Solved Major activation issues...

Butters

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Ok, so I have spent about six hours of my life on the phone with Microsoft trying to fix this problem. I have a valid Windows 8.1 Pro product key, but Windows doesn't want to stay activated for some reason. Whenever I try to activate it in PC settings, it will say that the activation failed. And when I click "Error details", all I get is a blank box. I've tried using slmgr.vbs, but that doesn't work. I've also tried using SLUI, but that doesn't work either. I can fix this temporarily by running a system file scan (sfc /scannow) but it never lasts; sooner or later, Windows will be deactivated again. I decided to try using Microsoft Toolkit to try and activate, but that doesn't work either. This is what shows up in the information console:

----------------------------------------
Installing Any Matching Volume Keys.
Installing Professional WMC KMS Key (xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx).
<Product key installation successful>
----------------------------------------
Attempting To Activate Microsoft Windows
<No installed product keys detected>


Note that xxxxx was my actual product key.

At least this is more informative, but I still don't know what to do here? Why isn't Windows finding my product key for activation? There is no reason why it shouldn't be, it even displays it right above. Does anyone have any ideas on how to fix this? It's really important I find a permanent solution for this. Thanks in advance!

EDIT:
I checked the event viewer for more information, and this is what I found:

License Activation (slui.exe) failed with the following error code:
hr=0x8007232B
Command-line arguments:
RuleId=eeba1977-569e-4571-b639-7623d8bfecc0;Action=AutoActivate;AppId=55c92734-d682-4d71-983e-d6ec3f16059f;SkuId=096ce63d-4fac-48a9-82a9-61ae9e800e5f;NotificationInterval=1440;Trigger=NetworkAvailable

Hopefully this information is helpful.

 
Last edited:

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Toolkit's illegal? Whoops, this was my first time ever using it, and I was just so desperate for a tool, I went and downloaded it (I thought it was an alternative activation program that would activate Windows normally :eek:). Thanks for the info, I'll uninstall it immediately.

Well I tried the slmgr commands, and when I do /ato, it gives me the message "Product activation failed." for some reason.
 

My Computer

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    Windows 8.1 Pro, Windows 7 Professional, Windows XP Professional
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Run the script so we can see what error it produces.
 

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System One

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    PC-DOS v1.0
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    IBM
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    16K, 640K max
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    What's that?
    Sound Card
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    80 X 24 text
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    dual 160KB 5.25-inch disk drives
Wow I'm tired. I meant to put the error in my last post, but I just forgot to. Sorry about that. Anyways, here it is:

Microsoft (R) Windows Script Host Version 5.8
Copyright (C) Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

Software licensing service version: 6.3.9600.16497

Name: Windows(R), ProfessionalWMC edition
Description: Windows(R) Operating System, RETAIL channel
Activation ID: 8d904b5c-2cd4-43f4-846a-f0f5d60387a0
Application ID: 55c92734-d682-4d71-983e-d6ec3f16059f
Extended PID: 06401-02603-006-092612-01-1033-9600.0000-2152014
Product Key Channel: Retail
Installation ID: 621201362218259212620136871383407503993624613430162721834956880
Use License URL: https://activation-v2.sls.microsoft...SLActivateProduct.asmx?configextension=Retail
Validation URL: https://validation-v2.sls.microsoft.com/SLWGA/slwga.asmx
Partial Product Key: XXXXX
License Status: Unlicensed
Remaining Windows rearm count: 997
Remaining SKU rearm count: 998
 

My Computer

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    Windows 8.1 Pro, Windows 7 Professional, Windows XP Professional
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    Dell Inspiron 15 7537
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    Intel Core i7
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    8 GB
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    1920x1080
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    Pale Moon
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    None, but I do use Malwarebytes Pro
Strange no error code being produced... Check event log

License Activation (slui.exe) failed with the following error code:
hr=0x*********


 

My Computer

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    PC-DOS v1.0
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    System Manufacturer/Model
    IBM
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    Intel 8088, 4.77MHz
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    16K, 640K max
    Graphics Card(s)
    What's that?
    Sound Card
    Not quite
    Screen Resolution
    80 X 24 text
    Hard Drives
    dual 160KB 5.25-inch disk drives
Alright, here's the information I found from the event viewer:

