MAK Activation

Applies To: Windows 10, Windows 8.1, Windows Server 2012 R2

MAK activation is used for one-time activation through Microsoft’s hosted activation services, with no renewals required. For background information about MAK activation, see the Volume Activation Planning Guide.

Installing a MAK During Operating System Installation

Administrators can convert a KMS client to a MAK client during the initial installation of Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 R2 by including a MAK in an unattended setup (Unattend.xml) file. The Unattend.xml file can be used with Setup.exe or Windows Deployment Services. For more information, see the Unattended Windows Setup Reference help file in the Windows AIK at http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=136976. For a sample unattended installation file, see “Appendix B: Sample Unattended Installation File.”Note   The MAK is stored in clear text in the Unattend.xml file. During an unattended installation, the file Unattend.xml or AutoUnattend.xml is copied to the %SystemRoot%\Panther folder of the target computer. However, at the end of the Setup process, the Setup program replaces it with “SENSITIVE*DATA*DELETED.”

Installing a MAK After Operating System Installation

A volume edition of Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 can be configured to use MAK activation by using the Control Panel System item or by running the Slmgr.vbs script:

To install a MAK by using the System application, click the Change your product key link, and then type the MAK in the Change your product key for activation dialog box.

To install a MAK by using Slmgr.vbs, run the following command at a command prompt:slmgr.vbs /ipk

where MultipleActivationKey is the MAK.

If users install a MAK by using the UI, the MAK client attempts to activate itself over the Internet one time. If the users install a MAK key by using the Slmgr.vbs script, the MAK client does not try to activate automatically.

Disabling Automatic Activation

To disable automatic activation on any MAK client, set the DWORD registry value Manual to 1. This value is in the registry subkey HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\SoftwareProtectionPlatform\Activation.

Activating MAK Clients

The MAK client attempts to activate over the Internet at the next scheduled interval. Administrators can force immediate activation over the Internet, by telephone, or by using the Volume Activation Management Tool (VAMT).

To confirm activation, check the system tray for a notification that says, “Windows is activated.” Alternatively, type slmgr.vbs /dli at a command prompt to view the activation status of a computer.

Activating MAK Clients over the Internet

A MAK client can be activated over the Internet in either of two ways:

• Click the Click here to activate Windows now link in the Control Panel System item. Windows reports whether the activation was successful. If activation was unsuccessful, a wizard presents additional options.
• Run slmgr.vbs /ato at a command prompt. Additional options are not presented when using slmgr.vbs.

Activating MAK Clients Through a Proxy Server

Activation over the Internet may be blocked if the proxy server requires user authentication. In Microsoft Internet Security and Acceleration (ISA) Server, this setting is called Basic Authentication. Because activation requests do not present the user's credentials to the proxy server, Microsoft recommends not using Basic Authentication with ISA Server or other proxy servers. However, if Basic Authentication or a comparable mechanism must be used on the proxy server, add the following URLs to the Proxy Authentication exclusion list:

http://go.microsoft.com/*

https://sls.microsoft.com/*

https://sls.microsoft.com:443

http://crl.microsoft.com/pki/crl/products/MicrosoftRootAuthority.crl

http://crl.microsoft.com/pki/crl/products/MicrosoftProductSecureCommunications.crl

http://www.microsoft.com/pki/crl/products/MicrosoftProductSecureCommunications.crl

http://crl.microsoft.com/pki/crl/products/MicrosoftProductSecureServer.crl

http://www.microsoft.com/pki/crl/products/MicrosoftProductSecureServer.crl

Activating MAK Clients Using the Telephone

To activate computers that are connected to the organization’s network but do not have Internet connectivity by using Slmgr.vbs. In the Command Prompt window, type:

slmgr.vbs TargetComputerName /dti

to display the information required to complete telephone activation. To obtain the telephone number for an Activation Call Center in your local region, run slui.exe 4. Use the Interactive Voice Response system to obtain the confirmation ID (CID); then, run:

slmgr.vbs TargetComputerName /atp

to install the CID. If activation is performed frequently or multiple computers are activated, it may be more useful to automate the process using the Slmgr.vbs script.

