What to do if windows 8 activation. What happens if you do not activate Windows

When purchasing a new operating system, you will definitely be sent a product key. Actually, you do not even buy the image of the system itself, but the rights to use it. The key is required in order for you to be able to use Microsoft products in accordance with the terms of your purchase. The key is a certain sequence of characters with which the company can easily identify your right to use the company's products and services.

Now let's proceed directly to the activation stage and obtaining a license. There are two main ways to activate Windows 8 and 8.1. The first of them, the simplest and most common, is activation via the Internet. This is the fastest and most convenient way to get a license for Windows 8. Getting a license for Windows 8 and 8.1 is the same.

Internet activation

To do this, you will need to log in as an administrator or have administrator rights. This is necessary so that you can make changes to the operating system during the activation process. You will also need a stable internet connection.

Plan of activation stages:

1) Check your internet connection. It must be active.

4) In the Windows Activation window, select the "Activate" item. This will start the online activation.

5) After that, you will be asked to enter your product license key, if you do not have it yet, then hurry up to purchase it - Buy license key

6) If the key is entered correctly, as well as with a valid key, a message will appear below: “The code worked! You can continue when you're ready." If this did not happen, then there are two options, either something with the key, or problems with determining the authenticity of the key.

7) Click the "Activate" button.
Now your copy of the operating system has been successfully activated. Now you will use a full-fledged product without restrictions.

Phone activation

This activation method should be used if you do not have an Internet network or have problems when trying to activate the operating system in the first ways. The disadvantage of this method is that you will need to call the specified phone number. And these are additional costs.

To activate, you need to perform the following sequence of actions:

1) Check that the phone line is working and the call is allowed (For example, if you try to make a call to a foreign country number at your work, your call will most likely be rejected by your company's telephone robot for security reasons).

2) Go to the System panel. To do this, you can go from the Control Panel along the following path: Control Panel\System and Security\System or press the key combination Windows + W, then search for the word System and select the desired tab.

3) You need to find the Windows Activation section, then click the "Learn more about Windows activation" or "Change product key" button.

4) Select "Activate by phone".

5) You need to choose the nearest location to you (But the country whose language you speak is better).

6) Perform all the actions that the robot or operator dictated.

7) Write down the confirmation IDs. It is best on a piece of paper so as not to call a second time if it is lost.

G8 users can. Users of other versions of Windows must purchase a license to use 8.1.

During development, it was said that users could use a Windows 8.0 key to install 8.1.

Now, after the official release of the RTM version, this rule no longer works.

If you enter a genuine Windows 8 license key during the 8.1 installation, you will receive an error message.
I think this is done so that the bulk of users switch from version 8 to 8.1 by upgrading, and not performing a clean installation.

The update method through the store, I think is not the most convenient way. There are workarounds to this particular problem though.

The best and legal thing in my opinion is installing Windows 8.1 using a shared product key and then activating with a genuine Windows 8.0 key.

Some of you may be asking what is a Generic Product Key? It can be thought of as a dummy key that can be used to install an operating system, but it cannot be used to activate an OS.

These pre-shared keys are legally distributed and you can find them on the Microsoft website - technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/jj612867.aspx. Or use the ones below:

Windows 8.1 Core: 334NH-RXG76-64THK-C7CKG-D3VPT
Windows 8.1 Core Single Language: Y9NXP-XT8MV-PT9TG-97CT3-9D6TC
Windows 8.1 Pro: XHQ8N-C3MCJ-RQXB6-WCHYG-C9WKB
Windows 8.1 Enterprise: HMCNV-VVBFX-7HMBH-CTY9B-B4FXY

To install Windows 8.1, use the iso image, which can be downloaded, for example, from the official Microsoft page.
Instructions on how to do this.

You can now enter this pre-shared key into the Windows 8.1 Setup Wizard window and it will continue without any problems.

After installing version 8.1, you activate it using your own genuine Windows 8.0 key. Open the System Properties window

and click on the "Windows Activation" button in the lower right corner. Although this product key did not work during installation, it will work during activation.

