Broken Functionality - Catalina-Win10-Bootcamp

Just before I start - I have tried all regular responses found on forums, and no, I will not appreciate blanket scripted copy paste answers that I am capable of finding myself. I wouldn't be writing here if I managed to fix the issue with "those" answers.

please note that I've been using Parallels since v9 and this is the first time I am coming across these issues described here.

I've been using and troubleshooting Mac and Windows systems for a better part of my time with computers.

My Windows installations are clean as they are used for gaming exclusively. The installed apps are Steam, Origin, Blizzard's Battle.net, Epic games launcher, Uplay, Java, TuneUp from AVG, WinRar, Chrome, DirectX, ATI(lol, it is AMD Radeon these days, so now you know my age) drivers, BOOTCAMP drivers, ExpressVPN, VPNUnlimted, Spotify, WeChat and and other .net frameworks needed. That's it.

Machine 16in MBP
i9, 32GB RAM
Parallels 15

Issue 1: After loading BC partition - Activation dies - PERMANENTLY
Yes, this happening the 1st time is expected.
When you reactivate Win10 over a troubleshooter it works the 1st time. Restarting the computer into Windows over BOOTCAMP natively - GUID or HWID or which ever ID that gets generated for Win10 activation changes seemingly again and now activation is not possible anymore. Not over Troubleshooter, not over 'I changed HW on this device recently". When you list the devices that have WIN10 bound - it shows both the MAC and Virtual machine on the list but does not allow you to select the machine and say - This is the machine I am using now. This happens both in BOOTCAMP and in Virtual machine when you start MacOS again and run it from the PD15. I have 4 different keys and none of them seem to work to reactivate Win10. The basic Win10 support did not manage to resolve the issue as well. They suggested reaching out to Level 2 support. As I needed to dig in deeper I did not contact them yet. Interestingly the issue gets fixed if I delete the bootcamp partition and reinstall windows 10 again - et voila - all is fixed activation-wise. But the problem repeats as soon as I run P15 even without installing parallels tools which were my first suspect. So far the only functional solution I found was NOT to boot my bootcamp partition through parallels. The other solution that fixed the activation but BROKE EVERYTHING else was the "Roll back" option in windows and using a restore point. I've lost everything from the desktop, all apps there, shortcuts etc...

I have tested this with Insider edition of build 2041 as well as 1909 regular edition from November or December 2019.

the insider edition breaks a plethora of regular functionality through updates such as Windows Media Player in one instance. You would think this is not an issue per se, but for some reason WMP functionality is a key to some games operating properly. Like Borderlands 3 as it does not want to start up the intro animations nor in game videos which are key to game progression. In case some of your games are not working - take a look if ur WMP is working fine. And no - no codec pack installs, WMP classic, KB packages or media packages from MS or similar will fix it. Windows fresh reinstall will be the only solution yet again (was to me).


Issue 2 - Parallels breaks Windows store functionality

Resetting the Windows store does NOT fix the issues with INSTALLED sw. Re-registering components and using Powershell commands I have found seem to focus on only Windows store which does not refresh the installed apps contracts with new HWID/GUID.

If you installed Bootcamp, used bootcamp for a while and installed any apps from Windows Store - Like any windows based apps (solitaire, paint and onwards - as they get updated when you run store for the 1st time), WeChat, Spotify and Forza Horizon 4 of 88GB - they will stop working.

Forza Horizon 4 stops loading as it says it is not present on the account and throws an 0x8007005 error. I wasn't sure what the deal was exactly even though I had a notion it may be connected to the potential HW change from Win10 perspective. It wasn't until I tried to launch the small app like Spotify until I got a clear clue from there:
"CLiP license device ID does not match the device ID in the bound device license" and crash. I saw that the win apps automatically re-download themselves and reacquire licenses when doing so.

no clues found on ForzaHorizon 4 forums as well as on MS forums, Reddit or similar yielded any effect but the 4th download of the frikkin game mastodont.

I have used the commands found here in this forum to try to restore Win10 Store functionality to no avail. Win Store does not have the functionality to test the integrity of the files like any other gaming system. Sigh so re-download of ALL previously downloaded apps is the only solution I found to be working.


I am not sure if there is a way to safely roll back the HWID that shifts with starting the BOOTCAMP through parallels or is there a way to setup the virtual machine in such a way that would not push windows into this change? For now, I am giving up on Parallels as trying to deal with this issues has taken days to figure out this far and re-download/re-install items.

phew. This is a long post that may help someone understand the issues faced.

cheers,
maaxaam

 

P.s. Not to mention that Parallels tools break - Bootcamp panel from showing up in tray.

 

Just ran into this on two Bootcamp partitions (fully uptodate Windows 10 Pro with retail license - have been working with parallels for years), on two separate computers (one OS 10.12 - Parallels 13, the other OS 10.13 - Parallels 14). There is also another thread here describing the same symptoms (https://forum.parallels.com/threads/apps-from-windows-store-stop-opening.337932/)

Script to reinstall Windows Store apps as per referred thread doesn't work. Activation fails. Nothing changed hardware wise etc. So it has to be a Windows 10 update that has broken Parallels on both these systems (some reinterpretation of license vs hardware...??). Can Parallels please respond - we need a patch/fix to this (for both 13 & 14)....

 

Sorry 10.14 - Parallels 14 is the 2nd system (not 10.13).

 

I have worked with windows 10 pro 1909 ISO and after installing all the available updates on top of that - everything was still operational. However, I installed windows 10 updates natively not over parallels. My issue with parallels happens instantly upon the first boot into parallels and persists into a subsequent boot of Win 10. Either 1909 or insider 2041 version.

 

I've restored both system from WinClone backups (ie full disk restore) and both systems are activated and store apps are loading. I hope activation stays stable but can't use Parallels until there's some movement on this issue as it makes Windows 10 unusable...

 

For me WinClone did not work, as I switched from 15->16 MBP. The cloned partition was just not bootable. Mabye T2 chip, maybe me selecting wrong settings.

 

I have to use WinClones tool(?) menu and 'Make EFI Bootable' after restore to get it to recognise the bootcamp partition correctly on startup. Maybe that'll help?