Activating Windows or Office

If you are working off-site, you will need to use VPN to activate or reactivate Windows and/or MS Office.

Installing VPN

Here is the link where you can download and install VPN for your version of operating system, either Vista, Windows 7 or Windows 8. Just follow the step-by-step instructions and photos.

https://answers.uillinois.edu/illinois/page.php?id=47507

Activating Windows

You may see a message on your University-owned computer that your copy of Windows is not genuine.

1. You will need to go to the U of IL Webstore to get the activation file. http://webstore.illinois.edu/home/ You must be on the U of I network, or if you are working off-site, you need to be using VPN.

2. Go to the folder where WindowsActivate.bat downloaded; right-click on WindowsActivate.bat and choose "Run as Administrator".

3. You will see a dialog box, asking you if you will allow changes. Click "Yes."

4. You will see a script informing you that the server is configuring; then a dialog box, informing you that the KMS machine name has been set successfully. Click "Okay.".

5. There will be another dialog box, which says "Activating." Lastly, you will see a notice that the product has activated successfully. Click "Okay."

Your copy of Windows is now genuine.

Reactivating Windows

If your copy of Windows has been activated at one time, but perhaps your computer is disconnected from the campus network for much of the time, eventually you will see the message that you need to reactivate your copy of Windows. The University computers activate against the KMS server and have to reactivate about every 90 days. If you are working off-site but are on VPN, all you have to do is type "activate" in the Search box, as show below with the red arrow:

Activating or Reactivating MS Office

You may see a message on your computer that your copy of Microsoft Office is not genuine.

1. MS Office and the activation file are not available to undergraduate students; you will need to contact help@igb.illinois.edu and we will activate it for you. If you are UIUC Faculty, staff or a graduate student, you can go to the U of IL Webstore to download the activation file for your University-owned computer. http://webstore.illinois.edu/home/ Please note that you must be on the U of IL network, or if you are working off-site, you need to be using VPN. #Installing_VPN

You can log in and get the file from your history, or, if previously you did not get MS Office from the webstore, go to the webstore and choose Unit Purchases, Microsoft Products, Microsoft Office for UI-Owned Computers License & Download - Campus Agreement ($0.00).

2. Go to the folder where Office2013activate.bat downloaded; right-click and choose "Run as Administrator".

3. A dialog box will appear, asking you if you would like to allow the program to make changes to your computer. Click "Yes."

4. A script will run while you wait. Lastly, the dialog box will show that the product activated successfully, and it will say, "Press any key to continue."

Congratulations! Your Office software is now activated.