Howdy, I can not activate server 2008. The error shown is Code: 0x800732B Description: DNS name does not exst Any one have some suggestions for this please? Cheers

Some media used to install Windows Server 2008 will search for a Key Management Services (KMS) Server on your network.This installation media will not ask for a Windows product key when you install Windows Server 2008. The installation screen to enter the product key will not appear. Other packages of Windows Server 2008 (like the OEM version and the Full Packaged Product) ask you to enter a Product Key at installation time (although not required) along with the option to activate the product after installation. After installation when you don't enter your Multiple Activation (Product) Key (called a MAK) or don't install a Key Management Services (KMS) Server on your network your server will not be able to activate and your installation will be treated as not genuine. For more information check out the Volume Activation 2.0 Technical Guidance. I had to entermy product key and switch from KMS to MAK a while ago and wrote down my experiences here.

Thank you very much for your answer Sander and your blog post is particularly helpful. I will give it all a try and report back with success/failure.

Hello, Just in case that you dont know, you could also get another 60 days of evaluation by following the below steps: 1. Login the system with Administrator credential. 2. You will see a windows saying Active later will be enabled in 15 seconds. Wait until the active later is enabled and then login the system in RFM mode by clicking "Active later" button. 3. Click Start, and then click Command Prompt. 4. Type slmgr.vbs -dli, and then press ENTER to check the current status of your evaluation period. 5. To reset the evaluation period, type slmgr.vbs rearm, and then press ENTER. 6. Restart the computer. After that, you could continue using your Windows Server 2008 in 60 days of evaluation or activate the Windows within 60 days. For more information, please refer to the Volume Activation 2.0 Technical Guidance mentioned by Sander. I hope this helps. Regards, Neo Zhu

Thanks for the information. I know this is not your fault, so please take the rest of this post at being aimed at MS. I need to ask the question: why is this all such a pain? It appears to be yet another ill conceived process for users to have to go through? Your own metrics tell you that activation is a pain that many begrudgingly go though, but when this software (server 2008)is installed from an MSDN subscription I expect everything to work. I dont mind activating, why would I.. but I want a single click, not the rest of this merry go round. Microsoft is suppose to be on a big "User Experience" trip at present... let me tell you.. this stuff keeps happening, and it gets worse every version that is released... pretty shortly.. myself and others stop subscribing and handing over thousands each year.. we start installingother serversand we start looking at the other opportunities for desktops etc. Microsoft needs to start looking after the people that stand by it, help promote it and encourage others to work with it. This isnt good enough.

Hello, Actually product activation is one of the areas that we put a lot of efforts to try to improve. As you might know, Microsoft is using Windows Product Activation to protect its intellectual property from piracy. Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 both support Volume Activation 2.0. The Volume Activation 2.0 was designed to provide a simple and secure activation experience for enterprise customers. Previously, customers were required to install Volume License keys on each client. Because these keys were exposed in the registry, the risk of keys being stolen and leaking to the Internet was high, leading to increased costs of trying to protect these valuable assets. In some cases, customers even had to change a Volume License key throughout their organization. I can fully understand your frustration and am sorry for the inconvenience. We will forward your feedback to our product group. We are and will continuously publishing better document guidance to ensure that customers can follow recommended way to configure and activate Windows; Meanwhile, our product groups will also take customers feedback, like you, to design and develop simple Windows activation technology to provide better customer experience. Regarding your current issue, based on my research, Windows Server 2008 (MSDN subscription) installs by default using KMS activation.Your current issue (Error code 0x800732B) might occur if the activation wizard cannot connect to a Key Management Service (KMS) host computer. There are two methods to resolve this issue: Method 1: Use a Multiple Activation Key Change the product key to a Multiple Activation Key (MAK). To do this, open an elevated command prompt, and then type the following command: slmgr -ipk xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx Notexxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx represents your MAK product key. You could find your Multiple Activation Keys (MAKs)below the list with other product keyswhen logged in toyour MSDN Subscription. Method 2: Set up a KMS server Configure a computer on the network to host the KMS software. Then, publish the Domain Name System (DNS) settings. For information about how to set up a KMS server and for instructions about how to publish the DNS addresses, visit the following Microsoft Web site: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=9893F83E-C8A5-4475-B025-66C6B38B46E3&displaylang=en More information: =========== The following information is for your reference: Error message when you try to activate Windows Vista Enterprise, Windows Vista Business, or Windows Server 2008: "Code 0x8007232b" http://support.microsoft.com/kb/929826/en-us Microsoft Volume Activation 2.0 http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb892849.aspx Activation code http://forums.microsoft.com/TechNet/ShowPost.aspx?PostID=3084184&SiteID=17 I hope this helps. Regards, Neo Zhu

Can I use the same thing for Server 2003? To buy me the 60-day time to upgrade to 2008.