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Friday, December 14, 2012

Windows 8 Enterprise Activation Error 0x8007007B


I installed Windows 8 Enterprise from my MSDN account a while back.  I tested different software and production scenarios with it, trying to get a good feel for the OS.  Finally, after wanting to make it more of a permanent operating system for my computer, I wanted to activate it.  I received the following error when I tried:

Error Code: 0x8007007B, The filename, directory name, or volume label syntax is incorrect.

The fix for this is relatively simple.  Just add or replace the product key.  This can be done 2 different ways.
The first is by command line using vbs scripts.  The second is with the GUI.  Why do I talk about the GUI method secondly?  Because Microsoft does not offer an easy way to find it.

Method 1 (Command Line)
*This must be run from an elevated command prompt.  It is a two part process.  The first part replaces the product key and the second part activates.

1.  Start an elevated command prompt
A.  Click Start (or pixel 0x0 if you will)
B.  Type CMD or command.
C.  Right click the command prompt and click "Run as Administrator" at the bottom.
2.  From the command prompt, type "slmgr.vbs /ipk XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX" without quotes and hit enter.  Replace the X with the product key you want to use.
3.  From the command prompt, type "slmgr.vbs /ato" and hit enter.  Once this completes, windows should be activated.

Method 2 (GUI)
*This one is by far the easiest

1.  Click Start (or pixel 0x0)
2.  Type "slui 3" without the quotes.
3.  Click on the "slui 3" that appears under Apps.
4.  Enter your product key (Can enter dashes if you want, but not required.  Windows will add them for you)
5.  Click Activate.

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