I have two virtual Windows 2008 R2 servers that I need to decommission that were licensed using a MAK key. What is the proper way to do this so that I can recover the licenses?

Thanks for assistance!!

• Edited by wannab2 Tuesday, January 27, 2015 4:53 PM

You should contact Microsoft directly to have your MAK count increased.

https://www.microsoft.com/Licensing/servicecenter/default.aspx

There's no way to "recover" a license that has been installed and activated.

Thank you for the reply. How do they know that they can increase the count and am I safe to just remove the VM's.

You would tell them what you did, they should return your licenses. Also, you may be able to reactivate the keys, since they are multiple activation keys, depending on the number of times they've been used, etc.

See this FAQ:

https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff678211#faq3

Specifically:

"How do customers get a MAK activation limit revised?

Customers can check their MAK allocation limit, check remaining activations on the keys, and request to increase the activation limit by contacting the Volume Licensing Service Center (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/p/?LinkId=184280).

What do I do if I use up all of my MAK activations?

Contact Microsoft and explain the situation. You will be provided additional activations (under reasonable circumstances)."

Thanks very much for the information. I really appreciate it.

Thanks for the information!!