Well, today was 'clean install of Windows' day. I got everything all set up, all drivers installed, etc. I go to to activate Windows and it tells me the product key isn't eligible for activation. I double check I typed everything in properly, and it was all typed exactly as it should have been. I knew there wasn't anything wrong with the key itself as I activated it on my laptop just a few weeks prior.
So, I used a feature I never thought I'd have to use 'activate by phone'. I got my installation ID, called Microsoft, and at first spoke to an automated system. I spoke as clear as I could, but it couldn't understand me and kept messing up. Thankfully, it redirected me to an operator. I told the operator my installation ID, the operator redirected me to a system that provided a key, I typed it in, and voila... genuine Windows.
The whole thing took less than ~10 minutes.
Kind of upset I don't have one of those cool Microsoft horror stories, but also glad my Windows is working as intended :lol: