How to fix: An Unauthorized change was made to Windows Server 2008 error

Few days back, one of my office Server Machines (HP Proliant G6) running Windows Server 2008 (Genuine copy) popped up the following error message at startup,

 "An Unauthorized change was made to Windows, Windows has discovered a change that will result in limited Windows functionality. Use the link below to find out how to fix windows"

And believe me, it was quite annoying, as the error message did not provide any details of the error. Due to this error, I was not able to login into the Server. Rather, the machine Logged Off, as soon as I pressed the Close option on the Error Screen. But, another thing was quite interesting, that, the Server was running quite well and was replying to Client requests. It was successfully replying to both SQL and Network related requests of Clients. But the server itself was not allowing me to login.

Now, before fixing this error, let us first understand the error itself.

Error Description

The error below is actually related to Windows Activation. Either your Windows Activation has ended or there is some issue with the activation of your Windows. There can also be another possible reason for this error. i.e. Your Antivirus software is causing this problem.

Now, let's move to fix this problem with the windows.

How to fix "An Unauthorized change was made to Windows  Server 2008" error

In my case, the problem was with the Windows Activation. The activation of my windows had ended (3 Year Activation). But it was very important for me to continue with this copy of Windows Server 2008, as it was not feasible for me to switch this Live Server serving Dozens of clients.

So, in order to get myself into the Windows Server 2008, I used the below mentioned steps to fix the issue with my Windows Activation.

1) Click the option that launches an Internet Browser (on the error screen which reads Learn More Online)

2) Type: %windir%\system32 into the address field (To access the Windows System32 directory)

3) Find the file cmd.exe

4) Right-click on cmd.exe and select Run as Administrator

5) Type the following command on the Command Prompt: 

cscript %windir%\System32\slmgr.vbs /ilc %windir%\System32\licensing\ppdlic\Security-Licensing-SLC-ppdlic.xrm-ms)

6) Hit the Enter key

7) Reboot twice.

Conclusion

You need to reboot your machine Twice in order to fix this Issue. After following the above steps, I was able to fix the issue with my Windows Activation. But, if the issue is not solved by following the above steps, then you need to check if your Antivirus is causing this issue. If so, please uninstall the Antivirus software from your machine. Hope this solves the Issue.

Author: Umar Bashir

Umar Bashir is a Tech writer and Blogger. He writes about web development. He also likes to write about Windows OS, Database Management and other technology related matters.

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