Server 2019 Activation Error: Run “slui.exe 0x2a 0xC004F069” to display the error text

40 Comments

1. Hi Tom, this helped us to activate five orphaned Windows Server 2019 virtual machines – thanks!

   • Hi Isaac, glad to have helped!

2. Hello Tom.
   Many thanks for the article above.
   Helpful for me to activate my evaluation Windows Server 2019
   Now it is works perfectly

3. Worked like a charm. Standard activation method wasn’t working and this did the trick.

4. Worked like a charm ! Thanks

   The problem i have seen on one of my VPS is that after backingup , the VPS stopped and i started the wrong backup……now i am getting an error about the license key could ne activated because its being used on another device. Any idea ?

   • No idea, I’m afraid. I assume it’s because that your VPS think it’s been activated in two places. I could suggesting calling the activation line and pleading your case, apart from that, I wouldn’t really know.

5. Thank you fellow member of the herd, worked like a charm!

6. Thank you, exactly what I was looking for.

7. Saved my life. Many thanks for saving our VM fleet

8. You saved me a complete rebuild! Awesome work, sir!

9. Superb Thanks a lot. it worked

10. well done! thanks for sharing! many of us use trials to get initial configurations done before applying licensing . this saves a world of pain!.

11. Hi
    I entered the first line ok, then it replied with Editions that be upgraded to :

    But then it doesn’t do anything.
    Thanks

    • Odd, not seen that in the few times since I’ve needed this. It always stops on 10%. What happens if you just use the second DISM command?

12. Hi Tom ,

    Thank you for this . Help a lot

13. Hi, i put the 2nd DISM part and says setting and edition is not supported with online images ??????? Help please

    • What OS Version are you coming from/going to? I had this when I was going from Eval to Datacenter – it wanted me to go to Eval > Standard > Datacenter for some reason.

14. Hi Tom,

    I’m trying to upgrade a PC from Win10 home to Pro and I too am getting the online images error: “Setting an edition is not supported with online images.”

    I know your post is for Server editions but I have a Pro Key that isn’t being accepted by the normal GUI. Any workarounds or thoughts?

    • Have you tried opening an cmd prompt window and running slmgr.vbs /ipk XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX instead? Give that a go, would be interested to see if that works.

15. Thanks for this. You would think MS might be interested in fixing this.
    I’m getting “the specified product key could not be validated. check that the key is valid and that it matches the target edition”.

    We just got the key today, does it take a while? Is there a way to verify a connection? Maybe a security setting.

16. OK, fixed it by first installing an “interim” “LTSC” KMS key.
    Boy was that circuitous.
    Also DISM would not install our VLSC key but SLMGR did.

    • Strange, thanks for the feedback though. And agreed, it’s a bit of a pain.

17. Super Thanks a lot. it worked for me.

18. Hi Tom. Thanks for the “heads up” on this. Thought I would have to ring Microsoft.

19. Hi Tom….I tried this command DISM.exe /Online /Get-TargetEditions…..then i got this msg –
    (The current edition cannot be upgraded to any target editions.)
    Pls suggest what to do>

20. THANK YOU

21. Thanks. That helped me, too!
    I’m asking me, why is Microsoft not able to get a basic thing like productactivation working?

22. it did not work for me.please help

    • Try activating with one of the generic Windows Keys before using this – https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/get-started/kmsclientkeys

      • THANK YOU! Our Microsoft Partner’s keys are hella cheap but they’re useless when it comes to support. Was dreading having to call in to Microsoft support.

        A note to anyone else: After applying the generic key, DISM would still reject the authentic one but I was then able to perform a normal activation through the GUI. What a strange hoop to jump through.

23. I got an Error 50

    Changing this Windows edition is not supported online for a domain controller.

    Help!

    • Same as my response for Dvijj above, try activating with a generic key first – https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/get-started/kmsclientkeys

      • Any other ideas? Tried em all to no avail. I can describe a problem to every solution you can give me unless you somehow have the solution.

24. You are amazing, thanks so much for posting!

25. Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!

    Have been looking for days when I had time. I don’t even know how many slmgr commands I have tried other people have posted on a whole bunch of sites. All I was ever able to produce was new errors that led to nowhere.

    This was the first thing that fixed it. Thanks again, you guys are the best and this website has now been bookmarked.

26. Please note that once upgrade successful;
    using: CMD
    wmic path softwarelicensingservice get OA3xOriginalProductKey

    You will still see the old product key NOT the new one. which is totally fine,,, i.e.
    Your old product key which is linked to your account is upgraded to Windows Pro. Please do not expect to see the new key. Please share the results.

27. This is awesome. Microsoft fails big 2 times (activation through UI and using slmgr), so you saved me here. Thank you! /Torsten

28. Thanks! this saved me hours!

29. Best hint every – saved me hours of investigations. Thanks.

30. thank you very much

    i m using it now thx