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Microsoft Volume Activation - Troubleshooting Microsoft Volume Activation for Windows Operating Systems
This document explains how to troubleshoot problems with Microsoft Volume Activation for Windows operating systems. For instructions on troubleshooting Microsoft Office activation issues, see Microsoft Volume Activation - Troubleshooting Microsoft Volume Activation for Microsoft Office 2013, 2016, 2019, or LTSC 2021
Checking Windows 10 or 11 Activation Status
- Go to Start > Settings > Update & Security > Activation
- It is likely that if your computer is not activated, you will have a watermark on the lower right of your screen that says "Activate Windows - Go to Settings to activate Windows"
Changing the Activation Method for a Windows 10 or 11 Computer
Contents:
- Determining Windows Activation type
- Converting a Windows Computer From KMS to MAK Activation
- Converting a Windows Computer From MAK to KMS Activation
Determining Windows Activation type
-
- Launch a command window with elevated privileges
- Type cmd in the Search bar to locate the command window.
- Right-click on cmd or Command Prompt and click Run as administrator from the context menu
- Click Yes at the User Account Control prompt to open the command window with elevated privileges.
- In the command prompt window, type the following command:
- cscript slmgr.vbs /dli
- Press Enter.
- Check your version:
- If Windows is KMS activated, you will see "VOLUME_KMSCLIENT" in the Description field
- If Windows is MAK activated, you will see "VOLUME_MAK" in the Description field
- Close the Command Prompt Window
- Launch a command window with elevated privileges
Converting a Windows Computer From KMS to MAK Activation
- If you are affiliated with the University, email support@doit.wisc.edu to request the University's MAK activation key for one of the following operating systems, otherwise use the product key which came with your copy of Windows.
- Windows 8 Enterprise
- Windows 10 Enterprise/Education
- Windows 11 Enterprise/Education
- Windows Server 2012R2
- Windows Server 2016
- Windows Server 2019
- Windows Server 2022
- Click Start. In the Search box, type:
- System
- Click on System in the search results
- Click Change product key in the Windows activation section at the bottom of the System menu.
- Click Yes at the User Account Control prompt to open the Windows Activation Client
- Enter the MAK activation key from the support@doit.wisc.edu email you received into the Product Key field and click the Next button.
- You may be prompted to Activate Windows. Click Next
- Click the Close button once the activation is complete
Converting a Windows Computer From MAK to KMS Activation
For VMWare guests in NAT network mode, you must specify the kms host - skip directly to step 4
- Locate the Windows product key for your version of Windows
- Refer to the KMS Client Setup Keys Microsoft doc for KMS client setup keys.
- Launch a command window with elevated privileges
- Type cmd in the Search bar to locate the command window.
- Right-click on cmd or Command Prompt and click Run as administrator from the context menu.
- Click Yes at the User Account Control prompt to open the command window with elevated privileges.
- Type the following command:
- cscript slmgr.vbs -ipk <product key>
- In place of <product key>, enter your product key located in Step 1
- Press Enter.
- Type the following command:
- cscript slmgr.vbs -skms ms-kms-1.services.wisc.edu
- Press Enter.
- Type the following command:
- cscript slmgr.vbs -ato
- Press Enter.
Checking if a DNS Domain is Configured for KMS Auto-Discovery
To check if a DNS domain is configured for KMS auto-discovery, check that a SRV record exists.
- Run the following command in cmd:
- nslookup -type=srv _vlmcs._tcp.<dept>.wisc.edu
- If a SRV record exists for the domain, the DNS server will detail the SRV record.
C:\>nslookup -type=srv _vlmcs._tcp
Server: rdns1.doit.wisc.edu
Address: 128.104.254.254
Non-authoritative answer:
_vlmcs._tcp.<dept>.wisc.edu SRV service location:
priority = 0
weight = 0
port = 1688
svr hostname = ms-kms-1.services.wisc.edu
- If no SRV record exists for the domain, the DNS server will return an error
C:\>nslookup -type=srv _vlmcs._tcp Server: rdns1.doit.wisc.edu Address: 128.104.254.254 *** rdns1.doit.wisc.edu can't find _vlmcs._tcp.<dept>.wisc.edu: Non-existent domain
Manually Specifying the KMS Activation Server
- Launch a command window with elevated privileges.
- Type cmd in the search bar to locate the command window.
- Right click on cmd and click Run as administrator from the context menu
- Click Continue at the User Account Control prompt to open the command window with elevated privileges.
- Run the command cscript slmgr.vbs -skms ms-kms-1.services.wisc.edu to manually specify the KMS activation server.
- Run the command cscript slmgr.vbs -ato to activate the computer with the KMS server.
Note: Please make sure that the clock on your computer is correct and synced to Central Time to match our KMS server, otherwise the KMS activation may fail.