Friday 29 June 2012

Convert KMS Host to Client

Converting KMS Host to Client

Windows 7 & Server 2008 R2 volume license copies both come with KMS Client keys installed by default. These are also obtainable from here: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff793421.aspx

If a server is accidentally activated with the KMS host key, it can be changed back via:
slmgr.vbs -ipk xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx (replace x's with the OS specific KMS key from the above site)

To check the status of the existing key on the server, run: slmgr.vbs -dlv

The "Description" should list VOLUME_KMSCLIENT channel. If the server was activated with a KMS host key, it will show VOLUME_KMS_B channel and below will also state "Key Management Service is enabled on this machine"