🪟 How to Activate Windows on ggRock Systems

Seeing that pesky “Activate Windows” watermark on your Machines? Whether it's showing up on the desktop or bleeding through the ggLeap UI — don't worry, we've got you covered! 😄

This guide walks you through different ways to activate Windows on ggRock systems, depending on what kind of licenses you have.

🚨 The Problem

Your Machines may display a watermark that says “Activate Windows”. It might show on the desktop, or even behind full-screen apps like ggLeap, causing distraction or confusion.

✅ The Solutions

There are a few different ways to activate Windows, depending on what kind of licensing you have:

🏢 Option 1: KMS Activation (for Volume-License or Enterprise customers)

If you're in an enterprise environment, KMS (Key Management Service) is a great way to manage activation at scale — one central server activates all your Machines automatically.

🔧 Learn more here:
👉 Activate using Key Management Service (KMS) – Microsoft Docs

🔑 Option 2: MAK Activation (also for Volume-License customers)

MAK (Multiple Activation Key) licensing is perfect for ggRock deployments where you want a simple, one-time activation per Machine.

📘 More info:
👉 Plan for Volume Activation – Microsoft Docs

💡 Tip: This is usually the easiest route for volume-licensed Windows setups if you're not using KMS.

🛠️ Option 3: Manual or Scripted Activation (Retail or OEM keys)

This method works if:

You bought individual retail keys, or
Your PCs came with OEM licenses embedded in the BIOS

⚠️ Important: Retail and OEM keys have limited activations. Repeated attempts may exhaust them and require calling Microsoft for a reset. Many centers have successfully had Microsoft increase their activation limits after a quick call or support request.

Step-by-Step Manual Activation

Enable Keep Writebacks on the system.
Open an elevated command prompt (right-click Start > Command Prompt (Admin) or Windows Terminal (Admin)).
Run:
slmgr.vbs -rearm
Reboot the Machine.
Go to Settings > Update & Security > Activation, then click Change product key.
Enter the valid product key (from BIOS, retail, or your records).

Need help finding your key? Microsoft offers several ways to retrieve a product key.

💻 Scripted Activation Examples

These can help automate the process at scale!

🧬 Script: Activate Using Key from BIOS

This script finds and activates your OEM key automatically:

@echo off
setlocal

rem Uninstall and clear current key
cscript //nologo "%SystemRoot%\System32\slmgr.vbs" /upk
cscript //nologo "%SystemRoot%\System32\slmgr.vbs" /cpky

rem Try to get embedded OEM key (works on Win10 with WMIC)
set "pk="
for /f "tokens=2 delims==" %%K in ('
  wmic path softwarelicensingservice get OA3xOriginalProductKey /value 2^>nul
') do set "pk=%%K"

rem If WMIC is missing (Windows 11+), fall back to PowerShell
if not defined pk (
  for /f "usebackq delims=" %%K in (`
    powershell -NoProfile -Command "(Get-CimInstance -ClassName SoftwareLicensingService).OA3xOriginalProductKey"
  `) do set "pk=%%K"
)

rem Stop if no key found
if not defined pk (
  echo No embedded OEM key found. Exiting...
  exit /b 1
)

echo Installing product key: %pk%
cscript //nologo "%SystemRoot%\System32\slmgr.vbs" /ipk %pk%
cscript //nologo "%SystemRoot%\System32\slmgr.vbs" /ato
cscript //nologo "%SystemRoot%\System32\slmgr.vbs" /dli

endlocal

🧾 Script: Activate Based on Service Tag (Retail Keys)

@ECHO OFF
for /F "skip=2 tokens=2 delims=," %%A in ('wmic systemenclosure get serialnumber /FORMAT:csv') do (set "serial=%%A")

REM Set product key based on serial number
if %serial%==COMPUTERSERVICETAG1 set pk=XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX
if %serial%==COMPUTERSERVICETAG2 set pk=XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX

cscript %WINDIR%\System32\slmgr.vbs /upk
cscript %WINDIR%\System32\slmgr.vbs /cpky
cscript %WINDIR%\System32\slmgr.vbs /ipk %pk%
cscript %WINDIR%\System32\slmgr.vbs /ato
cscript %WINDIR%\System32\slmgr.vbs /dli

🌐 Script: Activate Based on MAC Address (Retail Keys)

@ECHO OFF

REM Get the MAC address of the first Ethernet adapter and convert it to uppercase
for /F "tokens=3 delims=," %%A in ('"getmac /v /fo csv | findstr /i Ethernet"') do (
    set "MACADDR=%%A"
    REM Only capture the first MAC address
    goto :found
)

:found
REM Debugging step: Check the raw MAC address
echo Raw MAC Address: %MACADDR%

REM Remove leading and trailing spaces from MAC address and convert it to uppercase
set MACADDR=%MACADDR: =%
set MACADDR=%MACADDR: =-%

REM Debugging step: Check the formatted MAC address
echo Formatted MAC Address: %MACADDR%

REM Set product key based on MAC address
if /i "%MACADDR%"=="D8:43:AE:9D:95:68" set pk=XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX
if /i "%MACADDR%"=="D8:43:AE:9D:97:2B" set pk=YYYYY-YYYYY-YYYYY-YYYYY-YYYYY
if /i "%MACADDR%"=="D8:43:AE:9D:95:E3" set pk=ZZZZZ-ZZZZZ-ZZZZZ-ZZZZZ-ZZZZZ
if /i "%MACADDR%"=="D8:43:AE:9D:9D:C2" set pk=AAAAA-AAAAA-AAAAA-AAAAA-AAAAA

REM Debugging step: Check the product key value
echo Product Key: %pk%

REM If product key is set, run slmgr commands
if defined pk (
    cscript %WINDIR%\System32\slmgr.vbs /upk
    cscript %WINDIR%\System32\slmgr.vbs /cpky
    cscript %WINDIR%\System32\slmgr.vbs /ipk %pk%
    cscript %WINDIR%\System32\slmgr.vbs /ato
    cscript %WINDIR%\System32\slmgr.vbs /dli
) else (
    echo Error: Product key not found.
)

📌 Final Notes

Every Machine booting Windows via ggRock must be properly licensed.
Only volume-license customers can use KMS or MAK methods.
Retail/OEM keys may run out of activations — be prepared to contact Microsoft if needed.

Need more help with licensing? Start with Microsoft’s overview:
👉 Windows Product Licensing – Microsoft