New keys:

Windows 8, 8.1 Professional
RDN6Y-RD633-CGQ2Q-8THQV-7QR9V
WY7FN-4K339-J3XXJ-BJ44K-8QG67

Windows 8 Professional; Enterprise;
6WWPC-KN4KX-8TB87-6JDP8-MR9VC
2VNV4-77CKK-GRDM3-4FPQK-QV3HC
2C9ND-V2GFR-RR4YD-QB4DR-JHRDP
4RHDN-D6CT9-8PJCM-C7XBP-HH3HC
D7HNG-C6MPP-DVR4B-V2GX4-JHRDP
HJQNJ-879TM-47X6T-F3Q9C-HH3HC
JXNBF-VG8TP-PBDBW-TB2K2-P9T7C
MQJNQ-G2TKM-YJP7W-CCXVY-VQR92
NJ34M-WQ2DX-T8W7T-CBRMX-YDR92
YT4KP-4TNXX-9MKRP-BYJC9-JW8X2
YTD27-N9T2C-P9Y7W-W6MDC-749VC
K6K3W-TJNGF-JGTVK-PT484-BY2K2

Windows 8.1 Enterprise
6FN9-4C2VW-D8T6G-FRKGQ-4GB93
NK7KH-D8BG6-MCRM8-Y6DPB-3GMDQ

Alternative way to activate Windows 8.1

Cases have become very frequent when, when trying to activate Windows 8.1, the technical support (activation) service could not generate an activation code and answered in a boring voice that "you may have become a victim of fraud." Therefore, it was impossible to activate the system in any way. The same applies to Office 2013.

Please note that this The activator only works on Volume editions of Windows 8 and 8.1. Retail editions cannot be activated. The same goes for Windows 8 and Windows Media Center.

What if you urgently need to activate Windows 8.1?

1. First of all, download the KMS Micro activator from the link. It weighs about 130 MB.
2. After downloading, extract the files to any folder on your computer.
3. Run the file as administrator KMS Micro.exe
Note: it is possible that the antivirus will not like this file and will delete it, referring to the fact that it is a virus. Don't trust him. The file is secure and contains no viruses. Before activation, simply disable all anti-virus systems on your computer.
4. In the application that is open, go to the tab "Settings" - "Language" - select a Russian file, restart the application.
5. After the restart, go to the "Settings" tab again and check if the checkboxes are checked "Install GLVK Product Keys".
6. Click on the tab "Settings" - "Install TAP". The installation wizard will open. Install the app.
7. Open "Network and Sharing Center" - "Change adapter settings". You will see that in addition to your standard adapter, an adapter has appeared there. "LAN connection". It must be inactive. It should be renamed to " tap1". It is important.
8. Now highlight your active connection and "tap1". Right-click on the highlight and click "Bridge settings". Wait until the system creates the bridge and activates the connection.
9. Start KMS Micro again.
10. Click "Launch KMS Micro Console".
11. The console starts up for a long time, you have to wait a little.
12. When on a blue background from below, it will be written in yellow letters "Select Option", press the English "Z" and "Enter".
13. On the next screen, press "Z" and "Enter" again.
14. Now we need to synchronize the time. Click on the clock in the lower right corner - "Change date and time settings" and see what time zone you have set. Then, in the console, find the same time zone and press the key that corresponds to it. Enter.
15. After the time is synchronized, the console will turn off automatically. Run it again and minimize to the taskbar.
16. Now click "Activate Windows". If the button is not available, and there is a green bar at the bottom, wait until it's finished, then the button will be available.
17. Done.

The Windows operating system is supplied only on a paid basis, which means that in order to install it on a computer or laptop, you need to purchase an activation key, the cost of which differs depending on the version. The activation of Windows 8 and 8.1 itself allows you to verify the authenticity of the installed copy. The license agreement says that a user can only have one copy of the OS for one PC. The product key binds this copy to a specific computer and it cannot work on another.

Activating Windows over the Internet

The most common type of system activation is through the Internet. It is used in any version of Windows.

Once you are on the desktop of your PC, the first thing to do is to go to properties of the system. To do this, right-click on the Start menu and select " System».

You can do this: open Control Panel, go to the "System and Security" section, find the "System" subsection.

We go down to the very bottom and find the section " W activationindows". There will be several options, but most often it will be written that the OS is not activated or vice versa. In rare cases, an inscription appears that there is no information on activation. Let's try the following steps:

Activate by phone

This method is used if the user does not have the Internet for some reason, but Microsoft developers have thought of everything. Here's what you need to do to activate the OS using your phone:

How to change the product key

Changing the Windows key may be needed in several cases, for example, if your activation has failed and the user wants to upgrade the current edition of the OS to professional. Perhaps before that he used an unlicensed copy, and now he wants to change the key to one purchased from the official Microsoft website.

There are only three methods to change the Windows key.

