Troubleshooting Windows Activation
Ensure you are on the wired network (or using VPN)
To activate Windows using the Oakland University activation service, you must be connected using a wired connection. If your computer is connected only via grizznet, it will not be able to contact the activation server and licensing errors may be displayed. If you are connected to both the wired network and to grizznet, try disconnecting your computer from grizznet to force it to use the wired network to contact the activation server. If you are connected to the Oakland University network using the campus VPN, then the computer will be able to contact the activation service over the VPN. If the computer does not reactivate immediately, try restarting it, as activation is always performed when a Windows computer first starts.
Windows Key Validation
To manually activate a Windows key, please perform the following steps:
Open the Start menu and type "cmd" to display the command line utility
Right-click the utility and choose "Run as Administrator" You will be prompted for the username and password of an administrator. If you do not know this, please contact the helpdesk (the username and password you use to log in to do your day-to-day tasks will probably not work here, as that account is not an administrator)
Type slmgr /skms tss-kms-p01.sys.oakland.edu and press Enter. After a moment, a dialog box stating that "Key Management Service name... was set successfully" should appear. Click OK.
Type slmgr.vbs /ato and press Enter. After a moment, a dialog box stating that "Product activated successfully" should appear.
Type exit and press Enter to close the Command Prompt window.
KMS Key Lookup
If the above steps for key activation results in an "Incorrect Key" error, you will need to change the key on your machine:
Navigate to https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/get-started/kms-client-activation-keys and find the appropriate key that supports your operating system/service pack
Open the Start menu and type "cmd" to display the command line utility
Right-click the utility and choose "Run as Administrator" You will be prompted for the username and password of an administrator. If you do not know this, please contact the helpdesk (the username and password you use to log in to do your day-to-day tasks will probably not work here, as that account is not an administrator)
- Type the following command where '#' is replaced by the key you matched up from the above url:
slmgr.vbs /ipk #####-#####-#####-#####-#####
- Type the following command to apply this key to your machine:
slmgr.vbs /ato
For further help, please email [email protected] or visit 202 Kresge Library or call (248)370-4357 Monday-Friday, 8 am - 5 pm.