Activation Key Blocked????

[New2ToMe]

Hi All,

Had a message on the SP2 this morning to Activate windows. Clicked through the process and it came back with...
"Activation Error 0x004C003"
"The activation server has determined the specified Key has been Blocked"

It has been fine for the past four days since I bought it.

I called msoft and they said use the Key on the sticker on the box. It didn't come in the original packaging, so no sticker and thus, no Key. Msoft's reply, buy another copy of windows.

Vendor not answering emails or phone -- but it is Sunday!

What can I do? Well, besides wait to contact the vendor on Monday.

 

[malberttoo]

Hi All,

Had a message on the SP2 this morning to Activate windows. Clicked through the process and it came back with...
"Activation Error 0x004C003"
"The activation server has determined the specified Key has been Blocked"

It has been fine for the past four days since I bought it.

I called msoft and they said use the Key on the sticker on the box. It didn't come in the original packaging, so no sticker and thus, no Key. Msoft's reply, buy another copy of windows.

Vendor not answering emails or phone -- but it is Sunday!

What can I do? Well, besides wait to contact the vendor on Monday.

Did you buy it from a reputable seller, good feedback, all that?

 

[New2ToMe]

Yup.

I also had logged into msoft and checked the warranty left so they have the serial number and I would have thought, also the Activation key. But then, wait, oh, it IS msoft, so it does not all need to make sense.

 

[GoodBytes]

I am confused. who is this Vendor. Sounds like you got it used. So not reputable.

Windows 8 have no product key stickers on pre-installed systems. The key is in the system BIOS.
The person that sold you the system has formatted the Surface Pro 2, probably deleted the recovery partition as well, and installed Windows 8 with a illegally squired product key, and sold it back to stores.

OR

He/She (or the previous owner) pulled the key out of the system (you can do that), copied it down basically, and returned the system. Then he/she proceeded to install Windows 8 on multiple system using the same key. This has raised red flags at Microsoft, and detected multiple computers being used with the same key, and blocked it, as it is considered a leaked key.

If the vendor ignores you, that means that he/she did something wrong, and is now hiding.

If you bought the device via credit card, I would call your credit card company and see if you pass it under fraud/illegal charge, and get your money back. The credit card company will deal with the vendor (ie: won't get his money). But expect that they would need to do an investigations as the product was delivered.

I don't know what it will give you, but you can try to report the Vendor to Microsoft. I doubt Microsoft will give you a license, 'cause it's Microsoft, but hopefully they'll look into it, especially if others got screwed over and reported it.


Buying Windows 8 NOW is a bit silly, as Windows 10 will be released soon (mid 2015)

Try and use the Microsoft Surface Pro 2 recovery image:
http://www.microsoft.com/surface/en...ervice-and-recovery/downloadablerecoveryimage

If should use the product key that is on the BIOS chip, and activation should work.

 

[GreyFox7]

Maybe the previous owner rooted the device and replaced the BIOS and reused a key.

 

[New2ToMe]

The vendor is reputable but I agreed on a "as-is" and "no return" deal. I can't and won't go back on that as the vendor was merely on-selling something. I accepted the risk and am dealing with the outcome. But I need to know what, if anything I can do. Talking to msoft they only suggest buying another copy of win8.1. But, I am not sure that will work and if it doesn't then I will be out $140 more.

I can log into msoft and use the serial number to check remaining warranty and when I use that get-image link I see the pertinent details. I have been trying for a few days but when I click the Download link (Firefox and IE11) I get EITHER...

Server unavailable.
OR
Server Error in '/DSDownloadAPI' Application.
Configuration Error
Description: An error occurred during the processing of a configuration file required to service this request. Please review the specific error details below and modify your configuration file appropriately.

Parser Error Message: An error occurred loading a configuration file: Failed to start monitoring changes to '\\PR1DSARCH\DSARCHIVE\lun_153'.

Source Error:

[No relevant source lines]

Source File: \\PR1DSARCH\DSARCHIVE\lun_153\web.config Line: 0

Version Information: Microsoft .NET Framework Version:4.0.30319; ASP.NET Version:4.0.30319.34237

 

[GreyFox7]

The RESET sounds like a reasonable thing to try. If that fails the BIOS key is the problem.

 

[New2ToMe]

GF7, do I need to go searching how to do that RESET?

 

[GreyFox7]

Swipe from the right, Settings, Change PC Settings, Update and Recovery, Recovery, Remove everything and reinstall Windows. follow the prompts.

 

[GoodBytes]

The link works for me (just checked), and I can download it. Maybe it was just a server hiccup. If GrayFox7 suggestion doesn't work, try the link again.