How to use Windows Server 2008 Licensing Management tool?

Windows Vista & Windows 2008 activation

 Command:

Cscript c:\windows\system32\slmgr.vbs  <options>

In a business environment, be sure the server/client is member of a domain.
Disable the ip6 network, Use:
Cscript c:\windows\system32\slmgr.vbs  -skms <ip address or KMS hostname>
Cscript c:\windows\system32\slmgr.vbs /ato


Handmatig activeren
Start een elevated prompt (cmd.exe als administrator)
slmgr -upk
: Je krijgt nu dat de key gedeinstalleerd is -> Klik OK
slmgr -ipk FXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX
: Je krijgt nu te zien dat de key succesvol is geinstalleerd -> klik OK
slui.exe 4
> Selecteer Nederland
Bel (+31)20 7139240 vanaf mobiel of 0800 023 3487 vanaf vaste lijn (gratis)
Volg de instructies aan de lijn. Eerst Optie 2, daarna Optie 1.
Bij de cijferblokken: * is terug, # is verder.


Global Options
-ipk <product key>  
            Install product key (replaces existing key)

-upk  
             Uninstall product key

-ato  
            Activate Windows

-dli [Activation ID | All]    è on the KMS server ç

Display license information (default: current license)
You can run this script on the KMS server to find out the count, listening port and DNS settings.

- skms [hostname or ip address of the KMS server
            sets the KMS server for the client

-dlv [Activation ID | All]

Display detailed license information (default: current license)

-xpr  
            Expiration date for current license state

Advanced Options:
-cpky  
            Clear product key from the registry (prevents disclosure attacks)

-ilc <License file>  
            Install license

-rilc  
            Re-install system license files

-rearm 
            Reset the licensing status of the machine

-upk 
            Uninstall the product key

-dti  
            Display Installation ID for offline activation

c:\windows\system32\slui\phone.inf to find out the Microsofts telephone number

-atp <Confirmation ID>  
            Activate product with user-provided Confirmation ID

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The annoyance that is Windows Product Activation used to plague only small businesses and home PC users, but now that Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 use it, we all have to grapple with it. Your primary client-side tool for managing a system's software licensing is called Slmgr (slmgr.vbs). Need to change a product key or activate a system
from the command line? Want to extend Server 2008's 60-day grace period to 240 days? Not sure whether your computer's license is a volume, retail, or OEM license? If so, you need Slmgr.

Putting It to Work If you have systems without a GUI or systems that need to activate via a batch file, Slmgr's -ato option is useful. To activate a system, simply open an elevated command prompt and type: slmgr -ato

If you're working on a system that's using either a retail copy or a volume license copy of Windows that's been activated with the Multiple Activation Key (MAK), Slmgr attempts to contact Microsoft's activation web servers. However, if the system is running a copy of Windows built from the volume license media and has been activated with the Volume
License Key (VLK), Slmgr knows that it should instead try to contact your organization's Key Management Server (KMS). When Slmgr requires Microsoft's servers, it already knows those Internet addresses. But if Slmgr needs to find your KMS server, it needs to ask its local DNS server to resolve an SRV record that reveals your local KMS server's
host name: _vlmcs._tcp.<your organization's DNS zone name>
For example, bigfirm.com's SRV records identifying its KMS server would be _vlmcs._tcp.bigfirm.com.
Sometimes, though, technical configuration problems or institutional constraints keep that SRV record out of your organization's DNS zone, and Slmgr can't activate your copy of Windows.
 
But if you know your local KMS server's host name or IP address, you can tell your Vista or Server 2008 system to activate via that KMS server by using the command slmgr -skms <server name or IP address>[:<port>]
So, if your KMS server is named kms1.bigfirm.com, you'd type slmgr -skms kms1.bigfirm.com
The optional colon and port number point to the fact that activation traffic runs over port 1688, by default; if you've reconfigured your KMS server to use another port (e.g., port 2010), you'd extend the Slmgr -skms command by suffixing a colon and that port number to the KMS server's name. For example, slmgr -skms kms1.bigfirm.com:2010
Before you can activate a copy of Windows, you need to give it a product key. The easiest method is to make liberal use of the greatly improved setup scripts in Vista and Server 2008. But if you need to install or change a product key from the command line, the -ipk ("install product key") option can help.
For example, slmgr -ipk YGR45-THIS9-WONT5-0WORK-D7667 would enter the YGR45-THIS9-WONT5-0WORK-D7667 product key. Have you ever needed to know whether a system license is an OEM, retail, or volume license? The Slmgr -dli command shows your Windows version (e.g., Vista Ultimate, Server Enterprise), the final five characters in your product key, the licensing state, whether you've activated, and-if
not yet activated-how many minutes you have left. The Slmgr -dlv command also reveals that information, along with a few more activation details and several URLs to places on Microsoft's site that appear not to work anymore.

Finally, suppose you don't yet want to activate your copy of Windows for some reason. Vista gives you a 30-day grace period, and Server 2008 gives you 60 days, but both OSs also let you reset those grace periods four times, making Vista's actual grace period about 120 days and Server 2008's about 240 days. To reset it, just open an elevated command prompt and type:  slmgr -rearm
Take Control If you're running Slmgr for the first time to do anything but activate a system, you might notice that it's slow. I suspect that the extremely complex mathematics underlying product-key and license verification add up to one of the most important weapons in Microsoft's arsenal in its war on piracy-although no one at Microsoft has ever confirmed this suspicion. Regardless, dealing with activation is no fun, but at least Slmgr lets you take greater control of it.

 

 

Trick to activate, not supported:
Open regedit, goto HKEY_Local_Machine\Software\Microsoft\WindowsNT\CurrentVersion\SL
Change skip rearm to 1
Change VlativationInterval to 240
Change VLrenewalinterval to 20160
Run slmgr.vbs -rearm
reboot the server
Run slmgr.vbs -dli
The server should now be activated without restrictions !!

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Other ways to active is greyed out....... solution is >>>>
1. Unplug your Computer from the internet.
2. Right click Computer, then select properties.
3 You should see the activation status, and the option to activate.
4. Click Activate Windows
5. Since your unplugged it cant activate online, and should present you with other options.
6. Select Show me other ways to activate
7. Use the automated phone system
8. Choose your nearest location.
9. Next
10. Take note of your Installation ID, and write it down, or save to a text file.
11. Follow the steps to get your Confirmation ID ( We NEED this )
12. Write this down, or save to the same text file as your Installation ID
13 Click Next and Windows is Activated.

OR: open a command prompt, as administrator and type:    slui 4
 A gui will appear with the option to select a country etc etc.