Activation Access 2013

Question

Activation Access 2013

Anonymous

Hi, looks like the following issue has been circulating for a few months, and I was wondering if there is a solution yet. This question applies to any product from Microsoft Office 2013 (NOT Office 365), but in my case it is for Access 2013. My small business purchased 14 copies of the standalone Access 2013 download keys (NOT Office 365)

I am now having issues with the activation of a few of them. I know exactly what the reason is, but I can't fix it without Microsoft being assisting at their end.

Here is the background:

When I was installing them, I would log into my account and click on 'Downloads, product keys, and subscription', then click 'install/manage' for one of the 14 product keys, see screenshot:

I then get to a screen that has a bunch of identical Microsoft Access 2013 install, see screenshot below. But as you can see I had no idea which to choose and it seems that I chose the wrong one for some of the users, and got lucky with others. This is obviously a pretty bad system and there doesn't seem to be a way to figure out which keys have been activated and which haven't.

I now have 2 users out of the 14 that cannot activate their Access because I must have given them the wrong key as they say that the key is in use. I was writing down which key was associated for each PC, but it appears that I have written down the wrong key for most of them because of the 'randomly' sorted keys on the second page in the second screen shot above.

So how do I figure out which keys are in use?

I have since learned that the second page sorts the keys on the first page alphanumerically. If I had know this to begin with I wouldn't have this problem. However I still need to know how to figure out which keys I have actually used, otherwise I will have to reinstall every copy until I find one that works, which wastes massive amounts of time.

Before anyone suggests a key finder tool, I know that these tools only return product IDs, not product keys. THESE ARE DIFFERENT NUMBERS. Last time I checked, product keys for Office 2013 are NOT stored locally. Only product IDs are stored locally.

I have noticed this script which some people think returns the key: cscript ospp.vbs /dstatus

But it returns the product ID, not the key. And as the keys are not stored locally it couldn't possibly work.

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5 additional answers

Answer 1

OK, I'll accept the "typical copy / paste" slap on the wrist. I made an incorrect ASSumption <oops>.

In the past those tools did work just fine. And they still work fine for Office 2010 and earlier.

Today I tested the current versions a few of them (belarc, License Crawler, SterJo Software Key Finder, Abelssoft MyKey Finder and NSAuditor Product Key Explorer) and had a similar experience you reported.

I tested Office 2013 Pro Plus (local install, NOT CTR) on Windows 8. None of the tools reported Office 2013 correctly. As you noted Belarc was the closest, correctly reporting only the 5 last digits of my PRODUCT KEY (not PIN!). The Belarc report included 2 superscripts:

f. The full product key is not stored on this computer. However, the characters shown uniquely identify your product key.

g. You can have Windows save the full product key using the procedure at http://www.belarc.com/msproductkeys.html.

My NOTE: The process described in the link in “g” is good for Office 365, and MAYBE (I can’t confirm) online purchases of Office 2013. It does NOT work for Office 2013 Pro Plus! (which I have <grin>)

So yes, the bottom line is it appears you are SOL. Sorry.

Answer 2

Okay here is the process:

Log on to each PC in your office and open the command prompt (type 'cmd' in windows search and press enter)

You will now run a script that will vary based on whether you are running 64 bit windows or not (if you aren't sure then just try them all until one works).

You can copy and paste the code below (must use right click on mouse to paste as ctrl+v does not work in command prompt)

Office 2013 (32-bit) on a 32-bit version of Windows:

cscript "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office15\OSPP.VBS" /dstatus

Office 2013 (32-bit) on a 64-bit version of Windows:

cscript "C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\Office15\OSPP.VBS" /dstatus

Office 2013 (64-bit) on a 64-bit version of Windows:

cscript "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office15\OSPP.VBS" /dstatus

These scripts return the last 5 digits of the product key. The key will not match any of the 'entitlement' product keys which Microsoft supplied you with when you bought office. Confusing indeed. Write all these numbers down and include which PC each one belongs to. You will note that the PCs that have a misbehaving Office activation will have double ups with other PCs. Put an asterix next to these perhaps.

So, now go onto your online account and go to the second install/manage page where all of your copies of Office are listed in a random order with seemingly no way of knowing which you have installed and which has what product key tied to it.

But there is a way.

As in the link that Rohn007 posted above, choose any of the Office products listed, and click on "Install from disc" under account options. Then choose "I have a disc to burn" and it will take you to a screen which has a big green button which will display your product key.

Now you can go through each Office product and record all your keys on a spreadsheet or whatever you like. Remember those 5 digit keys you wrote down? You can now match the entire key to each PC. Be sure to write them down in the same order as they appear on the second page where the Office products are all listed with no key displayed next to them (there is actually a set order here, it's just not logical as far as I can tell). You will find that there are a few spare unused keys, record these too!

