Microsoft KB Archive/938450

= How to troubleshoot Volume Activation error codes on Windows Vista-based computers =

Article ID: 938450

Article Last Modified on 11/22/2007

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APPLIES TO


 * Windows Vista Enterprise 64-bit Edition
 * Windows Vista Business
 * Windows Vista Business 64-bit Edition
 * Windows Vista Enterprise

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INTRODUCTION
When you try to use a Multiple Activation Key (MAK) or the Key Management Service (KMS) to perform Volume Activation on one or more Windows Vista-based computers, you may receive error codes. This article discusses how to troubleshoot these error codes.



Symptom
When you try to use a MAK to activate one or more computers, you may receive the following error message:

0xC004C001

The activation server determined the specified product key is invalid

Cause
This issue may occur if the MAK is not valid.

Workaround
To troubleshoot this issue, verify that the key that is used is the MAK that was provided by Microsoft. To verify that the MAK is valid, contact the PA Call Center.

Symptom
When you try to use a MAK to activate one or more computers, you may receive the following error message:

0xC004C003

The activation server determined the specified product key is blocked.

Cause
This issue may occur if the MAK is blocked on the activation server.

Workaround
To work around this issue, contact the PA Call Center to obtain a new MAK, and then install and activate the system.

Symptom
When you try to use a MAK to activate one or more computers, you may receive the following error message:

0xC004B100

The activation server determined that the computer could not be activated.

Cause
This issue may occur if the MAK is unsupported.

Workaround
To troubleshoot this issue, verify that the MAK that is used is the MAK that was provided by Microsoft. To verify that the MAK is valid, contact the PA Call Center.

Symptom
When you try to use KMS to activate one or more computers, you may receive the following error message:

0xC004C008

The activation server determined that the specified product key could not be used.

Cause
This issue may occur if the KMS key has exceeded the activation limit. KMS keys will activate up to 10 times on six different computers.

Workaround
If you need more activation times, contact the PA Call Center.

Symptom
When you try to use a MAK to activate one or more computers, you may receive the following error message:

0xC004C020

The activation server reported that the Multiple Activation Key has exceeded its limit.

Cause
The MAK has exceeded the activation limit. By design, MAKs have a limited number of activations.

Workaround
Contact the PA Call Center to obtain a new MAK or to increase the activation limit on the existing MAK.

Symptom
When you try to use a MAK to activate one or more computers, you may receive the following error message:

0xC004C021

The activation server reported that the Multiple Activation Key extension limit has been exceeded.

Cause
This issue may occur if the MAK has exceeded the activation limit. By design, MAKs have a limited number of activations.

Workaround
To work around this issue, contact the PA Call Center to obtain a new MAK or to increase the activation limit on the existing MAK.

Symptom
When you try to use a MAK to activate one or more computers, you may receive the following error message:

0xC004F009

The software Licensing Service reported that the grace period expired.

Cause
This issue may occur if the grace period expires before the system is activated. The system is now in Reduced Functionality Mode (RFM).

Workaround
Follow the RFM recovery guidelines in the Volume Activation 2.0 Step-By-Step Guide. To obtain this guide, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/windowsvista/bb335288.aspx

Symptom
When you try to use a MAK, a KMS client, or a KMS host to activate one or more computers, you may receive the following error message:

0xC004F00F

The Software Licensing Service reported that the hardware ID binding is beyond level of tolerance.

Cause
This issue may occur if the computer hardware has changed or if the drivers that are installed on the computer have been updated.

Workaround
To work around this issue if you use a MAK, reactivate the system during the &quot;Out of Tolerance&quot; grace period by using online activation or telephone activation. To work around this issue if you use KMS, restart the computer. Or, type the following command at a command prompt, and then press ENTER:

slmgr.vbs -ato

Symptom
When you try to use a MAK or a KMS client to activate one or more computers, you may receive the following error message:

0xC004F014

The Software Licensing Service reported that the product key is not available

Cause
This issue may occur if a product key is not installed on the system.

