Windows 10: Licensing and activation

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Troubleshooting Windows Activation / License problems

Technical Level : Basic

Summary
This Wiki helps you troubleshoot many common Windows Activation problems, such as OEM problems, or common error codes.

Details
Situations

1. You changed hardware and can no longer activate Windows. (or Windows became non genuine)
2. You receive one of the following errors when activating Windows
   1. 0xC004F074
      
      0x8007007B
      
   2. 0x8007232B
      
   3. 0xD0000010
      
      0xC004C4AA
      
   4. 0x80072EE2
      
   5. 0xC004C008
      
      0x8007000D
   6. 0xC0000022
      
   7. 0x80070424
   8. 0x80072F8F
   9. 0xC004C020
   10. 0xC004C008
   11. 0x80004005
       
       0xC004E003

Most Common Mistakes.

• You cannot use the Windows 8.1 key to install or download Windows 8.
• You cannot use the Windows 8 key to install or download Windows 8.1
• You cannot use an OEM key on any system other than the system it was supplied for.
• You cannot use a Windows 8 or Windows 8.1 Upgrade Key to clean install Windows (you must upgrade from an older Windows version!)
• You cannot activate more than one retail code at a time, you can use it multiple times to install.
  

Glossary

OEM – Original Equipment manufacturer license, this license is generally supplied with your computer when you buy it, as the title says it’s a license that the manufacturer used to activate Windows on your original equipment,
this license loses its value and will no longer work when you change hardware. More information can be found here:
Licensing FAQ

Troubleshooting: You changed hardware and can no longer activate Windows

When you’re using a system build by someone else like HP, DELL and so on and you replace vital system parts the supplied OEM license will expire and become invalid. There is nothing you can do about this and there is no way
to solve this.

To make sure you’re using an OEM license check the sticker located on your system, it should include the tekst OEM or C(O)A.. Microsoft offers no support and it’s best to contact your systems manufacturer.

1. Troubleshooting: 0xC004F074. Software Licensing Service reported that the computer cannot be activated.

This is a common error in Windows 8 and can be solved quite easily in most cases, the steps you have to take to solve the issues are listed below:

1. Open elevated command prompt>
   1. Press the Windows + W key on your keyboard and type
      cmd, then right-click Command prompt and choose
      Run as Administrator
   2. Press the Windows + X key on your keyboard and choose Command Prompt (Admin)
2. Type slmgr.vbs –ipk XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX (Replace the X’es with your 25 digit product key)
3. Hit Enter
4. Type slmgr.vbs –ato
5. Hit Enter

If this did not fix your problem then read “General Troubleshooting: Windows can’t activate the license.”

2. Troubleshooting: 0x8007232B & 0x8007007B. KMS Host could not be located in domain name system


This error is not common under end-users (consumers) since it’s a KMS error which should only appear on Volume Licensing.

Key management services (KMS) host could not be located in domain name system (DNS), please have your system adminstrator verify that a KMS is published correctly in DNS.

The steps for solving this problem are the same as the steps given for the error 0xC004F074 please read the troubleshooting part for that error. If that did not solve your problem then this link might help you further. http://support.microsoft.com/kb/929826/en

3. Troubleshooting: 0xD0000010 & 0xc004c4aa. Unable to find a detailed error description.

The cause for this problem is a bit vague, its argued that removing any external hard disk, mobile phones and other USB devices from your system solves this issue. Try to remove any of these hardware devices and then reboot
Windows, it should show up as activated. If this indeed fixed your problem then update your chipset driver, this should solve the problem in most cases permanently.

If this did not fix your problem then read “General Troubleshooting: Windows can’t activate the license.”

4. Troubleshooting: 0x80072EE2. ERROR_INTERNET_TIMEOUT

The problem for this can be caused by Windows Update, run the automatic tool released by Microsoft and let it scan for any problems then solve them all using the program: http://go.microsoft.com/?linkid=9830262 .

If this does not work then disable all your firewalls and protection software and try again, be sure to re-enable them all again after successfully activating.

If this did not fix your problem then read “General Troubleshooting: Windows can’t activate the license.”

5. Troubleshooting:
0xc004c008, 0x8007000D.


The fix for this issue is described in "
General Troubleshooting: Windows can’t activate the license. “ part of this Wiki. Please read that part.

