Windows 10: Microsoft Confirms November Windows Updates Cause Activation Error 0x80041008 and Printing...

Microsoft has confirmed that the November 2026 Patch Tuesday security updates for Windows cause activation and licensing failures. Affected devices show error 0x80041008 when administrators run commands to activate Windows, set up Key Management Service (KMS) activation, or manage product keys. Microsoft has also confirmed a separate printing bug in the same updates.

Who the Windows Activation Bug Affects


The activation problem mainly hits organizations that automate Windows activation and licensing, or that use the Software Licensing Management Tool (SLMGR) from the command line. Microsoft describes the error as "0x80041008, Invalid parameter (SWbemObjectEx)." The failures appear after running these commands:

• slmgr.vbs /skms-domain followed by a domain, which sets the KMS host
• slmgr.vbs /ipk followed by a product key, which installs a key

The bug affects these versions of Windows:

• Windows 10 21H2 and 22H2
• Windows 11 23H2
• Windows Server 2019, Windows Server 2022, and Windows Server 2025

Devices that are already activated stay activated. Microsoft says customers whose images already include the KMS client key and KMS configuration, and who do not need to run the affected commands, are not expected to be affected. Microsoft notes that KMS activated devices typically remain activated for up to 180 days after a successful activation.

Microsoft says a fix will be available in the coming days. Organizations that need an immediate mitigation should contact Microsoft Support for business.

November Updates Also Break Some Printing


The second known issue affects printing on Windows 10 and later and Windows Server 2016 and later. After the November 2026 security update, printing can fail for documents that contain images with a height or width of zero at the selected print resolution.

These invisible images are common in complex document formatting. Microsoft lists examples such as:

• invisible images used as a document watermark
• images used for layout anchoring
• image objects that document generation tools insert even when no graphic is present

The bug mainly affects Microsoft Word documents printed through the Windows Graphics Device Interface (GDI), but Microsoft says it can also cause failures when printing from other applications.

The two bugs add to other problems Microsoft confirmed this week. The November Windows 11 security updates fail to install on systems that have the October 2026 preview update, and Windows updates released since the October Patch Tuesday cause SQL Server performance and stability issues.

Microsoft has not said when a fix for the printing problem will be released.

Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post Microsoft Confirms November Windows Updates Cause Activation Error 0x80041008 and Printing Failures appeared first on gHacks.

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Printing stopped with November upgrade

Hey Prestonpdx,

I would suggest you check if the print spooler is running. Start/Stop print spooler service. Follow the steps below.

• 
  Press Windows key + R, type services.msc
  and press Enter.
  
• 
  From the list, locate Print Spooler service.
  
• 
  Double click on the service and select Stop.
  
• 
  Restart the computer, repeat step 1&2.
  
• 
  Double click on the service and check if the service is started.
  

Get back to us with the updated status, we’ll be glad to assist you.

Thank you.

 

Windows 10 will not activate Error code 0x803F7001

Possibly there can be the problem with Microsoft activation Server, so your Windows 10 is not activated. In this scenario, you need to wait and verify if it is the issue from Microsoft’s side. But if you are getting error code 0x803f7001, you can also try these steps:

1. Open Settings app. Then go to Update and security > Activation screen > Change product.
2. Type your Windows edition product key and click Next.
3. You’ll get We couldn’t activate Windows error message.
4. Retry steps 1-3 then type your 25-characters unique product key.
5. Wait for the process to complete, Windows 10 is activated.

Hope something helps this problem

 

Windows 10 will not activate Error code 0x803F7001

thanks
I activated my Windows 10 from product key Windows 7