Volume Activation information for Windows Vista

This article contains information about Volume Activation for Windows Vista. It lists links to documentation about Volume Licensing and Volume Activation 2.0.

Key Management Service (KMS) key

A Key Management Service (KMS) key can be used to enable KMS on a computer that is controlled by an organization's IT professional. Your organization can host KMS internally to automatically activate computers that are running Windows Vista. To use KMS, you must have more than 25 computers that are connected together. Computers that used KMS for activation are required to reactivate by connecting to your organization's network at least every 180 days. Currently, KMS runs on a local computer that is running Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Windows Vista, or the Windows Server 2008 operating system. A KMS key can be used to install six KMS host systems. But you can request more KMS host systems by using the Volume Activation Support Centers.

Multiple Activation Key (MAK)

A Multiple Activation Key (MAK) can activate either an individual computer or a group of computers by connecting directly to Microsoft servers. A MAK can be used to install Windows Vista if you are not connected to a corporate network. A MAK can be used to activate any volume edition of Windows Vista. Also, after you activate Windows Vista by using MAK, you do not have to reactivate. Additionally, you can request more MAKs by telephone, and an escalation process will be created to complete the request. That process takes seven business days to finish.

Microsoft includes product activation technology in some products that are sold through OEM, retail, and Volume Licensing channels. The Windows Vista operating system requires Volume Licensing customers to use a new type of activation called Volume Activation.

Volume Activation is a flexible solution that enables Volume Licensing customers to more securely and easily activate computers that are running Windows Vista. Volume Activation technology was introduced in Windows Vista. In the future, it will be used for all Microsoft products. For general information about Volume Activation, visit the following Microsoft Web site:The following links contain more information about Volume Activation 2.0 in Windows Vista.

• Windows Vista Volume Activation 2.0 Technical Guidance
  
  This is a collection of Windows Vista Volume Activation 2.0 technical documentation that provides planning, deployment, and operational guidance. It includes Volume Activation 2.0 Step-by-Step Guide, Volume Activation 2.0 FAQ, and other supporting materials. Volume Activation 2.0 Step-by-Step Guide contains sample scripts to help troubleshoot common Volume Activation 2.0 issues. For example, troubleshooting information is included for issues related to Multiple Activation Key (MAK) activation, Key Management Service (KMS) activation, recovery from reduced functionality mode (RFM), and recovering non-genuine Windows Vista computers. To view this documentation, visit the following Microsoft Web site:
  http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/windowsvista/bb335280.aspx (http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/windowsvista/bb335280.aspx)
  To download this documentation, visit the following Microsoft Web site:
  http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=9893F83E-C8A5-4475-B025-66C6B38B46E3&displaylang=en (http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=9893F83E-C8A5-4475-B025-66C6B38B46E3&displaylang=en)
• Windows Vista Volume Activation 2.0 Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
  
  This guide provides answers to FAQs about Volume Activation 2.0 in Windows Vista. To view the FAQs, visit the following Microsoft Web site:
  http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/windowsvista/bb335291.aspx (http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/windowsvista/bb335291.aspx)
• Windows Vista Volume Activation 2.0 Step-By-Step Guide
  
  This step-by-step guide provides planning, deployment, and operational guidance for activating volume editions of Windows Vista. To view or to download this guide, visit the following Microsoft Web site:
  http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/windowsvista/bb335288.aspx (http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/windowsvista/bb335288.aspx)
• Windows Vista Volume Activation 2.0 Technical Attributes
  
  This documentation discusses the following topics:
  • Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) properties
  • WMI methods
  • KMS registry keys and registry values
  • KMS events that are logged to Event Viewer
  • Volume license error messages and warning messages
  • Remote procedure call (RPC) messages
  To view this documentation, visit the following Microsoft Web site:
  http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/windowsvista/bb335289.aspx (http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/windowsvista/bb335289.aspx)
• TechNet Webcast: Windows Vista Volume Activation 2.0
  
  This is a webcast of a technical overview of Volume Activation 2.0. This webcast was presented by Thomas Lindeman on December 12, 2006 to an IT Professional audience. Thomas Lindeman is a senior product manager on the Software Protection Platform at Microsoft. To view this webcast, visit the following Microsoft Web site:
  http://www.microsoft.com/events/series/technetvista.mspx (http://www.microsoft.com/events/series/technetvista.mspx)
• Microsoft Solution Accelerator for Business Desktop Deployment (BDD)
  
  This documentation provides background information and specific instructions to infrastructure remediation feature teams on how to set up and how to manage Volume Activation technologies for the Windows Vista. To view or download this documentation, visit the following Microsoft Web site:
  http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb490308.aspx (http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb490308.aspx)