Datasheet

Planning and Managing Client Licensing and Activation

Detecting Changes

Periodically, Windows 7 will verify that the copy of Windows is valid and is operating on

the same system where it was originally installed. If signiﬁcant changes are detected, the

activation will be reversed and the system will need to be reactivated.

The most common scenario where this occurs is when imaging software such as

Symantec’s Ghost is used. It is possible to make an image copy or clone of a system and

then use this cloned copy on other computers. The license for the original system wasn’t

purchased for the other computers, and Windows 7 will detect that the operating system

that was activated on the original system is now located on a different computer. Once the

change is detected, activation will be revoked and the client will need to be reactivated.

This can also occur if too many changes are made to the hardware of a system. For example

if the motherboard of a system is replaced, Windows 7 may assume it’s been moved to a dif-

ferent computer. This can usually be resolved with a phone call to a Microsoft help center to

obtain a new key.

Cloning systems can also result in duplicate security identifiers (SIDs). To

prevent duplicate SIDs on a network, the Sysprep program is run before

capturing the image. Sysprep sanitizes the system by removing unique

information such as the computer name and SIDs. It also resets the licens-

ing information used for activation, requiring computers receiving the

image to be activated separately.

Software Manager Licensing Manager Tool

The Software Licensing Management Tool is a built-in Visual Basic script (slmgr.vbs) pro-

gram that can be used for licensing and activation tasks. It includes several options that are

entered as a switch. Some of the options directly relate to the clients (and are covered in

this section), and some of the options directly relate to KMS (and are covered later in this

chapter).

The

slmgr tool must be run from an elevated command prompt. Click Start  All

Programs

 Accessories, right-click Command Prompt, and select Run As Administrator.

Many of the common slmgr switches are shown in the following sections. Some slmgr

switches are more commonly used with the KMS server and are mentioned later in this chapter

Reset Grace Period

You can extend the initial 30-day grace period using the slmgr /rearm command. In other

words, if the 30-day grace period has expired, the background has gone black, and the

reminder screens are coming up hourly, you can execute this command at the command

prompt to give yourself another 30 days. This command can be executed three times.

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