Need Help with Windows Server 2022 License Activation After VM Crash

JanakKhadka 566

Hello,

I’m facing an issue with my Windows Server 2022 license and would appreciate some guidance.

Details:

I purchased a Windows Server 2022 license and activated it on two VMs.
Recently, both VMs crashed, and I’m now trying to activate the license on two new VMs.
However, I am encountering an error stating that the activation limit has been exceeded.

I understand that each license has an activation limit, but in cases where servers or VMs crash, what are my options for reusing the license on new VMs? How can I resolve the activation error and ensure my license is properly applied to the new servers?

Any advice on the correct steps to take, or if there's a way to reset the activation count or transfer the license, would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you in advance for your help!

Darrell Gorter 2,121 Reputation points

2024-09-10T18:00:13.2966667+00:00

Hello,

You will need to call the activation support number and talk to a person to get them to reset teh activation count.

You can get the phone number to call by running SLUI 4 from a CMD prompt.

Darrell
JanakKhadka 566 Reputation points

2024-09-11T01:43:40.08+00:00

Hi @Darrell Gorter

Thank you for your help and suggestion!

Is there any other way to handle this without calling support? I think it would be very useful if the activation count for a license key could be visible to customers or partners directly, as it would make compliance and management easier.

Also, Darrell, do you know if there are any official Microsoft documents that specify the activation count limit for Windows Server licenses? It would be helpful to have a reference to understand the limits better.

Looking forward to your response.

Thanks again!
Darrell Gorter 2,121 Reputation points

2024-09-11T20:49:12.2166667+00:00

Not for those keys, not that I am aware of. There may be certain channels like some volume licensing that do expose counts. Different channels may have different counts depending on the allowed counts for those channel releases. ( Channels=OEM, Retail, Volume< Partner, MSDN, Education, etc.) There are risks associated with exposing the number of activations remaining both to the customer and to Microsoft. It raises any number of additional questions, around activations and around proper licensing. Activation counts do not equal licensing counts and may vary from Product to Product. There are different counts that come into play as well which would be confusing.

You can use VAMT (Part of the ADK) for MAK keys which I believe may expose the counts for the MAK keys.

Accepted answer

Hania Lian 17,296 Reputation points Microsoft Vendor

2024-09-11T03:05:02.2366667+00:00

Hello,

Regarding the question that the new VM cannot be activated, it is recommended that you call the activation number to solve the issue.

Regarding the second question,

Windows Server Standard Edition licenses include permissions for two VMs.

If you need to run more than two VMs, you'll need to purchase additional licenses. With each additional 1 or 2 VMs, you need to purchase a license again for all the physical cores of the server.

About official document, please refer to this link:

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/pricing?msockid=122c9882be3e6b443dbe8c38bf556abb

Best Regards,

Hania Lian

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JanakKhadka 566 Reputation points

2024-09-11T05:52:59.89+00:00

Hi @Hania Lian ,

Thank you for the clarification.

From my understanding, Microsoft allows activation on more than two VMs to provide some flexibility, especially in cases where previously activated VMs crash or face other disasters. This would mean that, in passive scenarios or in the event of issues with the original VMs, we should be able to activate new VMs without immediately purchasing additional licenses.

Additionally, based on Microsoft’s guidelines, errors like 0xC004C008 and 0xC004C020 occur when the activation server detects that the key has exceeded its activation limit. For KMS keys, the limit is usually up to 10 activations on no more than six different machines. For MAK keys, there’s a defined activation count which, once exceeded, restricts further activations. Am I right?

The recommended solution from Microsoft is to contact the Microsoft Licensing Activation Centers to request additional activations for the key if you've reached the limit due to unavoidable circumstances like VM crashes.

Could you please clarify these points further to ensure proper compliance and understanding of the licensing rules?

Thank you for your assistance!
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