Workaround
To work around this issue, install the MAK product key. Or, install the KMS key that is located in the following folder on the installation media:

Sources\Pid.txt

Symptom
When you try to use a MAK client or a KMS client to activate one or more computers, you may receive the following error message:

0xC004F02C

The software Licensing Service reported that the format for the offline activation data is incorrect.

Cause
This issue may occur if the system detects that the data that you entered during telephone activation is not valid.

Workaround
To troubleshoot this issue, verify that the Confirmation ID is entered correctly.

Symptom
When you try to use a KMS client or a KMS host to activate one or more computers, you may receive the following error message:

0xC004F035

The software Licensing Service reported that the computer could not be activated with a Volume license product key. Volume licensed systems require upgrading from a qualified operating system. Please contact your system administrator or use a different type of key.

Cause
This issue may occur because volume editions are licensed for upgrade only. Installation of a volume operating system on a computer that does not have a qualifying operating system installed is not supported.

Workaround
To work around this issue, install a qualifying version of a Microsoft operating system, and then reinstall the volume operating system.

Symptom
When you try to use a KMS client to activate one or more computers, you may receive the following error message:

0xC004F038

The software Licensing Service reported that the computer could not be activated. The count reported by your Key Management Service (KMS) is insufficient. Please contact your system administrator.

Cause
This issue may occur if the client computer count on the KMS host is not large enough. A minimum of 25 computers must be in the KMS pool.

Workaround
To work around this issue, you must add more computers to the KMS pool so that the KMS clients can be activated. To determine how many computers are in the KMS pool on the KMS host, run the following command at a command prompt:

Slmgr.vbs -dli

Symptom
When you try to use a KMS client to activate one or more computers, you may receive the following error message:

0xC004F039

The software Licensing Service reported that the computer could not be activated. The Key Management Service (KMS) is not enabled.

Cause
This issue may occur if the KMS host is installed, and the KMS host is not activated.

Workaround
Use online activation or telephone activation to activate the KMS host.

Symptom
When you try to use a KMS client to activate one or more computers, you may receive the following error message:

0xC004F041

The software Licensing Service determined that the Key Management Server (KMS) is not activated. KMS needs to be activated.

Cause
The KMS host is not activated.

Workaround
Use online activation or telephone activation to activate the KMS host.

Symptom
When you try to use a KMS client to activate one or more computers, you may receive the following error message:

0xC004F042

The software Licensing Service determined that the specified Key Management Service (KMS) cannot be used.

Cause
This issue may occur if there is a mismatch between the KMS client and the KMS host.

Workaround
To work around this issue, verify that a beta version of the KMS client is not being activated by a release version of the KMS host. Or, verify that a release version of the KMS client is not being activated by a beta version of the KMS host.

Symptom
When you try to use KMS, a KMS client, or a MAK to activate one or more computers, you may receive the following error message:

0xC004F050

The Software Licensing Service reported that the product key is invalid.

Cause
This issue may occur if the KMS key is not entered correctly. Also, this issue may occur if the key for a beta version of the operating system has been entered when you are using the release version of the operating system.

Workaround
To work around this issue, install the appropriate KMS key on the corresponding version of Windows. Verify that the key is entered correctly. If you copy and then paste the key, make sure that em dashes (—) are not substituted for en dashes (-) in the key.

Symptom
When you try to use KMS or a MAK to activate one or more computers, you may receive the following error message:

0xC004F051

The software Licensing Service reported that the product key is blocked.

Cause
This issue may occur if the product key on the activation server is blocked by Microsoft.

Workaround
Obtain a new MAK or a new KMS key, install the new key on the system, and then activate the computers.

Symptom
When you try to use a MAK to activate one or more computers, you may receive the following error message:

0xC004F064

The software Licensing Service reported that the non-Genuine grace period expired.

Cause
This issue may occur if Windows Genuine Advantage determines that the system is not genuine.

