Windows 8 and the change to SLIC 3 & 4

[Quackers]

Anybody come across this annoying issue Windows 8 has caused yet?

 

When using a KMS Server the machines will not activate unless the manufacture has put a flag in the SLIC table on the BIOS to indicated that it shipped with a Windows Licence (so its eligable for upgrade). This was SLIC 2.

 

We have this week taken a shiney new Acer laptop that shipped with Windows 8, and has a new type of BIOS. This uses SLIC type 3 or 4. So the laptop refused to activate against our KMS Server when we installed our Windows 7 image because it did not have the flag saying it shipped with a Windows Licence and demanded i enter a MAK key instead.

 

I phoned Acers support number and they were no use at all, i had to get it escelated and they got back to me today with tools to flash the BIOS to an older version number, one that supports SLIC 2. That has worked.

 

But has anybody else come across this issue with machines which have shipped with Windows 8 yet? If its common could be a lot of us having a knightmare flashing hundreds of BIOS's.

[X-13]

a knightmare

 

http://darkageofcamelot.com/sites/daoc/files/images/Albion%20Sinister%20Heavy%20Armor.jpg

 

 

Sorry... Couldn't resist.

[AngryTechnician]

Good luck to anyone with Samsung machines - last time I called them because they shipped us 160 netbooks with no SLIC table at all, they claimed that they only support Vista Home Basic (the preinstalled OS) so refused to help us at all.

 

I will certainly be talking to our Dell contacts about this before our next order.

[Quackers]

Will keep clear of Samsung netbooks then.