Tag Archives: Activation

Windows Server 2012 R2 / Windows 8.1 KMS Service Activation

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This is an update from another post I did https://wibier.me/windows-server-2012-kms-service-activation/

In that post I describe how to add support for Server 2012 and Windows 8. Now we are at the point where we want to add support for Server 2012 R2 and Windows 8.1! And that is possible.

So when you activate a Server 2012 R2 KMS key you will still get the same error:

Or when you add the KMS key itself:

Error: 0xC004F050 The Software Licensing Service reported that the product key is invalid

To resolve:

Download and install the following update: KB2885698 (Update adds support for Windows 8.1 and Windows Server 2012 R2 clients to Windows Server 2008, Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows 8, and Windows Server 2012 KMS hosts).

Installation instructions

If you have a KMS host that is running Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008, Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows 8, or Windows Server 2012, follow these steps to perform an upgrade:

  • Install the update (update 2885698).
  • Restart the computer when you are prompted to do so.
  • To install a new KMS host key for Windows 8.1 activation or for Windows Server 2012 R2 activation, run the following command:
cscript %windir%\system32\slmgr.vbs /ipk <KMS host key>

Note In this command, “<KMS host key>” is a placeholder for the new KMS host key for Windows 8.1 activation or for Windows Server 2012 R2 activation.

Important Every KMS host key is associated with a group of Windows editions. Additionally, a KMS host key that is associated with Windows client operating systems cannot be installed on Windows server operating systems, and vice-versa. This is true for all Windows operating systems except for Windows Server 2003. If you install a KMS host key on a Windows operating system that is not associated with that host key, you receive the following error message:

0xc004f015: The Software Licensing Service reported that the license is not installed.
SL_E_PRODUCT_SKU_NOT_INSTALLED


For example, you may receive this error message in the following situations:

  • You try to install a Windows 7 KMS host key (CSVLK) on a Windows Server 2008 R2 KMS host.
  • You try to install a Windows 8 KMS host key (CSVLK) on a Windows Server 2008 R2 KMS host or a Windows Server 2012 KMS host.
  • You try to install a Windows 8.1 KMS host key (CSVLK) on a Windows Server 2008 R2 KMS host or a Windows Server 2012 KMS host or a Windows Server 2012R2 KMS host.
  • To activate the new KMS host key on the host computer, run the following command:
cscript %windir%\system32\slmgr.vbs /ato
  • On an existing Windows Vista or Windows Server 2008 KMS host, restart the service by running the following command:
net stop slsvc && net start slsvc

Operations Manager 2012 (SCOM) Activation

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When you install Operations Manager 2012 (SP1) you may notice is that there is no request for a product key when you install Operations Manager 2012.  Once the install is complete and you open up the console the following is displayed:


When you click Help à About à will show that you are running an Evaluation copy.


The way to do it is described here: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2699998, and here is the visual version.

To register your product key with Operations Manager 2012 and move from the Evaluation edition to the Retail edition you will need to launch the Operations Management Shell and run a PowerShell cmdlet.

So start up the Operations Manager Shell:


And type:

Set-SCOMLicense –ProductId {YourProductKey}

(Tip: type the first letters and then push <TAB> for PowerShell to complete the command)


On completion restart the Operations Manager 2012 server for the key to validate.

After the reboot, check back in Help à About you will see it is now a Retail version.



Strange way to activate a Microsoft product but this is how it works!

Windows Server 2012 KMS Service Activation

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So we have Windows Server 2012 and Windows 8 RTM and want to activate them with our KMS server. For this to be successful we need to update our KMS Service, with is currently servicing out Windows Server 2008 R2 servers and Windows 7 clients.

When we try to activate a Server 2012 server the following error will occur:

To resolve this issue:

Download and install the following update: KB2757817 (Update adds support for Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012 to Windows Server 2008, Windows 7, and Windows Server 2008 R2 KMS hosts).

How to obtain this update

The following files are available for download from the Microsoft Download Center:Collapse this tableExpand this table

Operating system Update
All supported x86-based versions of Windows Vista and of Windows Server 2008 Collapse this imageExpand this image

Download the update package now.

(http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=cca1a7a5-10f5-4aea-b0c5-999f2dc9f07f)

All supported x64-based versions of Windows Vista and of Windows Server 2008 Collapse this imageExpand this image

Download the update package now.

(http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=85cdb6a5-9658-47b3-b344-0284954a7379)

All supported IA-64-based versions of Windows Vista and of Windows Server 2008 Collapse this imageExpand this image

Download the update package now.

(http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=799f0f06-cbca-483c-8130-9bb99d8dc87e)

All supported x86-based versions of Windows 7 Collapse this imageExpand this image

Download the update package now.

(http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=a1829040-975f-43ab-877d-5cf4a5382987)

All supported x64-based versions of Windows 7 Collapse this imageExpand this image

Download the update package now.

(http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=23fd50b9-baa5-466f-9dff-af06729f23a9)

All supported x64-based versions of Windows Server 2008 R2 Collapse this imageExpand this image

Download the update package now.

(http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=bd2cda64-6319-4beb-91e3-9439048bf19d)

All supported IA-64-based versions of Windows Server 2008 R2 Collapse this imageExpand this image

Download the update package now.

 

If you don’t install this Update then registering a Windows Server 2012 KMS will throw an Error: 0xC004F050 The Software Licensing Service reported that the product key is invalid.

So install the update (Windows6.1-KB2757817-x64.msu) and restart the server!
Just restarting the KMS service (“net stop sppsvc” and “net start sppsvc“) is NOT enough.

Let’s see what is already running:

slmgr.vbs /dlv => The Windows 2008 R2 KMS key.

Uninstall the current KMS key using slmgr.vbs /upk
(We all know this has to be done from an elevated command prompt..)

Now it is time to install the new KMS key.

slmgr.vbs /ipk {YOUR_SERVER_2012_KMS_KEY}

slmgr.vbs /ato to activate the KMS Service

And now we can check our environment to see what we can activate:

slmgr.vbs /dlv => the Windows Server 2012 KMS key.