Due to the licensing agreement with Microsoft, all University copies of Windows Operating System and Microsoft Office have to be activated every 180 days using the UH Activation server. (Sometimes sooner, due to some unknown issue with Windows.) This server can only be accessed while on the UH network. For desktop PCs stationed on-campus, this happens automatically, but for other PCs or laptops, users will need to do one of the following:
To connect to the UHSecure wireless network or the UH VPN, you will need to use your Cougarnet username and password. If you have not used your Cougarnet credentials in a long time, or just want to confirm it still works, first try to login to the AccessUH website. If you can login there, then you should have no problems with the instructions below. If not, you will need to resolve this first before proceeding with the instructions below. For further help changing your Cougarnet password, visit my webpage or contact UH IT.
After connecting to the UH network, using either method above, WIndows and Office should automatically activate on their own. Sometimes it may take up to a couple of minutes before activation for both is complete. One way to make sure Office is activated is to run Word and go to the File Menu Ribbon and from the list on the left side, choose "Account" and then look to see that it reports that Office is activated. If it still fails to activate, manual activation may be necessary.
PCs maintained by the Math Department Administrators should have a script installed that can do the activation for you. However, some older laptops may require that an administrator complete the activation for you. The script should tell you if is an administrator is required.
| 1) Find the Wireless Network icon in the System Tray. Examples are shown to the right. The one on top is shown when not connected to a wireless or wired network. The one below is shown when you are connected to a wireless network. |  |
| 2) Next, click on the Wireless Network icon and if the WiFi button is not highlighted, like it is in the image, then it is turned off. You will need to
click the WiFi button to turn it on in order to proceed. With the WiFi on, look over the list of available wireless network names for UHSecure and click on it. |
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| 3) If it says "Connected" and there is a button that says "Disconnect", (like in the image from Step 7 below) then you are already
connected and can proceed to the next step. If there is an option to "Connect Automatically" with a button to "Connect", then click the Connect button. |
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| 4) You may be asked to provide your cougarnet username and password. If so, then type in your simple username only and then your password and then click OK. |  |
| 5) You may see the warning in the example, if so, Click the Connect button. |  |
| 6) Windows will attempt to connect to the UHSecure wireless network using your cougarnet credentials. You may see the the example image. |  |
| 7) Once connected, you should see what is similar to the example. If so, then you are on the UHSecure wireless network. |  |
Just connecting to the UHSecure wireless network, your Windows PC may immediately activate on it's own. To be sure you are activated, you should still run the script from the instructions below and it will confirm activation or allow you you to do so manually.
First, if your laptop or desktop is maintained by us, then you should already have the Cisco UHVPN software installed. You can find the icon in the Systray or in the Start Menu as in Step 1 below. If your PC was not issued by us and is not maintained by us, then you may need to download and install the Cisco AnyConnect VPN Client software. Instructions and a link for the download are here. The instructions will tell you how to install the software and also how to make a connection as well as disconnect once you are done.
| 1) Look for the Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client icon in the System Tray, usually in the lower right corner with several other small icons and the date. In the example picture, the red arrow points to Cisco icon. Right click on the icon and from the popup menu, choose 'Open AnyConnect' |  |
| 2) Once started, you need to type the following into the textbox like in the image: vpn.uh.edu just like in the UH instructions. If you are off campus, you must make a connection to the UH VPN. Failure to do so will prevent activation from working. |
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| 3) You will then be asked to provide a username and password. Once you type that into the appropriate boxes, click Ok. |  |
| 4) You may then get a popup to confirm your identity using Two Factor Authentication. You will need to complete this before continuing. You may want to make sure that the option "Remember me for 30 days" is checked, like in the image. The connection may take a few seconds to complete, but you should get a Windows popup notification with the status. |
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| 5) The Cisco icon should now have a lock symbol on the icon showing that it is connected. If so, proceed to the next section. If the lock icon is not shown, then you are proabably not connected to the UHVPN and activation will not work. If the connection failed, it is usually due to a bad or expired password. If so, you may try again and go back to Step #1. If it fails again, try using the AccessUH link above to confirm that your Cougarnet credentials are still valid. |
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Once you are on the UHSecure wireless network or connected to the UHVPN network, Windows will probably activate quickly. Office may take a little longer. You can run any Office app (Word, Excel, etc...) and go to the File Menu and choose Account to see whether it has activated. If still not activated, then proceed with the following instructions.
You will then be asked to type in a username and password with administrative permissions. The admin username and password are on an account sheet that was provided to you when you were issued the equipment. If you have lost the account sheet, you will need to schedule an appointment for the replacement of the useradmin password by emailing the
| 1) Click on the Start Menu. You do not need to click on anything else and can immediately start typing "Activation" (without the quotes). You
should see: "Activation - Run as Admin" or just "Activation" at the top of the list. Click on it. If you are asked to provide administrator username and password, then click the No button and you will need to contact the Math IT admins to complete activation. |
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| 2) A Command Prompt window should popup. After a few seconds, you should see something like the picture to the right. Look for the activation Status for both Windows and Office to see the dates when the license expires. Sometimes when you connect to the UHVPN, activation might happen automatically, before you run the script, and the dates may show you have 179 or 180 days left to activate (like in the picture to the right), in which case the script will not activate again and just exit. If less than 60 days are left to activate, then completing the script should clear the activation. Press any key and the script should run and activate Windows and Office. Once done, the window will show you the status of the activation and then close after a few seconds. You should now be activated for 180 days! If you did not see the results of the activation, whether it succeeded or not, just run the script again (repeat Step 1) and look for the activation status. |
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| You should not stay on the UHVPN, unless you are also doing some other UH-related work that requires it. To disconnect, go back to the Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client.
Click on the "Disconnect" button and you should see that the program closes and you should now be disconnected from the UHVPN. |
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That's it!