Using system properties

Using this method is quite simple:

Using the command line

As the practice of many users shows, at least one of the three methods should work. In this case, the most efficient way is to work with the command line. We launch it with elevated privileges (in the search we enter CMD, click on the found RMB file and select the required item) and enter one single command:

Slui utility

To use this tool, open Windows Search and type in the phrase " Slui.exe". The result will appear with a key icon. Let's launch it.

A window will automatically open with a 25-digit key. Everything is the same as in other methods.

Error during activation

The most common activation error is when the key is not recognized by the system. This problem is solved quite simply, you need to remove the old key and register a working one.

What happens if you do not activate Windows

In fact, even if the user does not activate the system, this will not affect its performance, it was only in older versions of systems, when people saw a black desktop instead of beautiful wallpapers, and then the failure of the system to boot.

Usually in an inactivated system are restrictions on some functionality, for example, the inability to change the desktop background, icons, and other personalization elements. But this is not critical.

Also, there will be problems with updates and the occurrence of constant notifications about a request to activate the system.

In general, there is nothing critical and these restrictions are not, in fact, something serious.

How to remove the activation key request during system installation

If the user decides to install the OS from scratch, then you should expect a window to appear during installation asking you to enter a license key. In genuine operating systems, this step cannot be skipped. To get rid of this, even at the stage of writing the distribution kit to a USB flash drive or disk, you need to create a special text file, which will disable the appearance of the window.

In a simple notepad, write the following:

Retail

Save the file with this name and extension − ei.cfg. (The extension must be this, not txt, we check).

We take this file, open the system image and place it in folder Sources.

Now you can safely burn the image to disk and install the operating system.

The Windows 8.1 operating system, unlike previous versions, does not require you to enter a serial number during installation, but it still needs to be activated. From the moment of installation, you have exactly three days to activate your copy of the operating system.

If you do not do this, you will be overtaken by some unpleasant consequences, namely:

Limited ability to personalize (it is impossible to change the desktop wallpaper, set an avatar to the system account, etc.)
It is impossible to remove the inscription on the need to activate a copy of the operating system from the desktop
Periodically pops up a reminder window about the need to activate
Forced system reboot every few hours
Microsoft does not officially confirm, but many users report problems with the printing and imaging subsystem (printers and scanners do not work) on a non-activated operating system.

If we are talking about legal activation, then private users can activate using the usual input of a serial number, activation directly via the Internet or (if both methods are not available) activation by phone. Large corporate users also have access to activation using their own dedicated server (the so-called KMS activation).

It follows from the foregoing that if a user wants to "buy Windows at a 100% discount", he has two options - to find a working serial number or to emulate a working KMS activation server. If you do not plan to update Windows, then a serial number will do, but in order to make your Windows fully functional, only the second method is suitable. Let's consider it.

So, to activate, do the following:

(45 ratings, average: 4,64 out of 5)

11 comments on “How to activate windows 8.1”

1 Nikolay Added 21:41 April 8, 2016:
Everything is fine, thank you very much!
2 Egor Added 12:47 July 2, 2016:
Thank you)))) It helped))))) I'm very glad)
3 Alexander Added 13:48 July 3, 2016:
everything was activated successfully
4 valeri Added at 18:26 July 9, 2016:
5 Alexander Added 17:00 October 9, 2016:
The system has activation problems!!! ===
==========================

KMS-Service started successfully
==========================
=== Installing the WinDivert driver...

Successfully.

Successfully.

Successfully.

Successfully.
= Clear KMS server settings for products: Windows
== Windows(R), Professional edition
Product Description: Windows(R) Operating System, RETAIL channel
Partial Product Key: 9Y92F
The product is not in a KMS Client channel: Ignored.
==========================

== Windows(R), Professional edition
Product Description: Windows(R) Operating System, RETAIL channel
Partial Product Key: 9Y92F
Force default key GCRJD-8NW9H-F2CDX-CCM8D-9D6T9
Windows 8 Professional...

==========================
Windows activation in progress from 100.100.0.10:1688 ...
===== The KMS-Service address will be removed from the system =====
= Set global KMS server options
Setting the address/name of the SPP KMS server to 100.100.0.10...
Successfully.
Setting the SPP port of the KMS server to 1688...
Successfully.
= Product Activation: Windows
== Windows(R), Professional edition
Product Description: Windows(R) Operating System, RETAIL channel
Partial Product Key: 9Y92F
The product is not in a KMS Client channel: Ignored.
= Clear global KMS server settings
Clearing the address/name of the SPP KMS server...
Successfully.
Clearing the SPP port of the KMS server...
Successfully.

