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claudetools/clients/rednour/session-logs/2026-06/2026-06-29-howard-legalasst-win11-upgrade-activation-billing.md
Howard Enos 18ac0f98fa sync: auto-sync from HOWARD-HOME at 2026-06-29 22:38:53 
Author: Howard Enos
Machine: HOWARD-HOME
Timestamp: 2026-06-29 22:38:53
2026-06-29 22:39:22 -07:00

8.0 KiB
Raw Blame History

User

  • User: Howard Enos (howard)
  • Machine: Howard-Home
  • Role: tech

Session Summary

Completed and documented the Windows 11 in-place upgrade of LEGALASST (Carla Skinner's box) at Rednour Law Offices. The machine is an unsupported whitebox (generic OEM, AMD Ryzen 3 3200G, 5.9 GB RAM, no TPM enabled, Secure Boot off), so the upgrade required the Microsoft in-place bypass. Set HKLM\SYSTEM\Setup\MoSetup\AllowUpgradesWithUnsupportedTPMOrCPU = 1 via GuruRMM (agent 18825ea7-df58-47bb-b492-822cb16fb5ec) and verified read-back = 1. Because the box has zero TPM and Secure Boot off, the MoSetup key alone is insufficient; the upgrade was carried out from a mounted ISO using setup.exe /product server (Server appraiser skips all consumer hardware gates) with keep-files-and-apps. The upgrade was the only remaining way to clear the corrupted Windows install — SFC had found corruption that in-place repair had not fully resolved, and a feature upgrade rebuilds the whole shell/system-file set (effectively a repair-in-place short of wipe-and-reload).

Post-upgrade the machine reported as Win11 Pro but unactivated ("Notification", reason 0xC004F034). Investigated activation per request to recover the old key from windows.old: loaded the windows.old SOFTWARE hive and decoded the DigitalProductId, which returned only the generic placeholder Pro key (VK7JG-NPHTM-... family) — i.e. no real key to recover. slmgr /ato failed with 0x803F7001 (no digital entitlement for this hardware), confirming the prior activation was non-genuine (consistent with the prior MSP's leftover agents). Per Mike/Howard decision, activation was put on HOLD — no MAK applied yet. The ACG Windows Pro MAK (vault infrastructure/windows-pro-mak.sops.yaml) is the standard fix but carries a $99/machine charge and consumes a MAK seat; deferred.

Both long-standing LEGALASST issues look resolved after the upgrade: the built-in Compressed-Folders handler hang on opening local .zip files, and the WordPerfect 5 "not enough free space" save error. The WordPerfect resolution contradicts the earlier hypothesis that an OS upgrade would not fix a legacy free-space-overflow bug — flagged as observed-resolved, confirm in normal use.

Updated the Rednour wiki article (LEGALASST now Win11; both issues marked resolved; upgrade-as-only-fix rationale; recommend machine replacement due to age; activation deliberately omitted per request) and validated backlinks/frontmatter. Billed 1.5 hr remote labor to Syncro #32368 as a line item only — did NOT invoice (more billing being added in another session).

Key Decisions

  • Used setup.exe /product server rather than only the MoSetup key: the box has no TPM at all and Secure Boot off, which the MoSetup key does not cover. /product server is a pure-software path that skips all consumer checks and still performs a normal Win11 (not Server) in-place upgrade keeping files/apps.
  • Held off on activation. The recovered "key" was the generic placeholder and there is no MS digital entitlement (0x803F7001), so the only legitimate path is the ACG MAK ($99 billable + MAK seat). Left as a HOLD decision for Mike/Howard.
  • Recommended replacing LEGALASST rather than investing further: 2019-era Ryzen 3 3200G APU, 5.9 GB RAM, unsupported for Win11, end of useful life.
  • Billed the 1.5 hr remote as a line item without invoicing, because additional billing for this ticket is being entered in a separate session; invoicing now would split the work across invoices.
  • Line item attributed to Howard (user_id 1750, work done by Howard); did not change ticket owner (currently Winter, 1737).

Problems Encountered

  • Activation could not be restored from windows.old — the DigitalProductId held only the generic Pro key and MS reported no entitlement (0x803F7001 / 0xC004F034). Resolved by identifying it as a non-genuine prior activation; real licensing deferred to the ACG MAK decision (on hold).
  • bc not available in this Git Bash — line total computed manually (1.5 x $150 = $225.00). Minor; no impact.

