We need to be able to activate Windows 7 laptop computers via MAK key. Some of these laptops are on parts of the LAN that do not have direct internet access, so we want to activate them via a web proxy server. Does MAK activation respect WinHTTP proxy settings? Is there some other way to configure MAK activation to use a proxy server?

Hi. As this was posted a long time ago, I'm not sure if you've already figured this out. If not, VAMT may help you - http://technet.microsoft.com/library/ff686878.aspx.

No, VAMT-based activation isn't any use because it has to be done by hand. We use a fully automated install process. I think we wound up just using KMS and hoping nobody ever needs to take their laptop away for longer than the grace period.

On Tue, 10 Jul 2012 19:57:29 +0000, Harry Johnston wrote: > > >No, VAMT-based activation isn't any use because it has to be done by hand. We use a fully automated install process. > >I think we wound up just using KMS and hoping nobody ever needs to take their laptop away for longer than the grace period. KMS Keys only need to be re-activated every 180 days by default - unless you've set a shorter limit. They will update the activation every 10(?) days by default. How many people are out of contact with the KMS host for 6 months? Noel Paton | Nil Carborundum Illegitemi | CrashFixPC | The Three-toed Sloth

It isn't particularly uncommon for academics to travel overseas for a year or more, and some people only use their laptops when at home and never bring them into the office. It hasn't proved to be a problem so far, but I'd have liked to eliminate it as a potential issue. I don't think there would be any reason for us to use VAMT. If I can't activate automatically, so be it, but in that case the simplest solution is to use the phone. I guess where VAMT would come in handy is if you were installing a large number of laptops simultaneously. Fair enough, but we don't do that.

If they can VPN in to the server, they should be able to re-activate that way, I believe? Noel Paton | Nil Carborundum Illegitemi | CrashFixPC | The Three-toed Sloth

Yes, that could be a mitigation, although it depends on what ports the MKS traffic uses; the internal firewall might need to be reconfigured to allow them. Also, it won't help if they don't have internet connectivity, but that's pretty uncommon these days. (We do have staff members traveling to African jungles and the like, but not often.) My ultimate consolation is that, from what I've read, in Windows 7 an activation failure shouldn't be more than an inconvenience anyway.

I think MS relies more on the embarassment factor than anything else :) - computers are no longer hidden in the den, but on public display.Noel Paton | Nil Carborundum Illegitemi | CrashFixPC | The Three-toed Sloth