Office Deployment Support Team Blog

Windows CMID is returned by OSPP.VBS script when running Office 2013 on Windows 8

JalalB - MSFT — Fri, 17 May 2013 16:29:00 GMT

BACKGROUND:

As part of Office 2010 and Office 2013 KMS activation, one important step is to ensure that each client computer has a unique CMID. When systems are created from an image on which the OSPPREARM.EXE was not run, each target system ends up with the same CMID and therefore the KMS Host count does not increase beyond the count of 5. This issue and its workaround are discussed at http://blogs.technet.com/b/odsupport/archive/2010/06/14/troubleshooting.aspx.

ISSUE:

When on a Windows 8 system running Office 2013, the command-line:

cscript ospp.vbs /dcmid

is run from an administrative command-prompt to check the CMID value, the CMID returned is that of Windows and not of Office

This occurs because with Office 2013 running on Windows 8, we rely on the Windows Software Protection Platform (SPP) service to provide activation for Windows as well as Office.

RESOLUTION:

In order to determine the CMID for Office 2013, look for event 12288 in the Application Event log of the system. There you will find a number of event logs. In order to determine the appropriate entry for Office, look for the event 12288 that ends with a ",5", as shown below:

The event 12288 associated with Windows will end with a ",25" as shown below:

As we can see from the above example the CMID for Office 2013 is 13befe68-308f-b99d-cc013122faff and the one for Windows 8 is da02ec22-a700-43ab-bfb7-6969691e58a2.

How to setup Microsoft Office 2013 KMS Host on Windows Server 2008 R2

JalalB - MSFT — Thu, 03 Jan 2013 21:27:00 GMT

Overview:

The KMS Host installation and activation process for Microsoft Office 2013 is similar to the one for Microsoft Office 2010.

Prerequisites:

Installation of the update that adds support for Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012 to Windows Server 2008, Windows 7, and Windows Server 2008 R2 KMS hosts is required for a successful installation of the KMS Host. The update can be downloaded from the link http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2757817.

Installation:

STEP 1: If you have not downloaded and installed the update to add support for Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012 to Windows 2008 R2 KMS host, please do so by accessing the link http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2757817 and downloading and installing the appropriate update.

NOTE: Due a known issue which will be addressed soon, the following error may occur when installing the update related to KB275817. This error can be ignored, and will not cause a problem with a subsequent installation of the Office 2013 Volume License Pack.

STEP 2: Download the Microsoft Office 2013 Volume License Pack from the Microsoft Download Center (MSDL) site

STEP 3: Double-click the downloaded EXE to run it:

STEP 4: Click Yes on the "Would you like to enter a Microsoft Office 2013 KMS host product key ..." prompt and enter the KMS Host Key:

STEP 5: Key installed and activated:

How to install the MSDN/TechNet copy of Microsoft Office 2013 on a Windows Server running Remote Desktop

JalalB - MSFT — Thu, 29 Nov 2012 20:57:00 GMT

BACKGROUND

For Microsoft Office 2010, the MSDN/TechNet site provided a special key called the "Terminal Service enablement for Office 2010", to install Microsoft Office 2010 on a Windows Server running Terminal Service:

Micorosoft Office 2013 does not require a special key for this enablement, but rather uses the same key as the one used for a standalone installation.

MORE INFORMATION

To install the MSDN/TechNet copy of Microsoft Office 2013 on a Windows Server running Remote Desktop, please follow these steps:

STEP ONE: From Control Panel | Programs, click on Install Application on Remote Desktop:

STEP TWO: Click Next on the Install Program From Floppy or CD-ROM:

STEP THREE: Browse to the location of the Microsoft Office 2013 setup.exe and click Next:

STEP FOUR: Once the Office setup starts, you will immediately see the following message. Click OK to the message:

STEP FIVE: You will be presented the Enter your Product Key dialog. Enter the Microsoft Office 2013 Professional Plus key from the MSDN/TechNet site and click Continue:

STEP SIX: Read and accept the Microsoft Software License Terms:

STEP SEVEN: Choose the installation type and complete the installation:

STEP EIGHT: Click Finish on the Finish Admin Install dialog (this would be in the background during the installation of Office):

STEP NINE: Launch an Office application and choose File | Account to confirm that the product is activated:

Office 2013 installation hangs at "10% - Configuring..." when installing from a network share

Doak [MSFT] — Tue, 20 Nov 2012 15:22:00 GMT

The installation of the Office 2013 Click-to-Run version may appear to hang at "10% - Configuring..." when installing from a network share.