License Activation (slui.exe) failed with the following error code:
hr=0x8007232B
Command-line arguments:
RuleId=eeba1977-569e-4571-b639-7623d8bfecc0;Action=AutoActivate;AppId=55c92734-d682-4d71-983e-d6ec3f16059f;SkuId=096ce63d-4fac-48a9-82a9-61ae9e800e5f;NotificationInterval=1440;Trigger=NetworkAvailable
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro, Windows 7 Professional, Windows XP Professional
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Inspiron 15 7537
    CPU
    Intel Core i7
    Memory
    8 GB
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Browser
    Pale Moon
    Antivirus
    None, but I do use Malwarebytes Pro
Unfortunately it's still the same error code implying it's trying to volume activate.

With WMC upgrade keys it may be useful to try phone activation slui 4 - if this key was successfully activated before on this machine. NB these keys are not transferrable.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    PC-DOS v1.0
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    IBM
    CPU
    Intel 8088, 4.77MHz
    Memory
    16K, 640K max
    Graphics Card(s)
    What's that?
    Sound Card
    Not quite
    Screen Resolution
    80 X 24 text
    Hard Drives
    dual 160KB 5.25-inch disk drives
I do believe there is a legitimate Toolkit offered by Microsoft for activation issues etc. Unfortunately it is also modified and used to try and cheat activation. If you downloaded one that was modified who knows what it has done to your system, it may have switched keys on you. Are you running 8 Core, 8 Pro or 8 Pro with Media Center? If you have installed Media Center you need to use your Media Center key with slmgr, not the 8 Pro key. Also, Media Center keys can only be used on one PC. If you have used that key on another PC it may explain why your having activation issues.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Education 64 Bit
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    Asus
    CPU
    AMD Phenom II X4 980 Black Edition Deneb 3.7GHz
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    ASUS M4N68T-M V2 µATX Motherboard
    Memory
    8GB 4GBx2 Kingston PC10600 DDR3 1333 Memory
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA Geforce GT640 2 Gig DDR3 PCIe
    Sound Card
    VIA VT1708s High Definition Audio 8-channel Onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    22" LG E2242 1080p and 2 19" I-INC AG191D
    Screen Resolution
    1280x1024 - 1920x1080 - 1280x1024
    Hard Drives
    Crucial MX100 256 GB SSD and 500 GB WD Blue SATA
    PSU
    Thermaltake TR 620
    Case
    Power Up Black ATX Mid-Tower Case
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    Stock heatsink fan
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    Logitech Wireless K350 Wave
    Mouse
    Logitech M570 Trackball and T650 TouchPad
    Internet Speed
    80 Mbps Down 30 Mbps Up
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    HP DVD1040e Lightscribe - External USB2
Well whatever Toolkit thing I used didn't mess with my system, I know I have the same key and everything. Anyways, I think I might have figured it out, and I feel a little bit stupid. It seems Windows 8.1 doesn't like certain system DLL files to be modified (specifically shell32.dll) for some reason. I'm not sure why this is, since I could modify it in literally every other version of Windows I've used. Kind of irritating.

