Windows Activation Error

Question

My Windows 10 were activated with a Digital License linked to my email address and I also had a product key... However, I got a message at the corner out of nowhere telling me to activate Windows. Upon visiting the Windows Activation settings, I found out that no product key was entered or email linked for a digital license and when I troubleshoot the problem, I get a message saying, "We can't activate Windows on this device at the moment. You can try again later, or go to the store to buy Genuine Windows."

It bears mentioning that I had a Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) earlier and had to run a disk check for boot errors. This activation issue started afterwards. I have the key as well and tried entering it by selecting the Change Product Key option but that didn't work either.

EDIT: Checked some more and my Software Protection service is disabled and I cannot enable it as it is giving me an error that says, "Access is Denied".

Running an SFC scan now to see if it fixes the problem.

Answer 1

Hi again AliGulrez,

to restart the Software Protection, follow these steps

. Tap Windows + R to set up the application, then type regedit into the provided field and tap Enter or click OK

. In the Registry Editor, copy and paste the following directory in the navigation bar and press Enter:

Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\sppsvc

. Now, make sure sppsvc is selected on the left pane; then, look at the right pane and double-click on a key named Start. Set its Value data to 2 and click OK.

.Restart your PC and check if the issue is gone.

if the previous solution does not work, try to activate the Windows via phone

. Go to Settings > Update & Security > Activation, then click on "Activate by phone" and follow the on-screen instructions to complete the activation process.

it is worth mentioning, you can also try using the Windows Activation troubleshooter by visiting this link

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/usi...

Best Regard

Amr

Answer 2

Nothing worked so just ended up reinstalling Windows...

Thanks for the help though..

Regards,

Ali

Answer 3

Tried everything but doesn't seem to work.

When I try the second step you mentioned the "cd%windir%\ServiceProfiles\NetworkService\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\SoftwareProtectionPlatform" command doesn't do anything and gives an error, "The filename, directory name, or volume label syntax is incorrect." and the rest of the commands that follow don't work either.

Only the first one gives a response that Software Protection is already stopped.

Answer 4

Hi AliGulrez,

I'm Amr, an independent advisor, and will try to help you with this.

. Running an SFC (System File Checker) scan is a good first step to attempt to repair any corrupted system files.

. If the scan does not resolve the issue, you could try these possible solutions:

1. Check that the date and time settings on your device are correct, as an incorrect date or time can cause activation issues.
2. Reset the Software Protection service by following these steps:

. Open the Command Prompt as an administrator by pressing Windows + R and typing cmd, then press Ctrl + Shift + Enter to run Command Prompt as administrator.

. Type "net stop sppsvc" (without the quotes) and press Enter.

. Type the following command without the quotes and press Enter.

"cd%windir%\ServiceProfiles\NetworkService\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\SoftwareProtectionPlatform"

. Type "rename tokens.dat tokens.bar" and press Enter.

. Type "net start sppsvc" and press Enter.

. Restart your device and try activating Windows again.

3. Reset Your License Status

. Follow the guide above to open Command Prompt on your computer.

. Type the command "slmgr.vbs –rearm" (without the quotes), and press Enter to reset the license status.

. Restart your computer to activate Windows again.

I hope this helps, please feel free to reply to this if you need any further Assistance.

This is a user-to-user support forum. We're users just like you helping other users to find solutions to their problems.

Best Regard

Amr