Windows 7 Displays "Not Genuine" Message

If you're running Windows 7 and you receive the "Not Genuine" message on the screen, this is most likely due to Windows update KB971033. While this update was issued in Jan 2019, there are people who are just now running into issues with this update. Microsoft's official solution to resolving the problem is to remove KB971033, rebuild the activation-related files, and then reactive the system.

This article applies to:
   Windows 7 Professional
   Windows 7 Professional N
   Windows 7 Professional E
   Windows 7 Enterprise
   Windows 7 Enterprise N
   Windows 7 Enterprise E

This blog entry contains all the information you need to do this. Simply follow the instructions below.

1. Determine if KB971033 is installed.

     - Run the following command in a command prompt window and look in the results for KB971033

           wmic qfe where HotFixID="KB971033"

2. If you determine that KB971033 is installed using the command in step 1, do the following to remove the update

     - Run the command prompt as Administrator and issue the following commands:

           wusa /uninstall /kb:971033

     - After the update is uninstalled, run the following command in a command prompt as Administrator. You'll need to replace <edition-specific KMS client key> with one of the values listed below the commands.

           net stop sppuinotify
           sc config sppuinotify start= disabled
           net stop sppsvc
           del %windir%\system32\7B296FB0-376B-497e-B012-9C450E1B7327-5P-0.C7483456-A289-439d-8115-601632D005A0 /ah
           del %windir%\system32\7B296FB0-376B-497e-B012-9C450E1B7327-5P-1.C7483456-A289-439d-8115-601632D005A0 /ah
           del %windir%\ServiceProfiles\NetworkService\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\SoftwareProtectionPlatform\tokens.dat
           del %windir%\ServiceProfiles\NetworkService\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\SoftwareProtectionPlatform\cache\cache.dat
           net start sppsvc
           cscript c:\windows\system32\slmgr.vbs /ipk <edition-specific KMS client key>
           cscript c:\windows\system32\slmgr.vbs /ato
           sc config sppuinotify start= demand

Replace <edition-specific KMS client key> with one of the following:

Additional information about this issue can be found here on Microsoft's site