Windows Enterprise Evaluation — supported recovery from 0xC004F009 without reinstalling

Question

Windows Enterprise Evaluation — supported recovery from 0xC004F009 without reinstalling

Kacper Turczyński 0

Hello,

I am using Windows Enterprise Evaluation in an isolated, non-production Hyper-V VM for software testing.

A slmgr.vbs /dlv check on 25 October 2026 at 12:59 guest time reported:

Edition: Windows EnterpriseEval

Channel: TIMEBASED_EVAL

License Status: Notification

Notification Reason: 0xC004F009 — grace time expired

Remaining Windows rearm count: 1

A previous rearm completed but did not resolve the problem. I cannot confirm whether an earlier online activation attempt using slmgr.vbs /ato was actually executed.

Is there a supported way to restore a valid evaluation state on this existing installation without reinstalling Windows?

Please clarify:

How can I distinguish an expired initial activation grace period from an exhausted evaluation period?

If recovery is supported, what are the prerequisites, exact recovery steps, connectivity requirements, and verification criteria?

If recovery is not supported, which official restriction applies to this Evaluation edition?

The VM is currently powered off and disconnected from the network. No further activation, rearm, or system changes are being performed pending clarification.

Thank you,
Kacper

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Answer 1

Hello,

Welcome to the Microsoft Windows Community.

Good morning, @Kacper Turczyński The code 0xC004F009 indicates that the activation grace period has expired. Furthermore, the Windows EnterpriseEval edition, under the TIMEBASED_EVAL channel, confirms that this is an evaluation installation. However, this information does not imply that the evaluation period can be extended.

Microsoft provides Windows 11 Enterprise Evaluation for 90 days and notes that, once this period expires, the system will display notifications and may shut down every hour. There is no officially published procedure to guarantee an extension of this timeframe for such an installation. See the Microsoft Evaluation Center.

Since the previous rearm did not resolve the issue, I recommend not using up your remaining attempt without official guidance. To continue your testing, the most reliable approach is to create a new VM using an evaluation image obtained directly from Microsoft—after first saving any necessary artifacts and data.