Troubleshooting Office Activation

If the activation of Office fails with the TU Toolbox, there could be various reasons:

• The Toolbox is outdated (Link to the latest version)
• Attempting to activate an unsupported version (Home or Pro)
• The Office/Windows installation or components are damaged
• kms.tuwien.ac.at is unreachable - outside TU Vienna, a VPN connection is necessary
• A firewall is blocking the ports (1688 and 1689 TCP to kms.tuwien.ac.at)

Here are things you can do to potentially resolve these errors:

1. Open a Command Prompt (cmd) with Administrator Rights. To do this, type 'cmd' in the search field and choose 'Run as Administrator.' This is also necessary even if you are logged in as an administrator.

   

   Enter the following commands:

   sfc /scannow

   This takes a while; if errors are found, restart the computer and open a Command Prompt with Administrator Rights again, then enter the following; if no errors are found, proceed to the next point.

   Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /ScanHealth

   Windows 10 checks the component store for corruption. Execution may take a while.

   Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /CheckHealth

   Indicates whether corruptions were detected and can be repaired.

   Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth

   The command attempts to repair the detected errors.

2. To get more detailed error messages, it may also be helpful to manually attempt activation via the Command Prompt (with Administrator Rights).

   Here is a list of commands and their functions:

   To find the correct script, you can check the log file (of the Toolbox):

   Look for the following entry:

   filecheck: 'C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office16\OSPP.VBS' in use

   The bold marked part is the information you need.

   Execute the script as follows:

   C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office16\OSPP.VBS /act

   or

   cscript.exe C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office16\OSPP.VBS /act

   Before trying these commands, the KMS server must be activated for your computer. Visit the following website: https://oase.it.tuwien.ac.at/Products.msActivation?auth=saml&format=json and log in with your TU account.

   

3. A complete uninstallation and reinstallation of Office might also help; you can use "tuoffice_scrub.exe" from the uninstall directory of the SWD server.

   If, despite these measures, it is not possible to activate Windows, often only an in-place repair (or if possible, an upgrade to the next new version) helps. This involves mounting the corresponding ISO image; right-click the ISO file and choose 'Mount.' It is crucial to use the same edition installed on the computer!

   

   Then start setup.exe from this drive and go through the setup...

   

   The Windows edition must match the installed one, and it's crucial to keep personal files and apps. Only click 'Install' when everything is in order.

   

   If you are unsure about which Windows edition you are using, you can use the command 'winver' (enter in the search) to check the installed version and edition.

   

If all else fails, in most cases, only a reinstall is possible, leading to the loss of all installed programs and files. It's advisable to backup personal data beforehand on an external drive. Alternatively, creating a complete backup of the disk allows for a possible return; all files are included in the backup.