Installing/Reinstalling KMS-Service...
We start the KMS-Service service and create a rule for the firewall ...
KMS-Service started successfully
==========================
=== Installing Hook , SppPatcher ...
Windows activation in progress from 1.2.3.4:1688 ...
===== The KMS-Service address will be removed from the system =====
= Set global KMS server options
Setting SPP KMS server address/name to 1.2.3.4 …
Successfully.
Setting the SPP port of the KMS server to 1688...
Successfully.
= Product Activation: Windows
== Windows(R), Professional edition
Product Description: Windows(R) Operating System, RETAIL channel
Partial Product Key: 9Y92F
The product is not in a KMS Client channel: Ignored.
= Clear global KMS server settings
Clearing the address/name of the SPP KMS server...
Successfully.
Clearing the SPP port of the KMS server...
Successfully.
Removal of KMS-Service completed successfully
=== Installing the TAP adapter...
Installing/Reinstalling KMS-Service...
We start the KMS-Service service and create a rule for the firewall ...
KMS-Service started successfully
==========================
Windows activation in progress from 10.3.0.20:1688 ...
===== The KMS-Service address will be removed from the system =====
= Set global KMS server options
Setting SPP KMS server address/name to 10.3.0.20...
Successfully.
Setting the SPP port of the KMS server to 1688...
Successfully.
= Product Activation: Windows
== Windows(R), Professional edition
Product Description: Windows(R) Operating System, RETAIL channel
Partial Product Key: 9Y92F
The product is not in a KMS Client channel: Ignored.
= Clear global KMS server settings
Clearing the address/name of the SPP KMS server...
Successfully.
Clearing the SPP port of the KMS server...
Successfully.
Removal of KMS-Service completed successfully
==========================
An error occurred while installing the key.
= Force installation of GVLK for products: Windows
== Windows(R), Professional edition
Product Description: Windows(R) Operating System, RETAIL channel
Partial Product Key: 9Y92F
Force installation of the default key NG4HW-VH26C-733KW-K6F98-J8CK4
Windows 8 Professional...
Key installation failed with exception code 0xc004e016
=========================== Help someone!
6 Alexander Added 20:59 April 21, 2017:
The Windows operating system is perhaps the most popular of all "OSes". According to statistics, various Windows platforms are installed on 89% of all personal computers. It is also possible to install on smartphones. If you purchased a computer, laptop or netbook “clean”, that is, without an operating system installed, it is only suitable for watching movies or playing games through a USB flash drive or disk drive, if there is one in the device. An operating system is required to access the Internet. But all this pleasure costs money. So, a licensed "OS" will cost. within 150 - 200 $, depending on the classification. Add to this the installation (but this is a trifle, within $ 5). In computers (laptops) with pre-installed Windows, these costs are already included in the price of the device itself. But even here there can be “pitfalls”. some manufacturers install, as it were, a licensed system, but in reality it turns out that this is just a program with a test period of 30 days. After which, you need to activate the system by entering a license key. And it's good if it was provided to you. And if not? Need to buy. This can be done by purchasing a Windows installation disc at the point of sale for the same $150 - $200, or by purchasing a key from Microsoft over the Internet, all for the same money. But, there is a cheaper way to enjoy the benefits of the World Wide Web using Windows, this is the installation of a pirated system, followed by activation through special programs - activators. But here, too, you may be disappointed. Almost all anti-virus programs recognize activators as a threat (virus) and prevent activation by either blocking the process or simply removing the program. And indeed, many activators are "sewn" with various viruses, so it takes time, patience and skill to choose a safe program. But after activation, you will receive a practically full-fledged operating system that you can “customize for yourself” and use all the functions of the licensed system.
7 Yuri Gets Added 00:09 March 26, 2018:
Thank you very much.
The ocean of sites has been shoveled.
I even downloaded several viral versions of activators.
Only your activator helped.
Fast, simple and effective!!!111)))
8 Horun Added 22:39 September 30, 2018:
everything is simple!!! Thank you.
9 Sasha Added 14:11 December 3, 2018:
Thanks a lot! Only your activator helped!
10 Svetlana Added 17:39 May 21, 2019:
I suffered, I suffered, nothing. But thanks anyway, when I entered the key on the Utilities tab, I saw an error at the very end not 6, but G was there in my license activation key.
11 Elena Added 14:58 September 3, 2019:
Thank you very much! Everything is clear and understandable! Successfully activated everything)