The Click-to-Run installation uses a service to manage the virtual file system during the intial portion of the setup process (up to 10% in the installation user interface progress screen), and the remainder of the process involves tasks required to integrate with Windows and cache the files onto the local hard drive. At 10%, because Windows Installer hands off additional task to the service, the System account (interactive Session 0) manages the remaining processes to install Office. This means that the System account needs access to the share or location where Office installation files are contained.

You will need to add the "Domain Computers" group to the network share to successfully install. To do so:

Right click on the folder where the Office installation files reside and choose Properties.
Click on the Security tab and then edit the Group or user names field by clicking on the Edit tab.
Click the Add tab and type in Domain Computers under the “Enter the object names to select” box and click Check Names.

An example of the added group is Domain Computers (CORP\Domain Computers); where "CORP" should reflect the name of your domain. If you have multiple domains in your environment, you will need to add each one.

By default, the group has the following permissions: Read & execute, List folder contents and Read.

We recommend running the Office 2013 troubleshooter to clean up the failed installation, prior to attempting the network installation again.

How to manage the Start screen for all Microsoft Office 2013 applications

JalalB - MSFT — Mon, 19 Nov 2012 17:25:00 GMT

Overview

Unlike earlier versions of Microsoft Office, the Microsoft Office 2013 applications, when started, show a Start screen similar to the following, rather than opening the default blank template:

More Information

You can use the Office Customization Tool (OCT) or the Group Policy Management Editor to manage this Start screen.

Office Customization Tool (OCT):

Note: The OCT can only be used with Windows Installer based source files for Microsoft Office 2013.

STEP ONE: Using the OCT (setup.exe /admin), locate the "Disable the Office Start screen for all Office applications" under Features | Modify user settings | Microsoft Office 2013 | Miscellaneous:

STEP TWO: Enable the "Disable the Office Start screen for all Office applications" setting:

STEP THREE: Save the MSP file and place it in the Updates folder of your source files prior to deploying Microsoft Office 2013

Group Policy:

STEP ONE: If you have not already, download the Office 2013 Administrative Template files. These can be downloaded from http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=35554

STEP TWO: Copy the ADMX files to %systemroot%\PolicyDefinitions and the ADML files to the language specific folder (such as en-us) under %systemroot%\PolicyDefinitions.

STEP THREE: Using the Group Policy Management Editor, locate the "Disable the Office Start screen for all Office applications" under User Configuration | Policies | Administrative Templates: Policy definitions | Microsoft Office 2013 | Miscellaneous:

STEP FOUR: Enable the "Disable the Office Start screen for all Office applications" setting:

Office KMS host setup error "0xC004F050 The software licensing service reported that the product key is invalid"

Eric Ellis [MSFT] — Thu, 15 Nov 2012 20:33:00 GMT

If you are attempting to set up an Office 2010 or Office 2013 KMS host by using the slmgr.vbs script, the "/ipk" switch, and a valid Office KMS host product key, the following error will occur:

Error: 0xC004F050 The software licensing service reported that the product key is invalid

Unlike Windows KMS host setup, Office KMS host setup involves installing a separate “KMS host license pack”, entering a related product key, and activating online or via phone.

See the following articles for additional information, to download the KMS host license packs, and step-by-step instructions for setting up Office KMS hosts:

Deploy volume activation of Office 2010 / Prepare and configure the KMS host
http://technet.microsoft.com/library/ee624357(office.14).aspx#section2

Download: Microsoft Office 2010 KMS Host License Pack
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=25095

Deploy volume activation of Office 2013 / Prepare and configure the Office KMS host
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ee624357(v=office.15).aspx#section2

Download: Microsoft Office 2013 Volume License Pack
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=35584

How to manage the First Run screens that appear when Microsoft Office 2013 applications are first launched

JalalB - MSFT — Wed, 14 Nov 2012 17:48:00 GMT

Overview

Microsoft Office 2013 shows the following screens when an application is launched for the first time:

More Information

Both the Office Customization Tool (OCT) and Group Policy Management Editor provide a way to disable these First Run screens

Office Customization Tool (OCT)

Note: The OCT can only be used with Windows Installer based source files for Microsoft Office 2013.

STEP ONE: Using the OCT (setup.exe /admin), go to the Features section and select Modify user settings | Microsoft Office 2013 | First Run | Disable First Run Movie

STEP TWO: Set the Disable First Run Movie to Enabled

STEP THREE:Select the Disable First Run on application boot and set it to Enabled as well

STEP FOUR: Save the resulting MSP file and use it as part of the Microsoft Office 2013 deployment

Group Policy Management Editor

STEP ONE: If you have not already, download the Office 2013 Administrative Template files. These can be downloaded from http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=35554

STEP TWO: Copy the ADMX files to %systemroot%\PolicyDefinitions and the ADML files to the language specific folder (such as en-us) under %systemroot%\PolicyDefinitions.