So for now, I think my problem has been fixed. I'll update if anything changes (which it very well might). Also, if anyone knows why I can't change shell32.dll all of a sudden in Windows 8.1, please let me know (I'm more curious than anything about why this happens).
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro, Windows 7 Professional, Windows XP Professional
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Inspiron 15 7537
    CPU
    Intel Core i7
    Memory
    8 GB
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Browser
    Pale Moon
    Antivirus
    None, but I do use Malwarebytes Pro
Well at least you figured out what's going on. Microsoft doesn't give out much info on what they do to detect pirated systems, for good reason, so it may be difficult to sort out why modifying that file breaks activation. The sites that will discuses it are likely sites you don't want to go to. ;)
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Education 64 Bit
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    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Asus
    CPU
    AMD Phenom II X4 980 Black Edition Deneb 3.7GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS M4N68T-M V2 µATX Motherboard
    Memory
    8GB 4GBx2 Kingston PC10600 DDR3 1333 Memory
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA Geforce GT640 2 Gig DDR3 PCIe
    Sound Card
    VIA VT1708s High Definition Audio 8-channel Onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    22" LG E2242 1080p and 2 19" I-INC AG191D
    Screen Resolution
    1280x1024 - 1920x1080 - 1280x1024
    Hard Drives
    Crucial MX100 256 GB SSD and 500 GB WD Blue SATA
    PSU
    Thermaltake TR 620
    Case
    Power Up Black ATX Mid-Tower Case
    Cooling
    Stock heatsink fan
    Keyboard
    Logitech Wireless K350 Wave
    Mouse
    Logitech M570 Trackball and T650 TouchPad
    Internet Speed
    80 Mbps Down 30 Mbps Up
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    HP DVD1040e Lightscribe - External USB2
Well whatever Toolkit thing I used didn't mess with my system, I know I have the same key and everything. Anyways, I think I might have figured it out, and I feel a little bit stupid. It seems Windows 8.1 doesn't like certain system DLL files to be modified (specifically shell32.dll) for some reason. I'm not sure why this is, since I could modify it in literally every other version of Windows I've used. Kind of irritating.

So for now, I think my problem has been fixed. I'll update if anything changes (which it very well might). Also, if anyone knows why I can't change shell32.dll all of a sudden in Windows 8.1, please let me know (I'm more curious than anything about why this happens).
Desktop watermark code is located in shell32.dll
thats probably why it breaks activation run "sfc /scannow" and restore your system integrity and remember always use genuine
software and product key(s) from Microsoft that is properly licensed.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7
Well whatever Toolkit thing I used didn't mess with my system, I know I have the same key and everything. Anyways, I think I might have figured it out, and I feel a little bit stupid. It seems Windows 8.1 doesn't like certain system DLL files to be modified (specifically shell32.dll) for some reason. I'm not sure why this is, since I could modify it in literally every other version of Windows I've used. Kind of irritating.

So for now, I think my problem has been fixed. I'll update if anything changes (which it very well might). Also, if anyone knows why I can't change shell32.dll all of a sudden in Windows 8.1, please let me know (I'm more curious than anything about why this happens).

I'm a bit surprised you were able to modify on previous versions. Since Windows 7 - WAT has had a check for "tampered files" within the component store - either way why are you messing with these files?

BTW: here's an activation reference that shell32.dll contains on Windows 7.

Untitled.png
 

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    PC-DOS v1.0
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    IBM
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    Intel 8088, 4.77MHz
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    16K, 640K max
    Graphics Card(s)
    What's that?
    Sound Card
    Not quite
    Screen Resolution
    80 X 24 text
    Hard Drives
    dual 160KB 5.25-inch disk drives
Yeah, every other version of Windows I can reshack it no problem. But now I'm wondering if it actually IS shell32.dll that's messing up my activation. Just out of curiosity, I decided to try and modify it again just to see if that was actually the file that was messing things up (if it did mess things up, I could always fix them with a system file scan). I do a lot of system file modifications, and once I figured out something I had modified was breaking activation, I had narrowed it down to two files: shell32.dll and authui.dll.

Now I want to clarify that I was not actually modifying the dll files themselves, I was modifying their mui files (the files that contain dialog and string table resources). I was pretty sure it was shell32, but I just modified it again (just to see what would happen) and my activation is a-ok so far. I'll update if that changes.

I really just didn't expect anything like this to happen because nothing like this has ever happened in the past for me. But I will say this: if it IS authui.dll that's causing problems (and not shell32), I will be very, very happy. Shell32 contains a lot of the system's UI elements, while the only reason I modified authui was to change the shutdown dialog box. If it's not shell32 breaking things, I will still have a lot of customization options available. I'll update when I know for sure.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro, Windows 7 Professional, Windows XP Professional
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Inspiron 15 7537
    CPU
    Intel Core i7
    Memory
    8 GB
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Browser
    Pale Moon
    Antivirus
    None, but I do use Malwarebytes Pro
Modyfilying strings within shell32.dll.mui and basebrd.dll.mui are used to remove desktop watermark on eval editions - thus they will target those...

