Hey everyone, I recently crashed a fairly new install of a Technet copy of Windows Server 2008 R2 during an attempt to use DCPromo and take our Server 2003 box out of service. Now that I have reinstalled 2008 on a new HDD, I'm getting an activation error because my one and only license key was used on the crashed 2008 HDD. Is there a way to migrate my activation to a fresh install? I tried looking for a .wpa file, but I'm not sure that's even an option (and I didn't see a .wpa when exploring the old HDD either). Any suggestions? Thanks, JR

You can activate over the phone, http://www.microsoft.com/licensing/existing-customers/activation-centers.aspx If it is unable to activate over the phone, it will connect you with an operator where you can explain what happened and they should be able to give you a working activation code. -- Mike Burr

Hello, I'd like to know what error message you are getting when trying to activate. I thought the TechNet keys for Windows Server 2008 R2 allowed for more than one installationThanks, Darrell Gorter This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights. Volume Activation documentation on TechNet http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/dd197314.aspx http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd996588.aspx VAMT - Volume Activation Management Tool - Download link http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=ec7156d2-2864-49ee-bfcb-777b898ad582&displaylang=en

Hey everyone, I recently crashed a fairly new install of a Technet copy of Windows Server 2008 R2 during an attempt to use DCPromo and take our Server 2003 box out of service. Now that I have reinstalled 2008 on a new HDD, I'm getting an activation error because my one and only license key was used on the crashed 2008 HDD. Is there a way to migrate my activation to a fresh install? I tried looking for a .wpa file, but I'm not sure that's even an option (and I didn't see a .wpa when exploring the old HDD either). Any suggestions? Thanks, JR You should not have to worry about the key because the "One and only" Key is a MAK **Multiple Activation Key** which means you have about 50-100 uses of that single MAK. There's no need to recover that key if you just want to reinstall.Steve Kline - MCITP This posting is "as is" without warranties and confers no rights.

If you can't activate automatically, use slmgr to see what the status is. You can can enter your product key and activate the server from slmgr. Type slmgr as a command prompt to see the options available. Bill

Hi, Anyway, please contact Microsoft Activation Center for assistance first. Tim Quan TechNet Subscriber Support in forum If you have any feedback on our support, please contact tngfb@microsoft.com ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Please remember to click “Mark as Answer” on the post that helps you, and to click “Unmark as Answer” if a marked post does not actually answer your question. This can be beneficial to other community members reading the thread.

I recently crashed a fairly new install of a Technet copy of Windows Server 2008 R2 during an attempt to use DCPromo and take our Server 2003 box out of service. I know I posted before but I checked on my contribution listings for my profile. I just re-read your question as normal to verify I gave my best answer... I do have a special inquiry... You're not trying to replace a Production server with a Technet Copy are you? FYI: It specifies in the TechNet TOU and PUR that you may not at any time for any reason with no exception mentioned or granted from Microsoft, use a TechNet copy of any software or operating system in a Production Environment. I hope that this wasn't the case but I felt like I should emphasize on that particular statement verbage to make sure that it was clear for you. Best Regards,Steve Kline - MCITP This posting is "as is" without warranties and confers no rights.