Bios Slic Problem - prevents Windows 7 KMS activation on Dell Optiplex 745

This is not a dell issue.  KMS Requires a Key Server on the local network.

This problem occurs if the KMS server does not find a valid Windows marker in the ACPI_SLIC table in the computer's BIOS program.

This problem occurs for one of the following reasons.

Cause 1

You purchased a computer that has a qualifying Windows operating system installed. However, the Windows marker in the ACPI_SLIC table is corrupted.

Cause 2

You purchased a computer that does not have a qualifying Windows operating system installed. In this case, the Windows marker is not present in the ACPI_SLIC table.

Windows Volume License is for upgrades only.

Before you try to upgrade, you must first purchase an underlying, qualifying, and genuine Windows license.

For more information, visit the following Microsoft website:

The information on this website includes an easy way to correct improper licensing by using a Get Genuine Agreement.

Next, you must change the product key to a Multiple Activation Key (MAK).

To do this, contact the Microsoft Volume Licensing Service Center at the following Microsoft website:

Dell Does not support KMS issues Microsoft does.

1) Review prescriptive guides on volume activation 2.0 including one page reference guide and quick demo on volume activation.

Resources:
-Volume activation 2.0: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/dd197314.aspx
-One page reference guide: http://download.microsoft.com/download/4/5/f/45fb677a-c215-442e-afd0-419e08b6c5d1/VA 2.0 Vertical Wall Poster RTM.pdf
-Quick demo on volume activation: http://www.microsoft.com/heroeshappenhere/va/Default.html

2) Ensure the product keys you received matches to the installed edition of Windows.

Resources:
Product keys: http://www.microsoft.com/licensing/resources/vol/volumelicensekey/default.mspx

3) Confirm whether you will be using KMS or MAK for your environment.
Resource:
KMS or MAK: http://download.microsoft.com/download/4/5/f/45fb677a-c215-442e-afd0-419e08b6c5d1/VA 2.0 Vertical Wall Poster RTM.pdf

4) Take advantage of tools such as Volume Activation Management Tool (VAMT) and Operations Manager KMS Management Pack to automate and centrally manage the activation process.

Resources:
-VAMT: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=12044DD8-1B2C-4DA4-A530-80F26F0F9A99&displaylang=en
-Operations Manager KMS Management Pack: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=F500D97B-8648-49B8-AF7C-C65A47E83256&displaylang=en

To enable KMS functionality, a KMS key is installed on a KMS host; then, the host is activated over the Internet or by phone using Microsoft’s activation services. Computers running Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 R2 can both serve as KMS hosts.

Windows Vista, Windows Server 2003, and Windows Server 2008 can also serve as KMS hosts.

The KMS clients that a KMS host can activate depends on the host key used to activate the KMS host.

For more information about KMS host keys, see the Volume Activation 2.0 Planning Guide at http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc303276.aspx.

Install and activate a KMS key on a Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 R2 computer by using an elevated command prompt:

• To install a KMS key, type slmgr.vbs /ipk KmsKey at a command prompt.

• To active online, type slmgr.vbs /ato at a command prompt.

• To activate by using the telephone, type slui.exe 4 at a command prompt.

After activating the KMS key, restart the Software Licensing Service.

Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 display the warning shown in Figure 2 any time you install a KMS host key using the user interface (UI). (Users will not see this warning if they install a KMS host key by using the Slmgr.vbs script.) This message prevents accidentally installing a KMS key on computers that administrators do not intend to be KMS hosts.

Figure 2. The KMS key warning

To verify that the KMS host is configured correctly, check the KMS count to see whether it is increasing. In the Command Prompt window on the KMS host , type slmgr.vbs /dli to display the current KMS count. You can also check the Key Management Service log in the Applications and Services Logs folder for event ID 12290. The Key Management Service log records activation requests from KMS clients. Each event displays the name of the computer and the time stamp of each activation request.

Configuring KMS Clients

This section describes concepts for installing and configuring computers as KMS clients. By default, Volume Licensing editions of Windows Vista, Windows 7 , Windows Server 2008, and Windows Server 2008 R2 are KMS clients. If the computers the organization wants to activate using KMS are using any of these operating systems and the network allows DNS auto-discovery, no further configuration is needed.

If a KMS client is configured to search for a KMS host using DNS but does not receive SRV records from DNS, Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 log the error in the event log.

The MGADiag tool

The MGADiag tool detects and reports BIOS information. However, the BIOS information for the ACPI_SLIC table does not appear in the graphical user interface output. To see the BIOS information, click the Windows tab, click Copy, and then paste the output into Notepad or into another text editor. The output will resemble the following example:

Will not be able to KMS Activate:

OEM Activation 2.0 Data-->
BIOS valid for OA 2.0: No, invalid SLIC table
Windows marker version: N/A
OEMID and OEMTableID Consistent: N/A

Windows Marker not present
OEM Activation 2.0 Data-->
BIOS valid for OA 2.0: Yes, but no Windows Marker
Windows marker version: N/A
OEMID and OEMTableID Consistent: Yes
To obtain the MGADiag tool, visit the following Microsoft Web site: 
http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=52012 


Note: The KMS compliance check only applies to Windows 7 and Windows Vista 
machines running as KMS clients, it does not apply to Windows Server 2008 
or Windows Server 2008 R2 machines running as KMS client machines.