Workaround
To work around this issue, follow the non-genuine RFM recovery guidelines in the Volume Activation 2.0 Step-By-Step Guide. To obtain the guide, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/windowsvista/bb335288.aspx

Symptom
When you try to use KMS or a MAK to activate one or more computers, you may receive the following error message:

0xC004F065

The software Licensing Service reported that the application is running within the valid non-genuine grace period.

Cause
This issue may occur if Windows Genuine Advantage determines that the system is not genuine. The system will continue to run during the non-genuine grace period.

Workaround
To work around this issue, obtain and then install a genuine product key, and then activate the system during the grace period. At the end of the grace period, the system will go into non-genuine RFM mode.

Symptom
When you try to use a MAK or a KMS client to activate one or more computers, you may receive the following error message:

0xC004F066

The Software Licensing Service reported that the product SKU is not found.

Cause
This issue may occur if volume media is used with a non-volume key.

Workaround
Match the product key to the operating system edition. Contact the PA Call Center for more information.

Symptom
When you try to use a KMS host to activate one or more computers, you may receive the following error message:

0xC004F068

The software Licensing Service determined that it is running in a virtual machine. The Key Management Service (KMS) is not supported in this mode.

Cause
The KMS for this operating system is not supported in a virtual machine (VM).

Workaround
To work around this issue, install the operating system outside the VM environment.

Symptom
When you try to use a KMS client to activate one or more computers, you may receive the following error message:

0xC004F069

The Software Licensing Service reported that the computer could not be activated. The Key Management Service (KMS) determined that the request timestamp is invalid.

Cause
This issue may occur if the system time on the client computer differs from the system time on the KMS host.

Workaround
To work around this issue, change the time on the client computer to match the time on the KMS host. We recommend that you use a Network Time Protocol (NTP) time source or the Active Directory directory service to synchronize the time between computers. Time is coordinated between the KMS host and the client computer in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). The time zone that is set on the client computer does not affect synchronization.

Symptom
When you try to use a KMS host, a KMS client, or a MAK to activate one or more computers, you may receive the following error message:

0x80070005

Access denied the requested action requires elevated privileges.

Cause
This issue occurs if User Access Control (UAC) does not let the activation processes run in a non-elevated command prompt.

Workaround
To work around this issue, follow these steps:  Click Start, click All Programs, click Accessories, right-click Command Prompt, and then click Run as. Click The following user, and then select Administrator in the User name list. Click OK. At a command prompt, type the following command, and then press ENTER:

slmgr.vbs



Symptom
When you try to use a KMS host to activate one or more computers, you may receive the following error message:

0x8007232A

DNS server failure.

Cause
This issue may occur if the system is experiencing either a network issue or a Domain Name System (DNS) issue.

Workaround
To work around this issue, troubleshoot network issues and DNS issues.

Symptom
When you try to use a KMS client to activate one or more computers, you may receive the following error message:

0x8007232B

DNS name does not exist.

Cause
This issue may occur if the KMS client cannot find the KMS SRV resource records in DNS.

Workaround
To work around this issue, follow these steps:  At a command prompt, type the following command, and then press ENTER:

slmgr.vbs -skms

This command points the KMS client to the KMS host. Install the KMS host.</li> Obtain a MAK, change the product key, and then activate the system.</li> Troubleshoot DNS issues.</li></ol>

Symptom
When you try to use a KMS client to activate one or more computers, you may receive the following error message:

0x800706BA

The RPC server is unavailable.

Cause
This issue may occur because firewall settings are not configured on the KMS host, or DNS SRV records are out-of-date.

Workaround
To work around this issue, make sure that the KMS port has access through the firewall on the KMS host. Or, make sure that the SRV records point to a valid KMS host. Also, troubleshoot network connections.

Symptom
When you try to use a KMS client to activate one or more computers, you may receive the following error message:

0x8007251D

No records found for DNS query.

Cause
This issue may occur if the KMS client cannot find the KMS SRV resource records in DNS.

Workaround
To work around this issue, troubleshoot network connections and DNS issues.

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