KMS_Error_0xC004C008_Activating_Client
Hello, my name is Scott McArthur. I am a Senior Support Escalation Manager in the Windows group and today’s blog will cover KMS volume Activation.
With Windows Vista we introduced 2 methods for activating volume license versions of Windows. Key Management Service (KMS) and Multiple Activation Key (MAK). KMS keys are grouped to activate different sku’s of Windows. See Appendix B for more information. I am going to discuss one of the most common issues we see in support about KMS activation.
Issue:
When you try to activate a computer you receive the following error code: 0xC004C008. This error code means the following
| 0xC004C008 | The activation server determined that the specified product key could not be used. | KMS | The Key Management Service (KMS) key has exceeded the activation limit. | KMS keys will activate up to 10 times on six different computers. If more activations are necessary, contact the PA Call Center. |
Cause
The common issue we see in support is that customers will use their KMS host key to activate individual KMS clients. With Windows XP/2003 a volume license key was used on each computer when you install. So when you apply this same process to Windows Vista or Windows Server 2008 you will encounter this issue.
The KMS host key should only be installed on your KMS host. The key allows for 6 activations on different hardware and 10 activations on the same hardware. This is so that you can rebuild your KMS host or move the KMS Host functionality to a new system. Everything will appear to work until you reach that Seventh activation.
Correct Steps for setting up KMS host and KMS clients.
Note: These are the basic steps. For additional information see the Additional Resources at the end of this blog.
1. Select a computer that you want to be your KMS host
2. Install Windows Vista or Windows Server 2008 from volume license media. You should not be prompted for a cdkey
At cmd prompt type the following
Slmgr.vbs –ipk <KMS host key>
The –ipk installs the key. Note if you need to change your key. For example change from a KMS_B to KMS_C key you must restart the slsvc service for this to take affect. To do this type 'net stop slsvc' then 'net start slsvc'
Slmgr.vbs –ato
The –ato activates the computer. You must activate the KMS host
4. Install the KMS client computers by using volume license media. You should not be prompted for cdkey during installation
5. By default these KMS client computers will query DNS and locate your KMS host and activate
Terminology
KMS Host key: This is the key that you obtain from Microsoft for your contract
KMS Host: This is the computer that you have designated as your KMS host
KMS Client: This Might Be Windows Vista or Windows Server 2008 computers that you are trying to activate by using KMS.
Resolution
1. First you must get your KMS host key reset so that it can support additional activations. For information about how to reset your KMS key see the following document:
MAK and KMS Volume License Keys and Their Activation Limits:
2. Identify those computers that were incorrectly activated by using the KMS host key which in turn has turned those computers into KMS hosts. You can check this by running the following command at elevated cmd prompt:
Slmgr.vbs –dlv
Note: You could also use the VAMT tool to scan your machines to determine their activation status
I have highlighted some important information in this output. If you see “Key Management Service is enabled” then you know this computer is a KMS host. You can also see the channel of the key that was used to activate the computer. In this example the KMS_C key was used. See Appendix A for information on the different types of keys. The partial product key is also very useful to determine what specific key was used.
A KMS client will look like this. I have highlighted some important information. You can see that this is a Volume_KMSCLIENT Channel. You can see it is using the default key. See Appendix B for the default keys. You can also see what KMS host has activated the machine.
3. To reset these computers to be KMS clients. Type the following at elevated command prompt
Slmgr.vbs –ipk xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx
Where xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx is the generic VL key from Appendix B for the edition installed. This will make these computers be KMS clients and look for a KMS host.
In order for this change to take affect you can run the following command
'Net stop slsvc'
'Net stop slsvc'
Or you can also just reboot the computer. If you don’t restart the slsvc service it may continue to register that machine in DNS as a KMS host
4. For the computers that had the KMS host key incorrectly installed on them, it is possible that a DNS record was created for those computers. This would result in having multiple KMS host DNS records and KMS clients may be communicating to them. This may cause the KMS host machine to have a lower count of KMS clients than should be on the actual KMS host machine. To find these records you can look in DNS or use the following command on a computer connected to the domain at a elevated cmd prompt
nslookup -type=all _vlmcs._tcp>kms.txt
The DNS records will have _vlmcs at the beginning. Delete any additional DNS KMS host records that you have using your DNS administration tool.
Additional resources
Volume Activation Portal: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/dd197314.aspx
938450 How to troubleshoot Volume Activation error codes on Windows Vista-based computers
MAK and KMS Volume License Keys and Their Activation Limits
Top 5 Product Key Activation Challenges IT Pros Encountered and Solved
Microsoft Activation Centers Worldwide Telephone Numbers
Appendix A: KMS Key Editions
| Volume Product Key Group | Windows Editions |
| Vista VL | Windows Vista Business Windows Vista Enterprise |
| Server Group A | Windows Web Server 2008 |
| Server Group B | Windows Server 2008 Standard Windows Server 2008 Standard without Hyper-V Windows Server 2008 Enterprise Windows Server 2008 Enterprise without Hyper-V |
| Server Group C | Windows Server 2008 Datacenter Windows Server 2008 Datacenter without Hyper-V Windows Server 2008 for Itanium-Based Systems |
Appendix B: Default KMS Keys
| Operating System Edition | Product Key |
| Windows Vista Business | YFKBB-PQJJV-G996G-VWGXY-2V3X8 |
| Windows Vista Business N | HMBQG-8H2RH-C77VX-27R82-VMQBT |
| Windows Vista Enterprise | VKK3X-68KWM-X2YGT-QR4M6-4BWMV |
| Windows Vista Enterprise N | VTC42-BM838-43QHV-84HX6-XJXKV |
|
|
| Windows Server 2008 Datacenter | 7M67G-PC374-GR742-YH8V4-TCBY3 |
| Windows Server 2008 Datacenter without Hyper-V | 22XQ2-VRXRG-P8D42-K34TD-G3QQC |
| Windows Server 2008 for Itanium-Based Systems | 4DWFP-JF3DJ-B7DTH-78FJB-PDRHK |
| Windows Server 2008 Enterprise | YQGMW-MPWTJ-34KDK-48M3W-X4Q6V |
| Windows Server 2008 Enterprise without Hyper-V | 39BXF-X8Q23-P2WWT-38T2F-G3FPG |
| Windows Server 2008 Standard | TM24T-X9RMF-VWXK6-X8JC9-BFGM2 |
| Windows Server 2008 Standard without Hyper-V | W7VD6-7JFBR-RX26B-YKQ3Y-6FFFJ |
| Windows Web Server 2008 | WYR28-R7TFJ-3X2YQ-YCY4H-M249D |
Scott McArthur
Senior Support Escalation Engineer
Microsoft Enterprise Platforms Support
