Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 Microsoft Corporation Published: June 2009 Abstract This guide is for IT pros maintaining the Windows® 7 and Windows Server® 2008 R2 operating systems in disconnected environments. It describes activation techniques for operating systems in environments with no Internet connectivity. On This Page Introduction Product activation is the process of validating software with the manufacturer. Activation confirms the genuine status of a product and that the product key is not compromised. It is analogous to the activation of credit cards or new mobile phones. Activation establishes a relationship between the software’s product key and a particular installation of that software on a device.
Volume Activation is a configurable solution that helps IT pros automate and manage the product-activation process on computers running the Windows Vista®, Windows® 7, Windows Server® 2008, and Windows Server 2008 R2 operating systems licensed under a Microsoft® Volume Licensing program and other programs that provide Volume Licensing editions of Windows. This guide provides information to assist in a Volume Activation deployment specifically for the Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 operating systems in disconnected networks, such as branch offices and high-security zones within a production environment. Volume Activation provides two models for completing volume activations: Key Management Service (KMS) and Multiple Activation Key (MAK).
KMS allows organizations to activate systems within their own network, while MAK activates systems on a one-time basis using Microsoft’s hosted activation services. Customers can use either or both models to activate systems in their disconnected environment. For more information about both activation models, see the Volume Activation Planning Guide at, the Volume Activation Deployment Guide at, the Volume Activation Operations Guide at, and the Volume Activation Technical Reference Guide. Figure 1 summarizes the options available for disconnected environments.
The following sections recommend activation methods for the following scenarios:. High-security zones. Branch office locations. Individually disconnected computers Figure 1. Activation methods for disconnected environments.
High-security Zones High-security zones are network segments air-gapped or separated by a firewall that limits or prevents communication to and from other network segments. If the computers in a high-security zone are allowed access to the core network by allowing TCP port 1688 outbound from the high-security zone and a remote procedure call (RPC) reply inbound, activate computers in the high-security zone by using KMS hosts located in the core network.
This way, the number of client computers in the high-security network does not have to meet any KMS activation threshold. If these firewall exceptions are not authorized and the number of computers in the high-security zone is sufficient to meet KMS activation thresholds, add a local KMS host to the high-security zone. Then, activate the KMS host in the high-security zone by telephone. Figure 2 shows an environment that has a corporate security policy that does not allow traffic between computers in the high-security zone and the core network. Because the high-security zone has enough computers to meet the KMS activation threshold, the high-security zone has its own local KMS host. The KMS host itself is activated by telephone. High-security network scenario If KMS is not appropriate because there are only a few computers in the high-security zone, MAK Independent Activation is recommended.
How To Activate Windows 2008
Each computer can be activated independently with Microsoft by telephone. MAK Proxy Activation using the Volume Activation Management Tool (VAMT) is also possible in this scenario. VAMT can discover computers in this environment by using Active Directory® Domain Services (AD DS), computer name, IP address, or membership in a workgroup. VAMT uses Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) to install MAK product keys and confirmation IDs (CIDs) and to retrieve status on MAK clients.
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Because this traffic is not allowed through the firewall, there must be a local VAMT host in the high-security zone. Branch Office Locations Figure 3 shows an enterprise network that supports client computers in three branch offices:.
Site A uses a local KMS host, because it has more than 25 client computers and it does not have secure TCP/IP connectivity to the core network. Site B uses MAK Independent Activation by telephone and MAK Proxy Activation, because KMS does not support sites with fewer than 25 KMS client computers and the site is not connected by a secure link to the core network.
Site C uses KMS, because it is connected to the core network by a secure connection over a private wide area network (WAN) and activation thresholds are met using core network KMS clients. Branch office scenario. Individual Disconnected Computers Some users in an organization may be in remote locations or may travel to many locations. This scenario is common for roaming clients, such as the computers of salespeople or other users who are offsite but not at branch locations. This scenario can also apply to remote branch office locations that have no connection or an intermittent connection to the core network.
Disconnected computers can use KMS or MAK depending on how often the computers connect to the core network:. Use KMS activation for computers that connect to the core network—either directly or through a virtual private network (VPN)—at least once every 180 days and where the core network is using KMS activation.
Use MAK Independent Activation—by telephone or the Internet—for computers that rarely or never connect to the core network. Figure 4 shows disconnected clients using MAK Independent Activation through the Internet and also the telephone. Disconnected computers scenario.
To use this tool, you’ll want to launch a Command Prompt with Administrator access. To do so on Windows 8 or 10, either right-click the Start button or press Windows+X. Click the “Command Prompt (Admin)” option in the menu that appears.
On Windows 7, search the Start menu for “Command Prompt,” right-click it, and select “Run as Administrator.” Note: If you see PowerShell instead of Command Prompt on the Power Users menu, that’s a switch that came about with the. It’s very easy to if you want, or you can give PowerShell a try. You can do pretty much everything in that you can do in Command Prompt, plus a lot of other useful things. View the License Expiration Date To display the expiration date of the current license, run the following command. This is only useful for Windows system activated from an organization’s KMS server, as retail licenses and multiple activation keys result in a perpetual license that won’t expire. If you haven’t provided a product key at all, it’ll give you an error message. Slmgr.vbs /xpr Uninstall the Product Key You can remove the product key from your current Windows system with Slmgr.
After you run the below command and restart your computer, the Windows system won’t have a product key and will be in an unactivated, unlicensed state. If you installed Windows from a retail license and would like to use that license on another computer, this allows you to remove the license. It could also be useful if you’re giving that computer away to someone else. However, most Windows licenses are tied to the computer they came with–unless you purchased a boxed copy. To remove uninstall the current product key, run the following command and then restart your computer: slmgr.vbs /upk Windows also stores the product key in the registry, as it’s sometimes necessary for the key to be in the registry when setting up the computer. If you’ve uninstalled the product key, you should run the below command to ensure it’s removed from the registry as well.
This will ensure people who use the computer in the future can’t grab the product key. Running this command alone won’t uninstall your product key. It’ll remove it from the registry so programs can’t access it from there, but your Windows system will remain licensed unless you run the above command to actually uninstall the product key. This option is really designed to prevent the key from being stolen by malware, if malware running on the current system gains access to the registry. Slmgr.vbs /cpky Set or Change the Product Key You can use slmgr.vbs to enter a new product key.
If the Windows system already has a product key, using the below command will silently replace the old product key with the one you provide. Run the following command to replace the product key, replacing #####-#####-#####-#####-##### with the product key. The command will check the product key you enter to ensure it’s valid before using it. Microsoft advises you restart the computer after running this command. You can also change your product key from the Activation screen in the Settings app, but this command lets you do it from the command line.
• • Easily distinguish valid and invalid files before data recovery. • • Recover lost files complete with original file names and file folders. Open the Start menu in the lower left corner of your desktop. Select the All Programs menu item, then follow: iSkysoft >> Uninstall. Sandisk sd card recovery free. Note: After upgrading to Windows 8, the Uninstall tile may not be represented on the new Start screen.
Slmgr.vbs /ipk #####-#####-#####-#####-##### Activate Windows Online To force Windows to attempt an online activation, run the following command. If you’re using a retail edition of Windows, this will force Windows to attempt online activation with Microsoft’s servers. If the system is set up to use a KMS activation server, it will instead attempt activation with the KMS server on the local network. This command can be useful if Windows didn’t activate due to a connection or server problem and you want to force it to retry. Slmgr.vbs /ato Activate Windows Offline Slmgr also allows you to perform an offline activation. To get an installation ID for offline activation, run the following command: slmgr.vbs /dti You’ll now need to get a a confirmation ID you can use to activate the system over the phone. Call the, provide the installation ID you received above, and you’ll be given an activation ID if everything checks out.
This allows you to activate Windows systems without Internet connections. To enter the confirmation ID you’ve received for offline activation, run the following command. Replace “ACTIVATIONID” with the activation ID you’ve received. Slmgr.vbs /atp ACTIVATIONID Once you’re done, you can use the slmgr.vbs /dli or slmgr.vbs /dlv commands to confirm you’re activated. This can generally be done from the Activation screen in the Settings app if your PC isn’t activated–you don’t have to use the command if you’d rather use the graphical interface.
Extend the Activation Timer. Some Windows systems provide a limited time where you can use them as free trials before entering a product key. For example, Windows 7 offers a 30-day trial period before it begins complaining at you. To and reset it back to 30 days remaining, you can use the following command.As Microsoft’s documentation puts it, this command “resets the activation timers.” This command can only be used several times, so you can’t indefinitely extend the trial. The number of time it can be used depends on the “rearm count,” which you can view using the slmgr.vbs /dlv command.
It seems different on different versions of Windows–it was three times on Windows 7, and it seems to be five times on Windows Server 2008 R2. This no longer seems to work on Windows 10, which is anyway. This option still works on older versions of Windows and may continue to work on other editions of Windows, such as Windows Server, in the future.
Slmgr.vbs /rearm Slmgr.vbs Can Perform Actions on Remote Computers, Too Slmgr normally performs the actions you specify on the current computer. However, you can also remotely administer computers on your network if you have access to them. For example, the first command below applies to the current computer, while the second one will be run on a remote computer. You’ll just need the computer’s name, username, and password. Slmgr.vbs /option slmgr.vbs computername username password /option The Slmgr.vbs command has other options, which are useful for dealing with KMS activation and token-based activation. Consult for more details.
Recently, I faced a situation in which I had to activate Windows Server 2008 R2 Enterprise which didn’t have internet connection. In the earlier days of Windows 2003 there was a Phone Activation option within the wizard. However, in the current edition Windows 2008 onwards the option doesn’t exist.
I have installed an instance of Win Server 2008 R2 on a Virtual machine. This machine is purposefully on an isolated environment (no internet) for testing purposes.
I need to activate the machine and I have my MSDN key ready to go. I just ran through the same steps with a Windows 7 VM, and was able to register using an automated telephone service from Microsoft. With Windows Server 2008, I can see the same option to register using this service, but it is greyed out: Google pointed me to people experiencing this issue but the only workarounds I saw where to use the internet (not an option for me). Does anyone know how to enable this option? Fortunately, they posted the.
Unfortunately, its not as pretty as it used to be. For posterity's sake: After Windows Server 2008 Core Edition is installed do the following at a cmd prompt.
Install your MAK key using slmgr.vbs slmgr.vbs -ipk XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX Where XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX is your 5x5 MAK key supplied by Microsoft. View your Installation ID slmgr.vbs -dti Tip: The Installation ID is a 9x6 number. An easy way to split it up so it is easier to read back to the phone activation system is to hit CTRL-C to copy the contents of the dialogue box and paste into notepad. In notepad it will be broken out into the 9x6 groups and easier to read. Determine the phone number for your region: notepad%systemroot% system32 slui phone.inf.
Call the number for your region and follow the prompts to activate (as per normal). Type it into your notepad with no dashes so you can paste it into the next step. Activate with your Confirmation ID slmgr.vbs –atp xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Note: The –atp option is only available when you have installed a MAK or retail key.
If you're trying to activate a server which has no internet connectivity or access to a KMS server, your options for activating Windows are narrowed to calling the automated phone service. In previous versions of Windows, it would prompt you to enter a product key, then ask if you would like to activate over the internet. If you declined, you'd be given the phone option. In Windows Server 2012 R2 the behavior is different, in that when you activate the product key, you are simply told that it is an invalid key. In truth, the server is trying to validate the key over the internet, which of course doesn't work if your server doesn't have a path out. The key (ahem) is a couple of command lines: slmgr -ipk XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX (where 'X' is your product key) slui 4 This will bring up the UI, similar to previous Windows versions, that will walk you through phone activation.
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