We had an install of Windows Server 2008. We were trialing some software, and weren’t sure if we were going to keep the OS or not. When the trial period expired, I ran slmgr -rearm. Success. We continued to run the server in trial mode.
Today I received my product keys from Microsoft, and when I tried to activate the OS I received the following error messages.
0xc004d302
and
The security processor reported that the trusted data store was rearmed.
Numerous Google searches resulted in either
- Reboot to fix
- Reboot and end up locked out permanently
- Reinstall
None of these options were ones I was willing to take. Here are the steps to correct the above issue that worked for me.
- Stop the Software Protection service.
- Move C:\Windows\ServiceProfiles\NetworkService\AppData\ Roaming\Microsoft\SoftwareProtectionPlatform\tokens.dat to your desktop.
- Move two hidden files in C:\Windows\System32\ that have the extension .C7483456-A289-439d-8115-601632D005A0 to your desktop.
- Start the Software Protection service.
- Run slmgr /dlv
- Stop the Software Protection service.
- Place tokens.dat and two hidden files back to their original locations.
- Install your product key by running slmgr /ipk <product key you purchased>
- Start the Software Protection service.
- Activate Windows.