Configuration Changes

  • Modified: wiki/clients/rednour.md — LEGALASST OS -> Win 11; new history entry (Win11 upgrade completed, ~1.5 hr remote, upgrade-as-only-fix for corrupted Windows, both issues resolved, replacement recommendation); Active Work rows updated (upgrade DONE, WordPerfect DONE, zip-handler DONE, added P2 replace-LEGALASST row); Patterns entries marked [RESOLVED 2026-06-29 after Win11 upgrade]; EOL note updated. Activation status intentionally omitted.
  • Remote registry change on LEGALASST (via RMM): created HKLM\SYSTEM\Setup\MoSetup\AllowUpgradesWithUnsupportedTPMOrCPU (DWORD) = 1.
  • Syncro #32368: added one line item (Labor - Remote Business, 1.5h, $150/hr, $225.00, taxable false). No invoice created; ticket status unchanged (Customer Reply).

Credentials & Secrets

  • No new credentials discovered or created. ACG Windows Pro MAK already vaulted at infrastructure/windows-pro-mak.sops.yaml (key BP2XJ-CGNYY-7K8TK-GWXXJ-HMJ4K; $99/machine billing rule; consumes a MAK count) — referenced only, not applied this session.
  • Recovered LEGALASST windows.old key decoded to the generic placeholder Pro key (VK7JG-NPHTM-C97JM-9MPGT-3V66T family) — not a real/usable license, not vaulted.

Infrastructure & Servers

  • LEGALASST — Rednour Law Offices, GuruRMM agent 18825ea7-df58-47bb-b492-822cb16fb5ec, IP 192.168.10.213. Now Win 11 Pro (upgraded 2026-06-29). Generic OEM whitebox, AMD Ryzen 3 3200G 4c/4t, 5.9 GB RAM, no TPM, Secure Boot off.
  • GuruRMM API: http://172.16.3.30:3001 ; RMM agent worked for LEGALASST this session (contradicts the wiki's broader "GuruRMM not working for Rednour" note — that note still stands for the Mac and for interactive feature-upgrade work).
  • Rednour Law — Syncro customer 1224246; GuruRMM site Main Office GREEN-FALCON-7214 (site UUID c7f5787c-8e71-45b3-841f-fa52436f7d26, client UUID 85f7cff4-d4db-48a8-b477-b8788122a361).

Commands & Outputs

  • Set bypass + verify (RMM PowerShell as SYSTEM): New-ItemProperty HKLM:\SYSTEM\Setup\MoSetup -Name AllowUpgradesWithUnsupportedTPMOrCPU -Value 1 -PropertyType DWord -Force -> read-back = 1; TPM Present=False; OS Win10 Pro 19045 (pre-upgrade probe).
  • Activation state post-upgrade: Windows(R), Professional edition | Notification | reason=0xC004F034, channel Retail, partial ...3V66T; OA3 firmware key: none.
  • windows.old key decode: loaded C:\Windows.old\Windows\System32\config\SOFTWARE -> DigitalProductId decoded to generic Pro key; old edition Windows 10 Pro, old ProductId 00330-80000-00000-AA002.
  • cscript slmgr.vbs /ato -> Error: 0x803F7001 (no product key / digital license found for this device).
  • Syncro add_line_item -> id 43069980, qty 1.5, price_retail 150.0, taxable false, user_id 1750.

Pending / Incomplete Tasks

  • ACTIVATION (HOLD): LEGALASST is on Win11 but unactivated. To activate, apply ACG MAK: slmgr /ipk BP2XJ-CGNYY-7K8TK-GWXXJ-HMJ4K then slmgr /ato; verify Licensed; then $99 line item (machine = LEGALASST) on #32368 via /syncro. Decision pending.
  • BILLING: #32368 has the 1.5 hr remote LEGALASST line ($225.00) plus 2 hardware lines, NOT invoiced — more billing being added in another session; invoice from there.
  • Recommend quoting a replacement workstation for LEGALASST (age/unsupported hardware).
  • REDNOURCARRIEVI still on Win10 22H2 (EOL); in-place upgrade fails at SAFE_OS/APPLY_IMAGE — separate open item.
  • Confirm WordPerfect + zip fixes hold in normal use.

Reference Information

  • Syncro ticket #32368 (id 111999527): https://computerguru.syncromsp.com/tickets/111999527 — subject "New machine for Carrie to act as a central hub/file share. Upgrade for reception computer that is running slow." Status Customer Reply. Owner Winter (1737).
  • Bot alerts: RMM dispatch msg 1521359336188678164; Syncro line-item msg 1521389269082443846.
  • Vault: infrastructure/windows-pro-mak.sops.yaml (ACG Windows Pro MAK, $99/machine billing rule).
  • MoSetup bypass key: HKLM\SYSTEM\Setup\MoSetup\AllowUpgradesWithUnsupportedTPMOrCPU (DWORD 1).
  • Activation errors: 0x803F7001 (no entitlement for device), 0xC004F034 (license not found/invalid).
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