Here's another fun fact - Generic keys are also used when you are trying to upgrade or downgrade from one version (like home) to another version (to pro) of windows. But make sure to use the generic keys of that perticular version you are trying to upgrade to (in this case pro) You can't directly apply the oem key you may have Baugh for pro to upgrade your system from home. First you'll have to use a genric key, to start the upgrade process to pro. And then add your own key after the upgrade, to activate windows. 😉 Hope it helps someone, who might be looking to upgrade from home to pro or some other version. ❤
@@lyrixm.8907 just use massgravel, if you use it's menu option to change variant it'll start the process automatically and of course you'll get a free license ! (disclaimer: i do not condone piracy)
That's only because trying to use an OEM key to upgrade is against the terms of service. OEM Keys are only meant to be entered during the installation process of windows. If you buy a retail windows key through the Microsoft store or other retail channel, those can be used to directly upgrade windows without the whole workaround, because retail keys actually support doing so. I learned this through a call with the Microsoft licensing support hotline - I'm not sure if that's even documented anywhere public facing.
@@Cloud67TR the generic keys for upgrading editions... it will do the upgrade without complaint online, then say it needs a valid key. I have used it to get all my 10 home's to 10 pro, and then used a win7 or 8 key to activate and get a "digital entitlement" license :)
You were probably joking about the youtube moderators banning your video for piracy, but that's exactly what happened to me. I showed the generic keys in a video about upgrading to another windows edition, and they banned it. Even after requesting a manual review, they kept it banned.
Most likely due to the high work load they have for reviewing videos. I've seen videos where the voice to text was converting a word to a different word, and that different word was not allowed. So the youtuber requested a manual review. But all the manual review person did was read the voice to text conversion instead of listening to the video itself where it happened, and keep the video banned. If the people having to review videos that are flagged have too much work to do, then they'll never be able to do a proper job of it.
@@xpyr This, and also there's every chance the person doing the manual review had no outstanding technical literacy, and saying something like "it's the generic Windows key" might have sounded like a made-up excuse to someone who'd never heard of such a thing.
Yep. I love this method. You don't pay Microsoft a cent for what they are doing _and_ you get activated Windows. Using it myself, and can genuinely recommend - All honesty from heart, no lies to be found! Don't want to support M$? Want free Windows? Use KMS activation!
@@BradHouser Probably because it was included in the prompt. The Ai knew something was supposed to be there, but was not told what, so it simply put something that "looked" correct.
We use KMS at our organization in our IT department. It makes it unbelievably simple to activate new devices. When we configure new machines, it saves so many headaches. In the best case, Windows will activate automatically when a new device is configured within our building. In the worst case, all we have had to do is type in 3 commands within CMD, and it activates with our KMS service. It's pretty awesome when it is being used as it was supposed to.
afaik the KMS keys can also be used to essentially force Windows to switch license types. Once I used a KMS key to switch a *reinstalled* Windows 10 from Home to Pro (Pro had been installed previously on that computer), and while the Home version refused to activate itself with a hardware digital license. After using the KMS key to force that switch, it recognized the digital license and finished activating on it's own.
That’s kind of what I do. I have had a couple of laptops that had oem keys for home so I add a file on the usb that essentially forces it to ignore the oem key so I can install pro when I wipe the computer which I do on every laptop I get/work with.
@@warhawk_yt for me it was the other way around. I had a Portable Workstation class laptop so the hardware licence that came with it was actually for Windows 10 Pro, but when I installed Windows 10 home it wouldn't recognise the licence key so I had to use the kms key for Windows 10 Pro to get it to switch licence types and recognise the hardware licence
@@warhawk_yt same lol, I just thought it would let me choose during installation from the iso, but it didn't - so I installed Home thinking it's whatever, it would just switch when it tried to activate, but then I actually had to force it to switch using kms keys
@@TricksterRad The ISOs that are distributed by Microsoft are either set to a specific edition, or install based on the specified key. If it's set to a specific edition, you can edit the ISO file to delete a specific file on it that identifies which edition it's supposed to install. Then it will ask which version to install. Also, the reason the OEM key wouldn't work is because moving from Home to Pro is considered an upgrade, and OEM keys aren't allowed to perform upgrades.
