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Windows Product Key not working to Activate VM

Summary: How to convert EVAL install of operating system to licensed copy which is the main reason we get Product Key is Invalid when trying to activate.

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Article Content


Instructions


AVMA keys can be found here. https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/get-started-19/vm-activation-19
KMS Keys can be found here. https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/get-started/kmsclientkeys

If customer is trying to activate VM and they are running Datacenter version of operating system on the host they can use AVMA keys for VMs. Example of command to convert Server 2022 Datacenter from EVAL using AVMA key. 
 
dism /online /set-edition:ServerDatacenter /productkey:W3GNR-8DDXR-2TFRP-H8P33-DV9BG /accepteula
In some instances like when using Cloud Solution Provider product keys they will not work to convert from EVAL. In those cases use a KMS Key to convert from EVAL, then update the product key to the product key you own after the conversion process. Example of command to convert Server 2022 Standard Eval with KMS key.
 
dism /online /set-edition:ServerStandard /productkey:VDYBN-27WPP-V4HQT-9VMD4-VMK7H /accepteula
After the command completes a reboot is required to complete the removal process. Once server comes back up run the following command replacing the XXXXX with the product key you own to update the server with your key.
 
slmgr /ipk XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX


Note: Windows Server Standard Core cannot be converted from EVAL. EVAL Standard Core installs can only be converted to Windows Server Datacenter Core which requires a Datacenter product key. Also, you can't have the Active Directory role installed, it will prevent converting so have to remove the role, convert then reinstall the role.

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Article Properties


Affected Product

Microsoft Hyper-V™ Server 2008

Product
Microsoft Windows Server 2016, Microsoft Windows Server 2019, Microsoft Windows Server 2022, Microsoft Windows HPC Server 2008 Service Pack 2, Microsoft Windows Small Business Server 2008, Microsoft Windows Small Business Server 2011 Essentials , Microsoft Windows Small Business Server 2008, Microsoft Windows 2008 Server R2, Microsoft Windows 2008 Server Service Pack 2, Microsoft Windows 2012 Server, Microsoft Windows 2012 Server R2 ...
Last Published Date

27 Nov 2023

Version

6

Article Type

How To