Activating MAK Clients Using VAMT

VAMT allows automation of MAK deployment and activation over the network by distributing MAKs from a centralized console. VAMT queries Microsoft activation servers to get the number of remaining activations for a given MAK, then lists the activation status of all MAK-activated systems in the environment. This count is a snapshot in time, not a real-time count. VAMT version 3.1 is included in the Windows ADK. 

Disable Automatic Activation

Automatic activation can be disabled on any KMS client by setting the existing DWORD value Manual to 1. This value is in the registry subkey HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\SoftwareProtectionPlatform\Activation.

Integrating MAKs with Deployment Workbench

Microsoft Deployment Toolkit (MDT) also provides a solution for deploying MAKs. In Deployment Workbench, administrators configure the MAK in task sequences, which add the MAK to the Unattend.xml file used during installation. Administrators can prepare the reference image for KMS activation, then, during deployment, MDT activates the installation by using a MAK as long as it does not detect a KMS infrastructure. MDT applies the MAK after installing the image. 

Installing KMS hosts

To enable KMS functionality, a KMS key is installed on a KMS host; then, the host is activated over the Internet or by phone using Microsoft’s activation services. Computers running Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 R2 can both serve as KMS hosts.Windows Vista, Windows Server 2003, and Windows Server 2008 can also serve as KMS hosts. The KMS clients that a KMS host can activate are dependent on the host key used to activate the KMS host. For more information about KMS host keys, see the Volume Activation Planning Guide.

Install and activate a KMS key on a Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 R2 computer by using an elevated command prompt:

• To install a KMS key, type slmgr.vbs /ipk  at a command prompt.
• To activate online, type slmgr.vbs /ato at a command prompt.
• To activate by using the telephone, type slui.exe 4 at a command prompt.

After activating the KMS key, restart the Software Protection Service.

Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 display the warning shown in [Figure 1] any time administrators install a KMS host key by using the UI (Users will not see this warning if they install a KMS host key by using the Slmgr.vbs script). This message prevents accidentally installing a KMS key on computers that administrators do not intend to be KMS hosts.

To verify that the KMS host is configured correctly, check the KMS count to see whether it is increasing. In the Command Prompt window on the KMS host, type slmgr.vbs /dli to display the current KMS count. Administrators can also check the Key Management Service log in the Applications and Services Logs folder for event ID 12290. The Key Management Service log records activation requests from KMS clients. Each event displays the name of the computer and the time stamp of each activation request.

Converting existing Windows Server 2012 versions

Any time after installing Windows Server 2012, you can run Setup to repair the installation (sometimes called “repair in place”) or, in certain cases, you can convert to a different edition.

  You can run Setup to perform a “repair in place” on any edition of Windows Server 2012; the result will be the same edition you started with.

  For Windows Server 2012 Standard, you can the system to Windows Server 2012 Datacenter as follows:

  From an elevated command prompt, determine the current edition name with the command DISM /online /Get-CurrentEdition.

  

  Make note of the edition ID, an abbreviated form of the edition name. Then run DISM /online /Set-Edition: /ProductKey:XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX /AcceptEula, providing the edition ID and a retail product key.

  

  And press Enter :

  

  Note : About KMS Client setup key , you can find it from : http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/jj612867.aspx

  Press Y and the server will restart twice. When you logon again , the version is converted to Datacenter :

  

    

Exchange Server 2016 and 2013 Updates

Applies to: Exchange Server 2013, Exchange Server 2016

Summary: This article provides you a central resource for update downloads, build numbers, and release dates for versions of Microsoft Exchange.

You can use the information in this topic to verify the version of Exchange that is running in your organization.

This topic is organized in sections that correspond to the major releases of Exchange. Each section lists the build numbers for each service pack (SP), cumulative update (CU), or update rollup (RU) of the specific Exchange release.

Download links for the latest cumulative updates, update rollups, and service packs for Exchange 2016, Exchange 2013 are included.

Exchange Server 2016

This section provides the build numbers and general release dates for each version of Microsoft Exchange Server 2016.

To view the build number for the version of Exchange 2016 that you’re running, run the following command in the Exchange Management Shell.

