Windows activation is simple and straightforward if you understand the components. I have had a few customers that stumbled when getting a KMS online and in every case it has been an issue with name resolution, network connectivity, or they simply did not understand how to use the keys. Activation is designed to help you with deployments and sustain your environment even in the event a key gets lost. KMS is the simplest of all the activation methods because you only need to worry about putting a key in one machine. You can then deploy new machines without having to ever worry about keys unless your device will be off the network for more than 6 months.
This is the first of a two part series to break down KMS troubleshooting in to a process that should help identify exactly what is at fault. I don't want to mislead or instill fear to those who are just starting out - the process is normally simple by design. However, for those who have run in to trouble, I'd like to publish a guide that will help you isolate and correct the issue you've encountered without spinning your wheels. Part 2 will be published next week with a focus on troubleshooting the server.
Part 1, Troubleshooting The Client
Let's assume you are a consultant from outside the organization and you know nothing about the environment, server or workstation. The first thing you'll want to do is understand how the client was built. It is possible the machine is retail or OEM, and neither of those use KMS for activation. Any of the "Home" versions, Basic, Premium, or Ultimate, are retail builds and do not use volume licensing methods at this time. This is no change from XP, Media Center and Home were not capable of using the VLK. If you are using the OEM media such as a recovery DVD you would see the machine come online "pre-activated". This is a result of a marker in the BIOS that corresponds with the OEM media. Note: if this marker is not present, such as the case of "naked" OEM workstations, then KMS is not an option for activation. So we are assuming the machine was built using volume media and is capable of being a KMS client. You can test this to be sure by running a the command line and looking for the Name and Description. Right click on the command line icon on the start menu and select "Run As Administrator". Then type -
c:\windows\system32\cscript slmgr.vbs -dlv
My machine returned this output, I replaced any sensitive data with <>:
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A recent whitepaper linked from the UK Higher Education Blog delves in to this topic and explains the options with detail. This is a very important discussion in my opinion and it encompassed over half of our LabMan 2007 closing keynote presentation last
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Yesterday a press release snuck out with several announcements regarding virtualization. For full detail, link to Kevin's post and then to the press announcement after the jump. Kevinsul's Management Blog : Announcing the 'Windows Installer Utility for
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... is to search for it on this site! There is now an online resource dedicated to listing applications that have been certified for Windows Vista. Almost a year from RTM, you will find a ton of applications are ready! http://windowsvista.com/appreadiness
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Windows Vista application compatibility training recording available for download! There are 4 sessions ranging from 1-2.5 hours each! From the site: This Application Compatibility Training has been delivered worldwide to MCS Consultants, partners and
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One item in the volume activation step by step guide that is a bit confusing is the method for moving a Vista machine that is currently using the MAK back to being a KMS client. Convert a client using MAK Activation to use KMS Activation The instructions
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If you have questions or need info about Vista and volume activation please join the call today. I'll be in the Q/A panel helping answer questions from over 800 registered attendees. One of the main points of focus will be flushing out Volume Activation
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