Another fact: I recently dived down into the rabbit hole of unattended install and I found out you need to have a windows Activation key to install from an unattended file and Generic Keys are used their as well because originally the main PC is already activated with an OEM (pre-built) to reinstall using unattended still needs a key...
IIRC regarding SLP - the embedding into the OS is half-right. I did some OEM SLP activations back in the day when Win7 was still popular. Some systems would come into the repair shop I worked at and for whatever reason the COA stickers would be worn out and unreadable. In the common case where a client wanted to have Windows re-installed, the problem was how to re-activate Windows after the OS was re-installed. That was hard to do without the COA being legible. The solution was SLP activation. There were files (pretty sure they of the xrm-ms extension like you showed) that you had to install/configure in Windows but they acted similar to decryption keys for specific "royalty" OEMs like Acer/Lenovo/HP/Dell/etc. These decryption keys (which were easy to find online) were then used on the OEM hardware in question to unlock and make readable an ACPI table (kind of a precursor to the modern MSDM equivalent you correctly describe) to authenticate that device as licensed for whatever edition and version(s) of Windows it was valid for from factory.
You needed a vendor specific product key with those files making it slightly more difficult than Windows XP (OEMBIOS files where vendor specific, product keys were the same for all SLP OEM activations), but in the grand scheme of things it was very easy and manufacturer (and by extension - customer) friendly.
Generic Keys are also used for when you wipe a computer and windows needs re-activated on the same hardware but you don't have the key (usually in the case of an OEM/Prebuilt PC), the Microsoft Auth servers will reply with "oh yeah, that machine has been activated before, here you go".
I swear this channel helped me fix my computer problems like no other channel could, for instance, a bunch of technical repair stores where I live will tell me, right off the bat, not even offering alternatives, to format and reset my laptop whenever I face somewhat difficult software issues, I see this channel, I learnt in-house repair upgrade, and I successfully solved my issue with it, without losing my data and apps
I used generic product keys when installing windows 8.1 as it requires a product key in the setup so you can just use that to "bypass" the product key screen. You still have to activate windows when installed since the key is not actually valid
Back in my day when installing Win8 or 8.1 for test purposes where a key didn't make sense I would just abuse the command line and install windows manually behind the installer's back.
I had to install Windows 8 Pro so many times back then that I still remember the XHQ8N-C3MCJ-RQXB6-WCHYG-C9WKB generic key 😂 Unfortunately it didn't work with 8.1 anymore but at that time I was no trainee anymore so OS installations were not the main part for my job anymore. Still sad that this now useless key will be allocating brain space for the rest of my life 😅
Haven't watched the video yet but you usually don't dissapoint. Windows Activation is surrounded with myths etc. so it's nice for someone knowledgeable to cover these kinds of things on their platform
I have a question about windows. How come windows might have a bug where it deactivates itself and when you go to command prompt your Product key is there even though windows said its not activated. This happened to me before, I did fix it, but it's annoying and I want answers.
A MasterLock, but not a master lock, it's just a bad lock. These locks are good for quick and dirty applications but not one you should use forever, as they're relatively low value and don't actually help much@@Preinstallable
Huh? What are you talking about with respect to the context of the video? If you use a software product outside the terms and conditions (the EULA which you accepted), you could be brought to court. To that extent, this isn't a "Microsoft corporate policy" situation - it can, will, and has been enforced through the legal channels available to Microsoft.
@@Jamesaepp that's called a "civil suit", James. It's a different thing to a criminal case. It isn't illegal to violate ToS or EULAs. You can be sued for breach of contract in a civil court, but it is NOT a criminal matter.
@@notaplic8158 I never said it was criminal or that one would be tried under criminal code. I said "you could be brought to court" - SPECIFICALLY because I knew it would likely be under tort/contract law - but at the same time, I'm not a lawyer, so I left the language vague enough to communicate what I wanted without communicating what I *didn't* want to.
That guy probably is taking "illegal" to literally and not understanding intention of the video is to clear up misconceptions about 'Generic' Windows Keys.
GVLK Keys can also be used in a fresh install of Windows to force the installation of a specific Windows Edition like Pro or Enterprise. I use that method on laptops with key inside the bios for example to force the installation of Pro on an ultrabook that comes preinstalled with home.
One of the useful uses of a windows 10/11 pro kms key is that if you have a home version it will obviously change your version to pro but it will also allow you to rdp to that computer, even after the grace period ends. I was a bit addicted to Eve a while back, and I had a bunch of laptops set up with rdp for ... stuff!