Get-ExchangeServer | Format-List Name, Edition, AdminDisplayVersion

The following table shows the build numbers and general availability dates for each version of Exchange 2016.

 

Product name	Release date	Build number
Exchange Server 2016 CU3	September 20, 2016	15.01.0544.027
Exchange Server 2016 CU2	June 21, 2016	15.01.0466.034
Exchange Server 2016 CU1	March 15, 2016	15.01.0396.030
Exchange Server 2016 RTM	October 1, 2015	15.01.0225.042
Exchange Server 2016 Preview	July 22, 2015	15.01.0225.016

Exchange Server 2013

This section provides the build numbers and general release dates for each version of Microsoft Exchange Server 2013.

To view the build number for the version of Exchange 2013 that you’re running, run the following command in the Exchange Management Shell.

Get-ExchangeServer | Format-List Name, Edition, AdminDisplayVersion

The following table shows the build numbers and general availability dates for each version of Exchange 2013.

 

Product name	Release date	Build number
Exchange Server 2013 CU14	September 20, 2016	15.00.1236.003
Exchange Server 2013 CU13	June 21, 2016	15.00.1210.003
Exchange Server 2013 CU12	March 15, 2016	15.00.1178.004
Exchange Server 2013 CU11	December 15, 2015	15.00.1156.006
Exchange Server 2013 CU10	September 15, 2015	15.00.1130.007
Exchange Server 2013 CU9	June 17, 2015	15.00.1104.005
Exchange Server 2013 CU8	March 17, 2015	15.00.1076.009
Exchange Server 2013 CU7	December 9, 2014	15.00.1044.025
Exchange Server 2013 CU6	August 26, 2014	15.00.0995.029
Exchange Server 2013 CU5	May 27, 2014	15.00.0913.022
Exchange Server 2013 SP1	February 25, 2014	15.00.0847.032
Exchange Server 2013 CU3	November 25, 2013	15.00.0775.038
Exchange Server 2013 CU2	July 9, 2013	15.00.0712.024
Exchange Server 2013 CU1	April 2, 2013	15.00.0620.029
Release to Manufacturing (RTM) version of Exchange Server 2013	December 3, 2012	15.00.0516.032

Exchange Mailbox Error :Insufficient access rights to perform the operation

Exchange Mailbox Error: "Active Directory operation failed on *DomainController*. This error is not retriable. Additional information: Insufficient access rights to perform the operation."

When you try to move a mailbox from Exchange 2003 or Exchange 2007 to Exchange 2010, following error occurred:

Error:

Active Directory operation failed on *DomainController*. This error is not retriable. Additional information: Insufficient access rights to perform the operation.

Active directory response: 00002098: SecErr: DSID-03150E8A, problem 4003 (INSUFF_ACCESS_RIGHTS), data 0
The user has insufficient access rights.
Exchange Management Shell command attempted:

’*OUStructure*’ | New-MoveRequest -TargetDatabase ‘Mailbox Database 1985885663′ -BadItemLimit ‘-1′

To resolve this error…..by editing the Advanced Security Settings for that user,

• Open Active Directory Users and Computers
• Find the user of which the mailbox error occured
• Open the properties of the user and go to the security tab (if this is not available, choose view and then advanced features in the AD users and computers under MMC)
• Click on [Advanced]
• Check the box at the bottom which says “Include inheritable permissions from this object’s parent” and then click [OK] twice.

 

Error fixing

Then try to move it and it will work…

Windows 10 On Mac Using Boot Camp

The following step by step tutorial will help you install windows 10 on Mac using Boot Camp Assistant software by Apple.

Before you begin, make a full backup of your Mac using Time Machine that you can restore to in case anything goes wrong.

Requirements:

• Up to date version of OS X running on a Mac with at least 2 GB RAM.
• A minimum of 30 GB of free hard drive space on Mac.
• Genuine Windows 10 Product Key
• A minimum of 16 GB USB Flash drive to install Windows 10 with all the required Boot Camp drivers.
• Windows 10 ISO File.

How to install Windows 10 on Mac:

Step 1: Launch Boot Camp Assistant. Do a Spotlight Search for it.