You can use Win8Diag to check for tampered files under the health check section...
 

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  • OS
    PC-DOS v1.0
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    IBM
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    Intel 8088, 4.77MHz
    Memory
    16K, 640K max
    Graphics Card(s)
    What's that?
    Sound Card
    Not quite
    Screen Resolution
    80 X 24 text
    Hard Drives
    dual 160KB 5.25-inch disk drives
Well I'm currently using a modified shell32, and everything is fine (also I always back up system files before I modify them). I did not modify basebrd.dll.mui, but I did modify basebrd.dll so perhaps that's what's been causing problems.

EDIT: It's not basebrd.dll, just tried to modify it and it's fine. I'm pretty sure it's authui that messes things up.
 
Last edited:

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System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro, Windows 7 Professional, Windows XP Professional
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Inspiron 15 7537
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    Intel Core i7
    Memory
    8 GB
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Browser
    Pale Moon
    Antivirus
    None, but I do use Malwarebytes Pro
Alright then, it turns out that modifying basebrd.dll actually DOES break activation, and authui.dll.mui is safe to modify. Honestly that makes more sense, if Windows is trying to use basebrd.dll to verify the version of Windows, and it's not signed or something like that. Kind of a shame though. I really wanted to modify that file like I could in Windows Vista and 7. Oh well.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro, Windows 7 Professional, Windows XP Professional
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Inspiron 15 7537
    CPU
    Intel Core i7
    Memory
    8 GB
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Browser
    Pale Moon
    Antivirus
    None, but I do use Malwarebytes Pro
I can fix this temporarily by running a system file scan (sfc /scannow) but it never lasts

Have you ever tried running sfc & dism & sfc again ?
I put them in a batch file if you care to use it---

View attachment dism.bat

Right click it & choose Properties & Unblock it & right click it & choose Run as administrator.
Dism hangs on 20% for a long time.
It takes 2 hours or so to run the batch file.

Dism may help.

But you said you altered some things...
 

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  • OS
    Windows 8.1.1 Pro with Media Center
    Computer type
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    System Manufacturer/Model
    Gateway
    CPU
    AMD K140 Cores 2 Threads 2 Name AMD K140 Package Socket FT1 BGA Technology 40nm
    Motherboard
    Manufacturer Gateway Model SX2110G (P0)
    Memory
    Type DDR3 Size 8192 MBytes DRAM Frequency 532.3 MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI AMD Radeon HD 7310 Graphics
    Sound Card
    AMD High Definition Audio Device Realtek High Definition Audio USB Audio Device
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Name 1950W on AMD Radeon HD 7310 Graphics Current Resolution 1366x768 pixels Work Resolution 1366x76
    Screen Resolution
    Current Resolution 1366x768 pixels Work Resolution 1366x768 pixels
    Hard Drives
    AMD K140
    Cores 2
    Threads 2
    Name AMD K140
    Package Socket FT1 BGA
    Technology 40nm
    Specification AMD E1-1200 APU with Radeon HD Graphics
    Family F
    Extended Family 14
    Model 2
    Extended Model 2
    Stepping 0
    Revision ON-C0
    Instruction
    Browser
    Opera 24.0
    Antivirus
    Avast Internet Security
Well I actually figured it out, I just have to not modify basebrd.dll. That's the problem. I just wanted to update here to let everyone know what the problem was.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro, Windows 7 Professional, Windows XP Professional
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Inspiron 15 7537
    CPU
    Intel Core i7
    Memory
    8 GB
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Browser
    Pale Moon
    Antivirus
    None, but I do use Malwarebytes Pro
Yup, thanx for reporting back, although we kinda figured that one out initially, but good to get confirmation... :)
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    PC-DOS v1.0
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    IBM
    CPU
    Intel 8088, 4.77MHz
    Memory
    16K, 640K max
    Graphics Card(s)
    What's that?
    Sound Card
    Not quite
    Screen Resolution
    80 X 24 text
    Hard Drives
    dual 160KB 5.25-inch disk drives
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