Windows activation!!!

[Gilly-Bhoy]

Hi All,

Recovered a Windows 2003 server to a Virtual environment (both VMWare Server and ESX Server) and got the same issue with both.

At the end of the setup on the initial boot it tells me I got three days to activate Windows???

Anyone seen this or know why it is happening? The server I am recovering is a production server and is not having this issue locally.

Cheers

Gilly

[Gilly-Bhoy]

BUMP!

Any ideas?

Bill?

Cheers

Gilly

[Ray_Arts]

Probably the number of changes incurred by the P2V migration causes Windows to force into the activation procedure again. I have different experiences on this behaviour converting P2V (vmdk's). It might well be that the Enterprise license require to reactivate Windows Server 2003, while the Standard Edition does not, but I have to verify.

Message Edited by Ray Arts on 08-30-2007 07:35 AM

[brentil]

I'm also having the same issue.  We used Backup Exec System Recovery Server Edition to backup a production server and then converted it to VHD files.  We then loaded it up under Windows 2003 R2 SP2 using MS Virtual Server 2005 R2 SP1.  It saw devices had changed, installed them, rebooted, and now gives us the activation required message.  We use volume licenses that don't require activation though. 

The main issue however is since this is a copy of a production machine the IPs are in use so we can't let the machine on the network to use the IPs.  The machine has IPs defined already so I can't use the local network only NAT approach to let it get online, and since the stupid activation screen wont let me get passed it I can't change the settings in windows.  So seriously how am I supposed to use my virtual machine without calling MS to activate something I've already activated, shouldn't need activation, and I technically don't have to activate since it's a backup of a running machine?

Message Edited by Leith Tussing on 10-04-2007 11:34 AM

[brentil]

I even tried going in to the phone menu and changing the Windows license to one of our other volume licenses to see if that would work but it keeps telling me that the keys I'm typing in are invalid, but I know they're valid and work with that volume license installation media.  I can't activate this via phone either because I don't want to invalidate the production servers license.

This is seriously annoying...

If I install the virtual machine additions before making the backup and converting to the VHD files will that help resolve this issue?

[TMurfet]

Hi,

Our experience with this issue: We call Microsoft, tell them we are doing disaster recovery, they give us activation code. Sometimes we get to speak with a manager. Generally speaking, it's the easiest path to follow. I would like to know whether they keep a record of the number of activations on that copy though. Something Symantec should find out and post.

Cheers, Anthony Murfet

[brentil]

So they're ok with you having both the production and "recovery" version activated at the same time and it doesn't cause an issue with the currently active production installation?

If it's what I have to do I'll do it, I would just prefer not to have to.  Problem is the machine the virtual machine was run on just does not have enough resources to provide an identical enough hardware enviroments (# CPUs and RAM) to keep it from re-activating.