STEP THREE: Using the Group Policy Management Editor go to User Configuration | Policies | Administrative Templates: Policy definitions | Microsoft Office 2013 | First Run

STEP FOUR: Set the Disable First Run Movie to Enabled and the Disable Office First Run on application boot to Enabled

Note: If you would like to manage the Opt-in or First things first prompt, please see my other blog post.

How to manage the Opt-in or First things first prompt when Microsoft Office 2013 applications are first launched

JalalB - MSFT — Tue, 13 Nov 2012 19:02:00 GMT

Overview

Like the Office 2010 Welcome screen, Office 2013 shows the following First things first prompt, when a user launches an application for the first time:

More Information

Administrators can manage this prompt either via the Office Customization Tool or via Group Policy as follows:

Office Customization Tool (OCT):

Note: The OCT can only be used with Windows Installer based source files for Microsoft Office 2013.

STEP ONE: Using the OCT (setup.exe /admin), go to the Features section and select Modify user settings | Microsoft Office 2013 | Privacy | Trust Center

STEP TWO: Configure each setting under Trust Center that best suits your needs. If you wish to disable all of these settings, set the first one to Enabled and all the rest to Disabled as shown below

STEP THREE: Save the MSP file and place it in the Updates folder of your source files prior to deploying Microsoft Office 2013

Group Policy:

STEP ONE: If you have not already, download the Office 2013 Administrative Template files. These can be downloaded from http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=35554

STEP TWO: Copy the ADMX files to %systemroot%\PolicyDefinitions and the ADML files to the language specific folder (such as en-us) under %systemroot%\PolicyDefinitions.

STEP FOUR: Configure each setting under Trust Center that best suits your needs. If you wish to disable all of these settings, set the first one to Enabled and all the rest to Disabled as shown below

Note: If you would like to manage the First Run screens, please see my other blog post on this topic.

How to setup Microsoft Office 2013 KMS Host on Windows Server 2012

JalalB - MSFT — Wed, 07 Nov 2012 21:06:00 GMT

Overview:

The KMS activation process for Microsoft Office 2013 is the same as what it was for Microsoft Office 2010. However, the interface to setup the KMS host for Microsoft Office 2013 on a Windows Server 2012 has been updated to use the Volume Activation Tools.

Prerequisites:

Microsoft Office 2013 running on both Windows 7 and Windows 8 client computers can be activated by installing the Microsoft Office 2013 Volume License Pack on a Windows Server 2012, or on one of the other supported host systems including Windows 7 VL edition, Windows 8 VL edition and Windows Server 2008 R2.

Installation:

STEP 1: Download the Microsoft Office 2013 Volume License Pack from the Microsoft Download Center (MSDL) site:

STEP 2: Double-click the downloaded EXE to run it:

STEP 3: Once the EXE finishes running, the Volume Activation Tools wizard will appear:

STEP 4: On the next screen, choose Key Management Service (KMS) and browse to, or specify the name of, the system running Key Management Service. Typically, this would be the system you are running the Volume Activation Tools on:

STEP 5: Next, enter the KMS host (CSVLK) key:

STEP 6: Choose activation method, online or phone:

STEP 7: Activation Succeeded:

How to setup Active Directory-Based Activation Host for Microsoft Office 2013

JalalB - MSFT — Wed, 07 Nov 2012 20:39:00 GMT

Overview:

Active Directory-Based activation uses your existing Active Directory infrastructure to host activation for Microsoft Office 2013 Volume-Licensed (VL) clients, through their connection to the domain.

Prerequisites:

Both on the host as well as client side, the Active Directory-Based activation requires either a Windows 8 VL computer or a WindowsServer 2012 computer. It uses the same GVLK/KMS host key (CSVLK) pair that KMS activation uses. It also requires the installation of Microsoft Office 2013 Volume License Pack.

Installation:

STEP 1: Download the Microsoft Office 2013 Volume License Pack from the Microsoft Download Center (MSDL) site.

STEP 2: Double-click the downloaded EXE to run it:

STEP 3: Once the EXE finishes running, you will see theVolume Activation Tools wizard pop-up:

STEP 4: On the next screen, choose Active Directory-Based Activation:

STEP 5: Next enter the KMS host (CSVLK) key and optionally give it a name:

STEP 6:Choose activation method, online or phone:

STEP 7: Activation Succeeded: