[mdt] Cannot see KMS

[garethEds]

Morning Dragons,

 

I'm here for 10% of someone's time to tell me how to stop my HyperV reference image timing out regarding activation. It wants to find our KMS server but because it is a local machine on the HyperV servers it cannot see our KMS server.

 

Running sysprep to check how many activations I have left shows I have 3 yet Windows wants to tell me I am running an illegal version and refuses to connect to our WSUS server etc etc.

 

I don't really want to go an rebuild the whole image again (or every 30 days). So wondered what others did.

 

Is there a command I can run through the command prompt that connects the reference image to the kms server via ip address and activates it?

 

Cheers

 

Gareth

[Joanne]

Here is the command I have been using to activate kms clients... the key is a generic one off microsoft for Windows 7 Professional

 

slmgr.vbs /ipk FJ82H-XT6CR-J8D7P-XQJJ2-GPDD4

cscript slmgr.vbs /ato

 

This has to be done in an elevated cmd window...

Edited June 18, 2014 by Joanne

[garethEds]

Thanks for this - I tried it with the Enterprise 64 bit key from the MS site and it said it had registered but when it restarted I was one again given the 'This copy of Windows is not Genuine'.

[garethEds]

Running the final line of that code simple tells me the DNS name does not exist. The key has gone in but I cannot activate.

[Joanne]

have you got the KMS services allowed through all firewalls?

 

I'm hazy on DNS.... I read a lot about it with KMS, but mine seemed to work so didn't really look into it much

[garethEds]

I have the firewalls turned off on the reference image. Still no joy.

 

GJE

[kmount]

Try

 

slmgr /skms ip_of_kms

slmgr /ato

[fiza]

Good article here on troubleshooting KMS issues

 

How to troubleshoot the Key Management Service (KMS)

[garethEds]

Try

 

slmgr /skms ip_of_kms

slmgr /ato

 

Good call - it set the KMS IP for me but when I run the next command.....

 

KMS Unavailable - arghghghghgh

[kmount]

Can you ping the kms server by IP from this machine?

[fiza]

Have you tried installing VAMT? You could then search for the client using VAMT and install, activate the key from there.

 

Manage activation by using Volume Activation Management Tool (Industry 8.1)

 

- - - Updated - - -

 

I take all your other machines find the KMS server ok?

[tmcd35]

The licence key above just tells Windows to search for a KMS server. The alternative is to use a MAK key from the Volume Licence Service Centre. With Windows Pro or Enterprise the KMS key is the default and doesn't need entering unless you have previously switched to MAK.

 

KMS works through DNS. Your DNS server should have a _VLMCS entry in Forward Lookaup Zones//_sites/_tcp

 

It's also worth noting that KMS won't activate a client unless more than 5 clients for that version of Windows have requested a activation. As mentioned above, VAMT is by far the best way of managing KMS but it is only a GUI to the vbs commands. The DNS and 5 client prerequisites still apply.

[FragglePete]

The licence key above just tells Windows to search for a KMS server. The alternative is to use a MAK key from the Volume Licence Service Centre. With Windows Pro or Enterprise the KMS key is the default and doesn't need entering unless you have previously switched to MAK.

 

KMS works through DNS. Your DNS server should have a _VLMCS entry in Forward Lookaup Zones//_sites/_tcp

 

It's also worth noting that KMS won't activate a client unless more than 5 clients for that version of Windows have requested a activation. As mentioned above, VAMT is by far the best way of managing KMS but it is only a GUI to the vbs commands. The DNS and 5 client prerequisites still apply.

 

I think the activation limit is 25 workstations before it'll start to activate Windows or Office. Each Server activation counts as 5 though.

 

Pete

[garethEds]

Well after talking to Richard we sussed it out. Here was the issue....

 

Our KMS server was running on our WSUS box - our physical one. We then went through the process of handing over the NM role. In the changeover the WSUS box was converted into a virtual box and the KMS server wasn't re-installed. So our machine was looking for a kms server that wasn't there.

 

Of course it was within the 180 day period of running without checking. I think this is right. So Richard re-installed the KMS server and after a quick restart everything was back to normal.

 

Sometimes the simplest things....

 

Thanks everyone

 

Gareth