Windows 2019 Activation Lost

Question

We have 3 Windows 2019 Member servers that suddenly lost activation. We have valid keys but get an error "access denied" regarding the Software Protection Service. There are several articles related to this same problem but I've run through them all to no success. These are air-gapped systems and that we manually activate. Any help would be appreciated! Thanks!

Answer 1

The issue you're experiencing is related to the Software Protection Service on your Windows Server 2019 systems. The "access denied" error message suggests that the service may not have the necessary permissions to perform the activation.

One possible solution is to check the service's permissions and ensure that it has the necessary rights to perform the activation. To do this, open the Services app (services.msc) and locate the Software Protection service. Right-click the service and select Properties. Under the Log On tab, make sure that the service is running under the Local System account or an account that has the necessary permissions to perform the activation.

Another possible solution is to check the status of the Software Licensing service. This service is responsible for managing licenses for Windows, Office, and other Microsoft products. It is possible that this service may not be running or is in a stopped state which can cause the activation issues. So, you can check the status of the service and start it if it's stopped.

Additionally, you can try resetting the Windows activation files by running the slmgr.vbs /rilc command from an elevated command prompt. This command will reset the activation files and should allow you to activate the server with your valid product key.

Answer 2

These are air-gapped systems Seems you'll need to use phone activation if an internet connection isn't possible.

slui 4

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Answer 3

Hello,

More information would be ideal to detect which issue is exactly responsible for this error. I would recommend to check for Error events in the Application Event viewer, and check for source: Microsoft-Windows-Security-SPP this would provide a 0x... error code that will help to identify it.

But, first recommendations:

-Ensure that you open CMD with administrator privileges

-Check the Software Protection Service status, set start as Automatic, and check Log In account through services.msc

-Run slmgr.vbs /dli to review to current licensing status and see if there is any relevant error or information

-Try to remove the licensing data, and add manually using:

slmgr.vbs /upk

and

slmgr.vbs /ipk <productkey>

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Answer 4

Some things to try
Reset Windows Update components manually

a repair install by running setup.exe from the root of install media
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