Check Windows Vista Activation Status

Are you a user of Windows Vista Enterprise or Business edition and would like to know the status of activation of a specific computer? Want to make sure that the computer connected properly to the Key Management Server (KMS) or used your Multiple Activation Key (MAK) properly? Or are you a home user and just want to make sure your computer is fully activated?

Included in Windows Vista is very useful utility that will help you check the status of activation of your computer:

1. Click on the Start Button and key in CMD and hit Enter to start up Command Prompt.
2. At the prompt, type in “slmgr.vbs -dli”
3. After a few seconds you will be presented with a pop-up message with your activation status.

Extend Activation period past 180 days

 This allows you to use Windows Vista without having to activate it for longer than 180 days.

it is possible to setup Task Scheduler to automate these changes to extend the period before you need to activate beyond 180 days. Follow these steps to automate the registry change and activation reset using Task Scheduler:

1. Click on the Start Button, type in Task Manager and hit Enter.
2. When Task Scheduler loads, right click on Task Scheduler Library and select Create Task. 
3. Enter in a name for the new task such as “Activation Period Reset”.  Also, make sure that the user this account is run under is part of the Administrators group and the Run with highest privileges box is checked. 
4. Click on the Triggers tab and hit the New button.
5. On the New Trigger tab, select Daily and Recur every 29 days  (since activation is required 30 days after a reset) and hit OK.
6. Click on the Actions tab and hit New.
7. Enter in slmgr.vbs in the program/script box.
8. Enter in -rearm in the arguments box and hit OK.
9. Hit OK to save the settings for the new task you created.
10. Now you are ready for the second registry key change that will allow you to run the slmgr.vbs -rearm command more than three times. To do this, right click on the Task Scheduler Library folder again and select Create Task.
11. Enter in a name for the new task such as “Slmgr Reset “.  Also, make sure that the user this account is run under is part of the Administrators group and the Run with highest privileges box is checked.
12. Click on the Triggers tab and hit the New button.
13. On the New Trigger tab, select Daily and Recur every 179 days  (since slmgr needs to be reset after 180 days) and hit OK.
14. Click on the Actions tab and hit New.
15. Download and save this registry file to your computer.
16. Enter in regedit in the program/script box.
17. Enter in /s “full path to reg file” in the arguments box and hit OK.
18. Hit OK to save the settings for the new task you created.

Your computer is now configured to automatically reset the activation period every 29 days and reset your ability to reset the activation period every 179 days.

Extend Activation period to 180 days

Would you like to extend the activation period to the maximum 120 days instead of the 30 day period that is set by default?  It is possible and legal to do this using the software licensing manager in Windows Vista.  Simply run slmgr -rearm to get another 30 days at an administrative level command prompt.  You can do this a maximum of three times before Microsoft blocks further extensions.

1. Click on the Start Button and type in Command. 
2. The Command Prompt Prompt shortcut will now show up in your start panel search results. Right click on the shortcut and select Run as Administrator.
3. After Command Prompt loads, type in slmgr.vbs -rearm and hit Enter.
4. Reboot.