Now it is time to give the misbehaving PCs a new key. There are 2 options here, the second is much faster:

Reinstall Office completely.

This will require you to select one of the copies of Office that has an unused key. Because you followed the above steps, you can now figure out which ones are unsued.

Use a script to replace the key.

As before, enter the command prompt (type 'cmd' in windows search and press enter).

Use one of these scripts depending on your version of windows:

Office 2013 (32-bit) on a 32-bit version of Windows:

cscript "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office15\OSPP.VBS" /unpkey:value

Office 2013 (32-bit) on a 64-bit version of Windows:

cscript "C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\Office15\OSPP.VBS" /unpkey:value

Office 2013 (64-bit) on a 64-bit version of Windows:

cscript "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office15\OSPP.VBS" /unpkey:value

Replace 'value' with the 5 digit number which matches the key you want to remove from the PC.

After that, run one of these scripts:

Office 2013 (32-bit) on a 32-bit version of Windows:

cscript "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office15\OSPP.VBS" /inpkey:value

Office 2013 (32-bit) on a 64-bit version of Windows:

cscript "C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\Office15\OSPP.VBS" /inpkey:value

Office 2013 (64-bit) on a 64-bit version of Windows:

cscript "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office15\OSPP.VBS" /inpkey:value

Replace 'value' with the full 25 digit number which matches any unused key you want to use for the PC. Remember to record this on to your spreadsheet for future reference!

And now you are done! Open Offce and it will activate correctly. This all could have been avoided if Microsoft listed your real product keys on the main page, instead of those pesky 'entitlement' product keys, but life is never that easy.

Answer 3

Hah, that's okay! Ok well it might report the KEY not PIN, but either way it is different from the list of 14 keys that are listed on my online account page. So perhaps the 14 online account page numbers are product PINs, and these are the ones which are impossible to find.

I see on that link you posted is says this:

Finding your Office 2013 product key

Purchasers of Office 2013 usually receive only a Product Key Card and instructions to download office from the office.com web site. The 25 character key on that Product Key Card is not your office install key, but instead an entitlement key allowing you to install office from that web site.

You can see the product key that is used to install office by signing into your office.com account here. Once signed in, choose Install from a disc under Account Options. You'll see your office installation product key to the right of your options.

So those numbers on the screenshot above, which I'm now calling PINs are in fact "entitlement keys". So basically I need to match entitlement keys to product keys.

The install from disc method might actually work! Such a round about way of figuring it out but with a bit of trial and error I can now go through all PCs, entitlement keys, and product keys and match the 3 together. Thanks!

I think I'll also write a big instruction for the next poor employee that has to tackle this after me...

Answer 4

Ah the typical copy paste response, same as all the other threads. I've already tried Belarc, Abelssoft and License Crawler and none of them work for Office 2013. People have got to stop posting this without testing it for themselves.

The best responce you get is from Belarc which is this:

00194-31660-09773-AA832

(Key: ends with CDHFX)

So two lines, the fiirst is the PRODUCT ID. Absolutely useless number.The second is apparently the last 5 digits of the PRODUCT KEY. The same 5 digits that the script I mentioned returns.

HOWEVER, as many other users with this problem have noted, these digits are NOT the same last 5 digits as ANY of the keys which they used to install Office.

On one thread, someone mentioned that a Microsoft rep told them that there are in fact 3 numbers.

One is the PRODUCT ID

One is the PRODUCT KEY (which seems to be impossible to find)

And the one that Belarc reports the last 5 digits of is a PRODUCT PIN. Again, absolutely useless.

So I guess there is still no progress on this matter. Thanks for stealing my money Microsoft.

Answer 5

Unfortunately MS has not made it easy for businesses to manage

individual product keys. They REALLY want you to "drink the coolaid"

and use Office 365 with it's "Administrator Portal" web site to manage

users.

Sorry to say it, but it depends on which "key finder" tools you use. The ones I have tried have reported the real "PRODUCT

KEY"not ID.

Tools to Extract Product Key

http://www.7tutorials.com/how-recover-your-lost-windows-7-or-windows-8-product-key

You can use any of the following tools

to extract the Product Key from you computer. These tools report on

many installed programs on your computer, not just Office.

PS: you

should keep a copy (printed and/or file copies on external storage

devices) of the report(s) generated by these tools so you have all of

your product keys / registration numbers available

for future re-installs

FYI: I

(Rohn) have not tested these tools in Windows 8 (just haven’t had an

excuse to make/waste the time), but I don’t expect any problem. The

underlying mechanics of Windows 8 are essentially

the same as Windows 7 if you ignore the Metro User Interface. Think of

metro as “lipstick on a pig”. The pig is not changed by adding a little

paint on the surface.