Step 2: Check both options under this ‘Select Tasks’ window as shown in the screenshot below.

Step 3: Insert your USB flash drive and select your Windows 10 .iso file, as shown again in the screenshots.

Step 4: Click Continue, you will get a warning saying your flash drive will be formatted. Click on Continue again.

Step 5: Now sit back and wait for Boot Camp Assistant to copy all the required Windows Files and Boot Camp drivers to your USB drive. This could take a while depending on the speed of your Internet connection and your computer.

Step 6: Once the USB drive is ready, it will ask you to create a Windows partition. Select at least 30 GB for Windows 10 and then click on Install button.

Step 7: Boot Camp will now create the required partition and then it will reboot your Mac.

Step 8. On restart, you will be booted into Windows Setup screen.

Step 9: From here, enter your product key when asked, select your Boot Camp created partition when prompted on where to install Windows. Basically just follow the on-screen prompts to start Windows installation process.

Step 10: Once Windows is installed, your Mac will automatically reboot right into Windows 10.

Step 11: Once you have set up your login account stuff and are in desktop, you will need to install Boot Camp drivers for your Mac. These are the same drivers which were copied by Boot Camp Assistant software to your USB in Step 5 above. Simply navigate to contents of USB flash drive from File Explorer and run setup.exe to install the required drivers for your Mac.

Step: 12: After the drivers are installed and your computer is rebooted, you should now have fully functional Windows 10 running on your Mac.

Dual-boot Windows 10 with OS X:

Now to dual-boot between the two operating systems, that is Windows 10 and OS X Yosemite, during Mac’s startup boot chime, press and hold option/alt key until you are presented with a menu to choose between Windows and Mac partitions, select your desired OS to boot into it.

Getting the Windows 10 file on your Mac

Step 1: Insert the flash drive into your Windows computer and download Windows 10's media creation tool from Microsoft. There are 32-bit and 64-bit versions, depending on which Windows system you intend to use the tool on. If you're not sure whether your computer is using 64-bit or 32-bit Windows,here's how you can find out. Only the version compatible with your system will actually run.

Step 2: Open the downloaded media creation tool, choose Create installation media for another PCthen click Next.

Step 3: Select the Language, Edition and the 64-bitArchitecture for Windows 10, then click Next. It's important that you select the 64-bit Architecture, unless your Mac specifically supports only the 32-bit architecture (very few do). If you select the 32-bit or both option, you may run into problems later on.

As for what edition of Windows to get, check out this chart to find out if Pro or Home fits you best. Keep in mind that you will need to buy a license later when you need to activate Windows and the Pro edition is more expensive than the Home edition. The N edition of Windows 10 is for certain European markets.

Step 4: Choose to save Windows 10 installer as an ISO file then click on Next. Don't worry, you won't need a DVD burner or a DVD at all.

Note that you'll want to avoid using the USB flash drive option here since, in my experience, the Windows 10 USB installer drive created using Windows has trouble working on certain Macs.

Save Windows 10 ISO file.

Step 5: Choose a location to save the Windows ISO file. For this guide, I chose to save that file on the flash drive, but you can save it anywhere on the computer and then copy it onto the flash drive later.

Depending on your Internet connection, this will take between a few minutes and several hours. Once the file has been saved on the flash drive, remove it from your Windows computer and insert it into your Mac.

You will not need the Windows computer again for the rest of the process.

Part 2: Getting the flash drive and your Mac's partition ready

Note: At times you'll be prompted to type in the password for your Mac's admin account. Make sure you have that ready.

Copy Windows 10 ISO file onto the Mac's desktop

Step 1: Insert and then open the flash drive. Copy the Windows ISO file onto the Mac's desktop. Leave the flash drive connected to the Mac for the rest of job. Make sure there are no other flash drives or external hard drives connected to the Mac.

Run Boot Camp Assistant

Step 2: Run Boot Camp Assistant, then click on Continue. Boot Camp Assistant is located in Applications\Utilities folder. You can also quickly search for it using Spotlight.

Make sure all tasks are checked.