6. Troubleshooting: 0xc0000022 ACCESS DENIED

There are a couple of reasons this error could appear, the first one is that you’re not signed in as Administrator and Windows can’t get access to the activation service.

The second one is corrupted system files, which can be fixed by running the SFC command from an elevated command prompt:”

1. Open elevated command prompt>
   1. Press the Windows + W key on your keyboard and type
      cmd, then right-click Command prompt and choose
      Run as Administrator
   2. Press the Windows + X key on your keyboard and choose Command Prompt (Admin)
2. Type SFC /scannow
3. Hit Enter
4. When the scan has finished, try to activate again.

If this did not fix your problem then read “General Troubleshooting: Windows can’t activate the license.”

When this does not work, then try to reset your system, if even that fails a complete refresh is the only way to go at this moment (23nd of April 2014).

7. Troubleshooting: 0x80070424 The specified service does not exist as an installed service.

This error is the result of registry damage in most cases, resulting from programs like registry cleaners, it suggested that you remove all of these

programs and use a restore point, system refresh or reset to solve this issue.

8. Troubleshooting: 0x80072F8F A security error occurred.

Very common error within Windows Activating and its caused by wrong time and date settings on the user’s system. Try the following steps to correct your time and date settings:

1. Right click the clock in the right bottom
   corner of the screen
2. Click on Adjust Time and Date
3. Click on Change Time and Date
4. Correct the time and date
5. Retry the Activation.

Or

1. Open the right charm, and then tap Search. Or press the
   Windows + W key on your keyboard.
2. Enter date and time in the search box, and then do one of the following:
3. In Windows 8.1, tap or click Date and time settings.
   
   In Windows 8, tap or click Settings, and then tap or click
   Date and Time.
4. Correct the Date and Time
5. Retry the Activation

9. Troubleshooting:
0xC004C020The activation server reported that the Multiple Activation Key has exceeded its limit

This error should never appear on a consumer its system, its means that a license from the Volume Licensing has been used more times than the Microsoft Software License Terms allow.

Contact the person who sold you this product key. There is no further troubleshooting steps.

10. Troubleshooting: 0xC004C008. The product key has exceeded it’s unlock limit.

The license key used to activate the Windows 8 system has been used to many time and can no longer be used for activating Windows. Refer to the Microsoft Software License Terms for more information.

It’s suggested to buy a key for every system you wish to activate.

11. Troubleshooting: 0x80004005 & 0xC004E003. System Damage

These error occurs when Windows has damaged system files and cannot be solved by using any method. Use a restore point, system refresh (highly recommended) or reset to solve this issue.

General Troubleshooting: Windows can’t activate the license.

Make sure your key meets all the criteria for activating Windows, and make sure to read Most Common Mistakes first.

First, read the instructions for your error code or if it’s not listed then read these steps.

Press the Windows and R
key at the same time. The run dialog will open.

1. Type “slui.exe 4” in the box (without the “)
2. Click on Enter
3. Follow the instructions on the screen.

If you tried this, and the automatic activation did not work, repeat the steps but don’t press any buttons during the call, you will be automatically forwarded to a Support Engineer which could help you
further.

 

Your Windows license expires on...

Hi Hayurin,

Thank you for posting your query on Microsoft Community.

I would suggest you to check which version of Windows is activated.

Follow the below steps.

• 
  Go to settings.
  
• 
  Click on update and recovery.
  
• 
  Click on Activation.
  
• 
  And check which version of Windows is activated.
  

If it shows as insider preview then i suggest you to contact Microsoft Phone support as they have the right resources to activate windows 10.

Thank you.

 

Win 10 activation is expiring - volume license

Finally got it activated but still confused as to what is really going on with activation.

here is what I did:

-got another Win7 Pro key from a friend (non volume license one)
-I tried to activate it, but it gave the same error message as before, "could not activate with this key"
-following suggestion above, I tried it a second time. This time it activated !!! (internet was connected both times)

don't know why just doing it 2 times makes it work. maybe someone else can explain that.

I checked it with ShowkeyPlus and to my surprise it now said it was activated and showed the installed key as the generic Win10Pro key that is listed in above post. But I did not enter that key. ????