Normally you have several resources to find your Retail Product Key.

o Your original package or purchase confirmation e-mail

o Online download account

o You can extract the Product Key from the machine itself

o Image copy backups of system with Office installed

o Activation backup utilities

From what I’ve read, MS uses a file called TOKENS.DAT to store encrypted product activation keys:

C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\OfficeSoftwareProtectionPlatform*Tokens.DAT*

C:\Windows\ServiceProfiles\NetworkService\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\SoftwareLicensing*Tokens.data*

C:\Windows.Old\ProgramData\Microsoft\OfficeSoftwareProtectionPlatform*Tokens.DAT* (if you did an in-place Windows Upgrade)

NOTE: Do not expect the

Windows.OLD folder to be there until you delete it. Many people have

complained that windows 8 and 8.1 automatically delete it WITHOUT

WARNING

http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_8-files/windows-8-has-deleted-my-windowsoldprogramfiles/dbdf75c0-09d9-4992-b8eb-d9fac3efe9b8?page=2

After you extract the Product Key, make sure to write it down and

keep it in a safe place. Burning a copy of the installation file to a CD

would also be a good idea if you don’t have the installation disk.

NOTE: OEM (factory install and activated) licenses use a different key than the one reported.

Only the factory can use the PK from the original factory

activation. You would have been provided with a separate piece of paper

with a Product key for reactivation.

Sorry, I have not had opportunity (aka need) to test Win8 and Office 2013 on these various tools:

http://www.belarc.com/free_download.html

not only does Belarc extract product keys, it reports on a WHOLE BUNCH of other stuff you want to know. Printing the report, or saving it is probably a good idea.

Win 95-Win8, V8.3b

http://www.technibble.com/license-crawler-find-product-keys-in-the-registry/

License Crawler

V1.2 B98 (Office 2003, 2007 , 2010 , Win Vista )

V1.30.359, Win 95 to Win8,

http://www.sterjosoft.com/list/ - SterJo Software Key Finder. Confirmed to work on XP through Win8, Office XP/2002 through 2010

V 1.6 Win XP to Win 8, Office XP to 2013.

Abelssoft MyKeyFinder- http://www.abelssoft.net/mykeyfinder.php[http://www.abelssoft.net/mykeyfinder.php](http://www.abelssoft.net/mykeyfinder.php) - found all Office keys correctly

MyKeyFinder 2013

Product Key Explorer http://download.cnet.com/Product-Key-Explorer/3000-2094_4-10646145.html V3.4.6 Win XP to Win 8, Office 2003 to 2010

http://www.magicaljellybean.com/

Magical Jelly Bean is free, supports 300+ programs V 2.0.8-

Office 2003 OK, 2007 OK, 2010 na, Win Vista Wrong). They also have a

paid Recovery Keys, support 4500+ programs

V 2.0.9.8

http://sourceforge.net/projects/keyfinder / - Enchanted Keyfinder Beta Portable- Win (9X, ME, NT/2K/XP, Vista, Win7), MS Office (97, XP, 2003, 2007,

2010), Recover key for 484 other software and counting

http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/product_cd_key_viewer.html

Nirsoft ProduKey V1.45- Office 2003 OK, 2007, 2010, Win Vista)

V1.62 Win 98 to Win 8. Office 2003-2010

ProduKey may be able to extract product key

information from a registry file saved externally. This is useful if

you’re trying to get the key details from the backup of a now defunct

machine. Try the /Regfile option.

<snip>

After installing on my system, I ran the

program --> AS ADMINISTRATOR <-- and then clicked on File -->

Select Source. Once in this menu it may appear a little overwhelming,

don’t worry it’s not that complicated and your not going

to break anything else. Select the circle next to “Load the product

keys from external Software Registry hive”. Now from here you may have

to browse to a slightly different location depending on where your

windows.old folder is located, but you want to basically

browse to the following and open this file:

C:\Windows.old\Windows\System32\config\RegBack\SOFTWARE

After opening this file select ok; you may

have to wait a few minutes for it to load the hive and give you your

keys, but if they’re there you should see them and be able to fresh

install your MS Office.

Please note that this did work for my Office

2007, it also gave me my Vista Home & Personal Key, and Internet

Explorer... lol! I hope this helps someone else too! And remember backup

before you do any upgrading/downgrading/or destruction

to you PC.

</snip>

http://www.winkeyfinder.com/download.php

(Office 2003 , 2007 , 2010 , Win Vista )

V 1.73 final Win 98 to Win 7 (and more?) 32bit, Win XP to Win 7 64bit Office 2000 to 2010 32&64-bit

http://www.recoverlostpassword.com/products/productkeyrecovery.html (trial)

Product Key Recovery 2007 2010 2013

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Activation Access 2013

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