Step 3: Make sure all three tasks Create a Windows 7 or later version install disk, Download the latest Windows support software from Apple and Install windows 7 or later version are checked. Then click Continue.

Prepare to make Windows 10 install disk.

Step 4: If you've copied the Windows ISO file to the Mac's desktop, it will be automatically located. If you put it elsewhere on the computer, you'll need click on Choose and browse for it. The flash drive will be automatically chosen as the install disk if it's the only flash drive plugged in.

Verify everything then click on Continue. Boot Camp Assistant will then confirm the erasing of the flash drive before turning it into a Windows 10 install disk (make sure you have no important information on the flash drive.) After that it will also download the latest Windows support software onto the flash drive.

Make sure you choose the right partition size for Windows 10.

Step 5: Boot Camp Assistant will prompt you to choose the size of the partition that you'll use for Windows. Use the slider to select the size. Windows 10 itself requires at least 20 GB to install, so you'll want more than that to make room for software and data. Note that this is the only time you can pick the partition size for Windows so make sure you make up your mind before continue.

Once done, without removing the flash drive, click on Install. The partitioning will takes place and then the Mac will restart. This is the end of part 2. Make sure the flash drive remained plugged in for the entire part 3.

Part 3: Installing Windows 10

Windows 10 installation starts

Step 1: The Mac will automatically boot up from the flash drive and start the Windows Setup process. You'll be prompted to choose the Language, Time and currency format, and Keyboard settings for Windows. Do this, then click on Next.

Note: If somehow the Mac doesn't boot from the flash drive, just restart it, hold down the Option key after the Apple startup sound for available boot options, use the left/right keys to pick the flash drive -- which will likely appears as "Windows" -- and press Enter to boot from it.

Enter the Windows 10 product key or skip it.

Step 2: Enter the Windows 10 product key if you have it, then click on Next, or click on Skip. The installation process will then ask you to confirm the Windows edition you want to install, and ask you to agree to the terms and conditions.

Reformatting the partition for Winodws 10.

Step 3: Eventually, you will be presented with the all existing partitions, one of which is marked asBOOTCAMP. This is the partition you want to install Windows 10 on. Select it then click on Format. Do not do anything about the rest of the partitions.

Confirming the formatting of the BootCamp partition.

Step 4: Windows Setup will then ask you to confirm, click on OK and then click on Next.

Windows Setup doing its thing.

Step 5: Windows Setup will continue the rest of the setup process by itself. This should take about about 10 to 30 minutes, depending on the speed of your Mac. After that, the Mac will start up with Windows 10. You will be asked to go through with the normal steps of setting up a new Windows computer, including creating an user account.

Installing Boot Camp software is the last step that makes Windows 10 run well on your Mac.

Step 6: As you log in for the first time, you will be greeted with this Boot Camp installation message. Click on Next and follow the rest of the installation, reboot the computer, and you're done!

If you don't see this message, open the flash drive, and double-click on the Setup file inside the BootCamp folder. Once Boot Camp is done installing, you can remove the flash drive from the computer. It's no longer needed.

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Enlarge Image

Windows 10 brings new excitement to Mac computers.

While you have both Mac OS and Windows 10 on the same machine, you can only run one of them at a time. To manually select which operating system to run, during the startup, hold down the Option key after the Apple startup sound and then use the left and right keys to select which one you want to boot into, then press Enter. To set which operating system to boot up as default, use the Boot Camp control panel (Windows) or Startup Disk in System Preferences (Mac).

Removing Windows

If for some reason, you don't want to have Windows 10 (or any version of Windows for that matter) on your Mac anymore, you can permanently remove it and regain the disk space the Mac OS. Here are the steps.

1. Boot into Mac OS, run Boot Camp Assistant and click Continue.

2. Pick the third option that reads Remove Windows 7 or later version then click onContinue.

Removing Windows means the entire Boot Camp partition will be earased.Screenshot by Dong Ngo/CNET

3. In this step, just click on Restore; you will be prompted for the Mac's admin password to confirm. After a short process, Windows will be removed like it had never been installed. Note that removing Windows also means that all data, including software and files, stored on the Windows partition will be permanently erased.