I’ve been involved in Windows 7 deployments since the Beta came out in 2009 and before Windows 7 there was Vista, XP, Windows 2000, Windows NT and even Windows 3.11 and although over time the technology has changed the basic challenges of every migration remained the same. If today someone asks me what I consider [...]
Archive of posts tagged KMS
ReadTip: Resources for Windows and Office license activation with XenDesktop
Below just a few resources I have collected related to Windows and Office license activation with XenDesktop. Licensing is not an exciting topic but we have to deal with it anyway. KMS Configuration using Citrix Provisioning Services Citrix Managing Microsoft KMS Volume Licensing Citrix Configuring Microsoft MAK Volume Licensing Citrix XenDesktop 5 Support Statement for [...]
ReadTip: General (Windows) activation concepts (KMS/MAK)
A great article from Kevin Ledman – Microsoft Platforms Support, covering the following topics around Windows activation: What is KMS? What is MAK? What do you consider your ‘current operating systems? How do I know what I have available to me? I see both keys on the volume website, so I guess I have both [...]
ReadTip: Planning guide for Microsoft Office 2010
For anyone who is somehow involved in a Office 2010 deployment planning I strongly recommend reading the Planning Guide for Microsoft Office 2010. Microsoft just released an updated version. Don’t be shocked, the document counts 458 pages, but does contain a lot of useful and interesting information. And in case you aren’t aware already about [...]
Tip: How to troubleshoot KMS Activation problems
Here are some good resources for KMS troubleshooting: MS KB 938450 How to troubleshoot Volume Activation error codes on Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 and Windows Vista-based computers. TechNet article How to troubleshoot the Key Management Service (KMS)
Windows 7 Product Activation Methods
Today I was asked whether Windows 7 Ultimate can be activated through KMS, since we’re primarily busy with Windows 7 Enterprise I couldn’t instantly provide an answer (I prefer to first check out things instead of providing an incorrect answer). So unless I have overlooked something…… only Windows 7 Professional and Enterprise can be activated [...]
Frequently Asked Questions About Volume License Keys
A good FAQ about Microsoft Volume licensing. Details here
Office 2010 KMS Server Requirements
Although I have been working with Office 2010 for a while, I wasn’t aware of the KMS Server specific requirements until today when we were asked to load the Office 2010 KMS key into one of our customers KMS servers. A dedicated server is not needed to run KMS for Office 2010. A KMS host [...]
Identifying KMS Servers
Assume you are at a client site and plan to deploy a Windows Server (2008 / 2008-R2) or Windows Clients (Windows Vista / Windows 7) and want to check if they do already have KMS Services running on their network. It’s very simple. Just open a command prompt and type the following command: nslookup -type=srv [...]
Upgrade your existing KMS Service to support Windows 7 and Windows 2008 R2
If you are already running an existing KMS Service within your environment, and you do not plan to install a new KMS Service, the following information might be of interest if you have plans for deploying Windows 7 or Server 2008-R2 systems. Update for Windows Server 2003 (KB968915) http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=f3a0d90c-b7fd-44cf-bf81-11587adc599f&displaylang=en Update for Windows Server 2003 x64 [...]
