Activation troubleshooting

Page 4 of 30 FirstFirst ... 2345614 ... LastLast

  1. Posts : 4,201
    Windows 10 Pro x64 Latest RP
       #31

    There is a difference between the MAK licence and a VL which will need "phone Home" activation at regular intervals, (was every 90 days but may have changed), Not sure if this is a factor here. The Microsoft partner licences, (in House software Licence), were MAK key activated in the past and they will upgrade to a Digital licence (even one linked to a Microsoft account), without a problem, the same as any other Retail licence
      My Computers


  2. Posts : 3,453
    Thread Starter
       #32

    Barman58 said:
    There is a difference between the MAK licence and a VL which will need "phone Home" activation at regular intervals, (was every 90 days but may have changed), Not sure if this is a factor here. The Microsoft partner licences, (in House software Licence), were MAK key activated in the past and they will upgrade to a Digital licence (even one linked to a Microsoft account), without a problem, the same as any other Retail licence
    Yip, correct ... MAK is a permanent VL, whereas GVLK is temporary and requires re-activation via KMS within each 180 day activation interval.

    My concern, however, is that... be it MAK or GVLK, both are VL and should not be getting digital licences.
      My Computer


  3. Posts : 4,201
    Windows 10 Pro x64 Latest RP
       #33

    I actually see a MAK as a form of Retail Licence rather than a form of GVLK and It would appear that Microsoft, ( at least at present, but we all know how soon MS can change the rules), are treating the MAK as a Standard retail, possibly due to the fact that you cannot easily tell those MAK's issued to VL customers from those issued to other legitimate users.
      My Computers


  4. Posts : 15,027
    Windows 10 IoT
       #34

    Well just for fun I did a change key on my 10 Pro 1703 install and entered my MSDN 10 Enterprise MAK key. It upgraded and shows as activated with a Digital License linked to my Microsoft account.

    Tried it on a second PC and it didn't work. It was 10 Home 1703. MAK key was rejected via change key. Entered the generic Pro key and it upgraded to pro though, and activated with a DL it already had. Then tried my MAK key again and it was accepted, upgraded but won't activate? That PC won't activate with my MAK key now? I get a "Windows can't activate with this product key, 0xc004b100. Was able to go back to 10 Pro by entering the Pro generic key though. Now shows activated with a digital license.

    Worked once and failed once.
      My Computer


  5. Posts : 1,983
    Windows 10 x86 14383 Insider Pro and Core 10240
       #35

    Going back to the early days of Windows 8 RTM, October/November 2012, you could upgrade trial Enterprise Windows 8 versions with genuine retail ESD Windows 8 Pro upgrade downloads (I had a £14.99 retail offer with my Windows 7 Laptop in August).

    There were "Qualifying OSs" - in my case OEM Windows 7 Home Premium enabling ordering and payment, then download of the ESD package with the product key in the email, and then there were "upgradeable OSs" - Windows 7 (any), and some later Windows 8 Pro trials and Windows 8 Enterprise trials too. I don't remember which other OSs were upgradeable, or which were qualifying - it may have been that XP SP3 was qualifying, but not upgradeable etc.

    The upgrades seemed to be able to gather the Product Key from somewhere (a PID.txt perhaps included when the ESD download took place?), it was a bit of a mystery at the time, as was the nature of the ESD file, since it could not be opened or mounted like a WIM file then. These were my notes at the time on Eightforums:

    How did you setup your Win 8 install? - Page 16

    I was not prepared to dump 7 yet 8 was too strange at the time.
      My Computers


  6. Posts : 15,027
    Windows 10 IoT
       #36

    Om my last PC running 10 Pro, the one that wouldn't activate with slmgr /ato, I mounted my Enterprise MSDN ISO and ran setup.exe, figured it may be easier than starting all over with a clean install. If it didn't work I'd just clean install. Booted up real slow and to a totally blank screen? Just a cursor. A couple of reboots latter it appears normal again? Entered my MAK and got a 0xc004b100 error. Running slmgr /ato changed it to a 0xC004F012 error. What finally fixed it was going to Setup >update & security >activation and running the trouble shooter. I clicked the "I have recently changed hardware" option and it activated with a DL. Confused, I am?

    I now have 3 PC's that all have Home, Pro, Education and Enterprise Digital Licenses.
      My Computer


  7. Posts : 15,027
    Windows 10 IoT
       #37

    Just did up a Windows To Go drive via the official control panel utility. It prompted to activate, entered my MAK key and it instantly activated with a DL linked to my Microsoft Account. Booted it up on my spare desktop and it initially said it couldn't activate. That was just because I hadn't setup my WIFI though. Once I did that it activated with a DL.
      My Computer


  8. Posts : 4,201
    Windows 10 Pro x64 Latest RP
       #38

    Typical Microsoft Dirty Tricks - Expecting you to have an internet connection to activate over the net
      My Computers


  9. Posts : 15,027
    Windows 10 IoT
       #39

    I did the OOBE on my main desktop which has a wired connection. It just prompted OK we're connected. If I had done it on the other PC it would have asked for the WIFI password etc during setup. Just a brain fart on my part. Plus the other activation problems I had with my other Enterprise installs had my second guessing why it wouldn't activate. They also said "we can't connect to the activation server" but had a working Internet connection. Once I looked at the Network taskbar Icon I realised I had no connection.
      My Computer


  10. Posts : 3,453
    Thread Starter
       #40

    Well, I just don't get it... entering an edition specific (non-generic) Win 10 key gets DL?

    That's just nuts...notwithstanding that MS have total control with online activation, there does not appear to be any logic
      My Computer


 

  Related Discussions
Our Sites
Site Links
About Us
Windows 10 Forums is an independent web site and has not been authorized, sponsored, or otherwise approved by Microsoft Corporation. "Windows 10" and related materials are trademarks of Microsoft Corp.

© Designer Media Ltd
All times are GMT -5. The time now is 19:53.
Find Us




Windows 10 Forums