Windows 8.1 and Windows Server 2012 R2 KMS-activation

Almost 4 months have passed since the official release of Windows 8.1 and Windows Server 2012 R2, so its time for system administrators to update their IT infrastructure for full support of those OS. In this article we will discuss KMS (Key Management Service) activation issues for Windows 8.1 and Windows Server 2012 R2 on KMS server, roll out for the older Windows version.

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In case when KMS server has been roll out already in attempting to activate the new OS (Win 8.1/ Win 2012 r2) on it such error will appear:

This error is absolutely normal because the legacy KMS server version knows nothing about new OS versions from Microsoft and doesn’t recognize the new KMS client keys.
Microsoft company release special KB2885698 update for full support of Windows 8.1 and Windows 2012 R2  on KMS servers which are working under control of previous Windows versions. It is available at this service http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2885698.
KB 2885698 update is designed for the following OS with installed KMS activation server:

• Windows Vista SP 2
• Windows Server 2008 SP 2
• Windows 7 SP 1
• Windows Server 2008 R2 SP 1
• Windows 8
• Windows Server 2012

The order of KB2885698 installation and KMS server activation

1. Using the link above download and install KB2885698 update on KMS server and restart server.
   Note. It is necessary to download update taking into account version and bitness of Windows which is used on KMS server.
2. To get information about current license type use the following command:

   slmgr.vbs /dlv

   

   As can be seen in example above KMS key for Windows Server 2012 (VOLUME_KMS_2012_C channel) is used.

3. Let’s delete the key with a help of the following command:

   slmgr.vbs /upk

   

4. With a help of the following command install KMS host key on KMS server (it is assumed that you have KMS key for Windows Server 2012 R2 which you got from VLSC – Microsoft Volume Licensing Service Center Web URL).

   cscript %windir%\system32\slmgr.vbs /ipk <VOLUME_KMS_KEY-for-2012-R2>

   

5. Activate Key on server:

   cscript %windir%\system32\slmgr.vbs /ato

   

   Note. If during KMS host activation an error with 0x8004FE92 code appeared, this most likely means is unable to connect with Microsoft Internet Activation Server . Check if this server/user has Internet access.
6. On Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 Software Licensing Service should be reset.

   net stop slsvc && net start slsvc

7. Let`s check KMS key version that we use:

   slmgr.vbs /dlv

   Now it’s VOLUME_KMS_2012-R2 channel

   

After the update and the new key installation your KMS server will support client KMS activation for all Windows versions from Vista up to Win 8.1/ 2012 R2.

KMS keys for Windows 8.1 and Windows Server 2012 R2

The list of KMS keys which should be used for Window Server 2012 R2 and Windows 8 on KMS server.

OS Edition	KMS key
Windows 8.1 Professional	GCRJD-8NW9H-F2CDX-CCM8D-9D6T9
Windows 8.1 Professional N	HMCNV-VVBFX-7HMBH-CTY9B-B4FXY
Windows 8.1 Enterprise	MHF9N-XY6XB-WVXMC-BTDCT-MKKG7
Windows 8.1 Enterprise N	TT4HM-HN7YT-62K67-RGRQJ-JFFXW
Windows Server 2012 R2 Server Standard	D2N9P-3P6X9-2R39C-7RTCD-MDVJX
Windows Server 2012 R2 Datacenter	W3GGN-FT8W3-Y4M27-J84CP-Q3VJ9
Windows Server 2012 R2 Essentials	KNC87-3J2TX-XB4WP-VCPJV-M4FWM

Using these keys you can activate Windows as usual by these commands:

slmgr /ipk xxxxx- xxxxx– xxxxx– xxxxx– xxxxx

slmgr /skms kms-server.woshub.com:1688

slmgr /ato

where xxxxx- xxxxx– xxxxx– xxxxx– xxxxx is KMS key from chosen OS edition

kms-server.woshub.com – KMS corporate address