Activate Windows Thin Pc
Teodolinda Mattson
I've got some HP T620's and they have got Windows 7 embedded installed standard. I'm using HP Device Manager for new images and when I install Windows 10 IoT on the thin client, I can't activate Windows 10 IoT on them.
The error: "We can't activate Windows on this device because the product key was already user on another device. If you think it wasn't user on another device, select Troubleshoot below. Error code: 0xC004C008."
On another circumstance the Windows Key was showing a wrong key in the Windows Activation dialog but when using wmic it provided the correct one that could be entered and then it activated correctly:
This time the replacement comes (after waiting 4 weeks - no stock in New Zealand and maybe Australia?), I boot it up and find Windows is not activated. Plug in ethernet, does not activate automatically.
I go into Windows Activation and find the message: This product key doesn't work. You might need to get in touch with the store or company you brought Windows from, or you can buy a new key from Microsoft.
This stemmed from a faulty (dead HDD) in the Thin Client. Are you saying I need to contact Microsoft to deactivate its OEM BIOS Windows license key before getting a replacement under warranty from HP?
no i think HP needs to contact microsoft to see if my guess about the number of activations is correct at this point you seem to be in the middle MS will direct you to HP, and HP has no idea what to do
I can see what you're saying but HP would surely have several or dozens of these thin clients activating every day, I don't think me getting 5 replacement units over a month period would affect the MS activation too much.
again, the ms activation servers use checks to try to stop illeagal activations and several of those are the number of activations made from the same hardware id's and also the frequency of activation attempts made within a set time frame
several years ago we had a unstable white box win 7 using a legit oem key that after 8 OS reloads/activations within 48 hours refused to activate anymore calling MS we were told that due to the number of activations that key was blocked
HP sent me a 768251-001 to test as a replacement - this activates fine BUT I have found there is a difference I didn't realise - this one doesn't have a Wi-Fi card. Otherwise the models are identical.
I got a Dell Wyse 5070 Extended Thin Client which came with Windows 10 IoT Enterprise LTSC 2019 which worked until now. But because we require more local storage we replaced the 32GB SSD with a larger one (Micron 5100 1TB). After replacement I went to the Dell website, downloaded the latest Windows 10 IoT Enterprise LTSC 2019 image for my thin client, created a bootable USB stick with the Dell USB tool, booted the thin client from it and installed Windows.
Windows licencing can be a pain. I see that Windows want to drop that version of their OS and maybe that has something to do with it. Also, I seem to remember from somewhere that manufactures could get cheaper Windows licences if they kept the SSD storage below 64 GB (or maybe it was 32 GB) and so your attempt to put in a larger capacity SSD may have tripped that criteria. In any event, you are stuck between two non moveable organisations and neither want to be helpful.
Windows licencing can be a pain. I see that Windows want to drop that version of their OS and maybe that has something to do with it. Also, I seem to remember from somewhere that manufactures could get cheaper Windows licences if they kept the SSD storage below 64 GB (or maybe it was 32 GB) and so your attempt to put in a larger capacity SSD may have tripped that criteria.
Install macrium reflect on the wyse and create a bootable flash drive. Buy a m.2 sata drive enclosure. Install the old drive in the enclosure. Goto the setup and turn on usb boot, and turn off secure boot. Restart the wyse and press F12 at dell logo and boot it with usb. Connect the old drive and clone it to the new drive. Make sure C: partition is the last partition on the new drive so you can expand it later using disk management in windows. You can turn on secure boot and turn off usb boot in the setup.
Press F12 at boot and boot from usb and go to Troubleshoot and Command Prompt. Type diskpart enter. Type list disk enter. Type select disk x enter using the number from list disk. Type clean enter. Restart the unit and press F12. Boot from usb and install windows 10. Install the downloaded drivers and activate windows.
You must use the VL media for your image and that will not activate with the OEM key. Some people incorrectly use OEM media when creating their image. VL media and use either KMS or MAK, if you want to do it correctly.
