Windows 10 LTSC Enterprise 21H2 Evaluation Expired on Fresh Install (NO 90 Days)!

Question

Hello,

I have bought a new SSD and reformatted my old conventional hard drive. I normally use Windows 10 Pro and have a license for that.

However, I wanted to try the full 90 days evaluation using Windows 10 LTSC Enterprise 21H2 but I have no luck! I never tried LTSC in my PC ever before so I have no experience other than what I am experiencing today.

Within 1 hour my PC shuts down straight away. As you can see I installed it today on the 27th of July 2024.

But the Windows watermark is already showing Windows License has expired.

I then checked Event Viewer and this is what I see. License Activation (slui.exe) failed with the following error code:

hr=0x80004005

Command-line arguments:

RuleId=31e71c49-8da7-4a2f-ad92-45d98a1c79ba;Action=AutoActivate;AppId=55c92734-d682-4d71-983e-d6ec3f16059f;SkuId=aff25f1f-fb53-4e27-95ef-b8e5aca10ac6;NotificationInterval=1440;Trigger=NetworkAvailable

Why is this happening? Shouldn't I not be having a 90 day trial?! This is really frustrating since I put so much effort to replace the old hard drive reformatted the pro version and installing LTSC on a new SSD only to see that I can't use it and it looks like I'll have to reformat Windows again!

*** Moved from Windows / Windows 10 / Licensing and activation ***

Answer 1

Hello,

Thank you for posting in Microsoft Community forum.

Based on the description, I understand your question is related to Win 10 21H2 LTSC evaluation.

This evaluation software is designed for IT professionals interested in trying Windows 10 Enterprise on behalf of their organization. We do not recommend that you install this evaluation if you are not an IT professional or are not professionally managing corporate networks or devices.

Try get the evaluation ISO from below official website:

Windows 10 Enterprise Trial (microsoft.com)

• If you fail to activate this evaluation after installation, or if your evaluation period expires, the desktop background will turn black, you will see a persistent desktop notification indicating that the system is not genuine, and the PC will shut down every hour.

Have a nice day. 

Best Regards,

Molly

Answer 2

Dear Molly,

Many thanks for your reply. I actually didn't fill up the form. I downloaded it officially from the Microsoft website via this link.

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/evalcenter/download-windows-10-enterprise

It gave me the option and I selected 64-bit edition under English (Great Britain) and it allowed me to download it directly. I installed it freshly on a brand new wiped out SSD never used before.

After installation there was no prompt to enter any activation key. All I heard from reviewers on Youtube is that you get 90 days free trial. I wanted to test this out as I have Windows 10 Pro license. However, since I wanted to freshly install Windows from scratch I knew the nightmare of having to disable the Store apps, telemetry, Gamebar presence writer, etc. Pro version is a big hassle to configure on fresh install.

I wanted to try LTSC version to see if this is better and makes my life easier. Unfortunately, the evaluation version had been expired straightaway on installation.

Yes, I notice it does shut down every hour. This is not fair as it simply never allowed me to give this a try.

Answer 3

Hello,

Maybe you can try report this issue to Microsoft, use the Feedback Hub app. To learn more, see Send feedback to Microsoft with the Feedback Hub app:

Send feedback to Microsoft with the Feedback Hub app - Microsoft Support

Best regards,

Molly

Answer 4

Actually, this been an issue for over two years. I am an IT professional and downloaded this for evaluation in our production environment for upgrade. We are a large company and have an Enterprise agreement for this product. It did install as expired and cannot be licensed with any of our LTSC keys.

I would like an answer as this has been installed on 30 computers that need to go back into service.

Thank you.

Answer 5

Did you ever find a resolution? We're having the same problem.