Expecting bad tech support, was very pleasantly surprised
I recently upgraded my laptop from Windows 8.1 to Windows 10. After waiting a solid 6 weeks for the silly "Get Windows 10" to decide they were ready, I just downloaded the upgrade directly from the microsoft website.
I wanted to do a clean fresh install of Windows 10, however you MUST upgrade first before doing a clean install. I followed these instructions, upgraded to 10 and made sure it was activated. I then formatted my computer and did a fresh install of Windows 10... which wouldn't activate.
After a little internet research, some people say the system would auto activate after 24-48 hours. No Luck. Windows 10 treats itself as an OEM install - as long as you have a valid activated copy of 7, 8 or 8.1, you can upgrade to 10 and it will give your computer a generic activation key that is actually generated by the unique hardware (motherboard, harddrive, etc) that your computer contains.
After the clean install, I had the error code 0xc004c003 which means the system wouldn't accept the key that windows 10 GAVE ITSELF after upgrading. I followed all the steps as required on the Microsoft website.
With a sinking feeling, I decided to contact microsoft tech support directly. I explained my problem and they immediately transferred me over to the activation specialists (... or whatever they're called.) Sounds like this is a common problem.
Explained the issue to the second tech, and he requested remote access to my computer. I granted the request - research had said this was the most common way to get activation issues dealt with.
After about 20 mins of what seemed like nothing happening (occasional mouse movements, but obviously he was doing something on the back end that I couldn't see) he added a second tech to the remote control. They quickly changed the product key and boom, activated, no problem.
I was expecting a horror story of being told to roll back to 8.1 and then do a clean install all over again, but 25 mins out of my day and they had it fixed without any arguments or questions.
That was a pleasant surprise, and I would say that although it seemed like they weren't doing anything for a long time, it worked out and I am happy. Yes, the waiting around with no apparent work on my machine was disconcerting (did we lose connection? did they forget about me?), but a little bit of patience was worth it.