We did investigate some different cloning options and mass software-installation packages methods before getting to MDT, the main issues there were modifications of the images, uncertain licensing concerns, and refreshing laptops when users return hardware.
I think my last question would be, when you say initial Windows image, would that be the Windows 10 Pro ISO purchased from the VLSC to obtain the Install.wim file for the MDT or is this an ISO obtained from the original manufacturer, in this case, Dell?
When a snapshot is created, the system image is generalized and the activation is canceled. On installing a snapshot, the system is activated by connecting to a Microsoft online service if Internet access is available. However, running the thin client in an environment without Internet access is also possible.
If the thin client is never connected to the Internet, it remains in the state "deferred activation", and the thin client can be operated without any restrictions. If activation fails, the thin client goes into the state "not activated"; in this case, a watermark may be displayed.
Right-click the Windows start menu and select System.
In the base information, under Windows activation, you find the currect state of the Windows activation.
The following states are possible:
I would like to know what is the best way to keep Wyse Windows 10 IoT devices current with MS updates and how can you automate the process since the devices have a write filter. Also, I would like to install Symantec AV, I know that windows definitions get updated often. I know you can send a command to update the definitions but how can I send a command from WMS to disable the write filter, then run a few commands and finally enable the writer filter. I know that with WDM you had the script tool that allowed you to create a script that you can later send to the devices.
Basically I would like to keep the Win1o IoT as secure as possible, I know that if the device gets a virus or spyware because of the Writer Filter I can always reboot and hope the virus gets removed, but I wanted to take some extra precautionary steps since this are a pretty much a Windows 10 and act like a Windows 10 device.
All packages sent to your client from WMS will be installed fine. WMS controls the Write Filter. If WF is enabled, WMS will disable it, reboot, install, reboot and enable it again.
If WF is disabled, WMS will only install the packages.
For virus pattern files I would recommend excluding a folder within the WF and store pattern files there.
However, most AV programs also store information about pattern files in the registry and this would fail, of course then.
Therefore, best practice would be to use a Next-gen AV program, which does not rely on pattern files anymore. A very good solution is available from Crowdstrike.
If you plan to use Windows Defender for antivirus, the device is already configured to allow the updates to apply without turning off the write filter. However, there are times where the update download is large enough to fill the write filter up and reboot the machine, depending on how long the machine has been running.
This requires careful sizing on memory when buying Windows 10 IoT thinclient. It is too difficult to use Windows 10 IoT thinclient without 8GB ram, especially MS makes the monthly CU so large for LTSB 2015 (1GB) and LTSB 2016 (1.5GB).
If I understand correctly, you have Windows Update setup to automatically download updates but not install them. You mention that you have the UWF exception for where the updates are stored but do you see any impact on the filter cache during the download process and, if yes, do you see the memory free up after the download completes?
As of October 3, 2019, all Wyse 5070 Windows devices ship with a Redstone 5 DPK (digital product key) in the BIOS. This DPK can be used to activate both Redstone 1 and Redstone 5 versions of the operating system that are supported on the 5070. Customers who have created a custom image that is based on older Redstone 1 images may see devices that do not activate successfully with the Redstone 5 DPK included on newer devices because of missing Microsoft updates.
The operating system activates itself if it has internet access. It reaches out and talks to Microsoft's activation server within 24 hours of being connected to the internet. Activation can also be forced by opening Command Prompt, typing slmgr.vbs /ato, and then running the command. Forced activation requires admin access on the thin client.
Windows 7 Thin PC is a lightweight version of Windows 7 that is designed for devices with limited resources, such as thin clients or netbooks. It has a smaller footprint and fewer features than the full Windows 7, but it still provides a familiar and secure Windows experience.
If you have installed Windows 7 Thin PC on your device, you may need to activate it to enjoy its full functionality and avoid expiration. One way to do this is to use a loader activator, which is a software tool that can bypass the activation process and make your Windows 7 Thin PC genuine.
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