and open it

Now click on ‘make the computer easier to see ’

Scroll down and check the box which says ‘remove background images (where available)’

Confirm your setting changes and then restart your system

Method 2: registry editor

Open the start and right ‘Regedit’

Right-click on the icon which comes ‘registry editor’ and choose ‘Run as administrator ‘

Browse to 

 HKEY_CURRENT_USER > Control Panel > Desktop

When you scroll down, you will find the ‘Paint Desktop’ option

Click on it

Change the value data to 0 and select hexadecimal as base

Close the editor and restart

Login again in the windows

Method 3:  Using Cmd Prompt

Through the start menu, search for cmd

Right-click and choose ‘Run as administrator ’

You can also use the keyboard shortcut Windows+r, type cmd, and open

In the command window, type 

 bcdedit -set TESTSIGNING OFF

Hit enter

On successful command, you will get a message saying 

‘the operation completed successfully ’

Restart the system to see the results

Method 4: using Powershell

Open the start button and search for Powershell

Right-click on it 

Select ‘Run as administrator ’

When prompted by UAC, select yes

Type the following command in the PowerShell window and enter

slmgr/renew

Now restart your system and there won’t be a watermark anywhere on the screen. 
These are some of the easiest ways to remove the Activate windows watermark from your desktop screen when you do not have a product key from Microsoft.