Technically you shouldn't be using Windows after the evaluation period expired, but just like WinRAR it doesn't stop you from using what you shouldn't. Also as far as I know most Windows features aren't DRM'd and are simply not installed or hidden on the wrong version. Even without upgrading Windows version sometimes it's possible to enable those features. Not sure if RDP can be enabled that way though, but at least group policy can.
@FlameRat_YehLon Any Windows 11 computer can use Rdp to go into another computer. It's the target computer that needs a pro/enterprise to accept the connection. There is no group policy way to force that to my knowledge. I create Windowss 11 WIM images at work all the time that technically don't have a license. Once the system is imaged, a post install task puts the computer on thendomain registers the kms server. Windows 11 computers don't have an evaluation mode like the older versions did that would literally lock you out.
@@Derekzparty I use group policy as an example of how some features can be enabled on the wrong version of Windows. It's not related to the availability of RDP. And the reason I come up with that is I think it might be possible to enable RDP host in Windows Home with some method, for example editing registry or something, but don't know if that's actually possible or not. And the "evaluation" part: I think a non-activated copy of Windows is supposed to be for evaluation purpose only, Microsoft just didn't lock out any significant feature and allow the use of such copy indefinitely. Using such copy other than for evaluation purpose is technically piracy, it's just that Microsoft didn't try to stop it.
@@FlameRat_YehLon I'd be interested if you could find a way to accept an RDP in a home version of Windows. I looked into it pretty thoroughly a few years ago but ended up using the Pro kms key work around.. I don't play Eve anymore but could be useful in the future.
@@FlameRat_YehLon As for using non-activated versions of Windows 11, it is completely legal to never activate if you don't want to, be it for financial or technical reasons. At work I am responsible for creating the windows images all of our computers use, Staff, Patron, Catalog and a few Server images. All of those images were captured off the domain and obviously activated through our KMS server. Once those computers are imaged the post install puts them on the domain and changes the windows key to the Windows 11 Enterprise one. Microsoft could very easily lock me/us out if they wanted to as they have done with previous version of Windows, but that would just make setting up an image more complicated.
A long time ago, I reinstalled Windows on a notebook (I believe HP) by deleting the beginning of the drive first, so it was practically a clean drive. Then, I learned the hard way that the activation key was saved somewhere on the drive I'd deleted. Fortunately, the support hotline could navigate me through a secret menu embedded in the notebook's firmware/BIOS, which recreated that key on the drive. After seeing this video, I believe that that license was a SLP license.
Those generic keys do not activate Windows.. until they do. About 5 years ago I put them in 2-3 clean installs of Windows 10 and when I put my Microsoft account, it activated with digital licence linked to the account. But it's been patched for a while.
AVMA = Virtual Machine activation. The "Datacenter Editions" of Windows Server hosted on a physical machine gives you the license to host unlimited virtual machines on it running Windows Server up to the version you licensed. You can then use the AVMA key and then the HyperV services of the host act like a KMS server to the virtual machines.
So that's why cloud service provider usually wouldn't charge for extra on Windows Server activation if Windows is offered as an option, and also why even virtual desktop on cloud would use Windows Server rather than Windows Pro or something. But I guess financially it make sense. An unlimited amount of VMs likely wouldn't increase load to the Microsoft server since updates are often handled locally, and thus a flat price is possible.
KMS was actually abused with a man-in-the-middle attack by software designed to activate using volume licenses. Another program abused time-based keys to keep Windows in a perpetual state of evaluation activation.
More like a check-in desk or something. KMS probably don't hand Windows the actual key, it just tell Windows that they are good to go. Microsoft also probably wouldn't check if an individual Windows copy is getting a legit license, they just check if the KMS hands out permission in a suspicious way.
@@ExploringNew1yeah this happens. ship of thesus type of situation. if you replace too much hardware at once windows can no longer tell if you're using the same computer. you can contact Microsoft and explain the situation and they should be able to reactivate your copy.
There is actually another use for the Generic Windows Keys We sometimes get Laptops that have Windows Home version pre-installed and the customer buys a Professional key Windows refuses to activate that key saying it's the wrong version So we use Generic key for Educational versions first to upgrade from Home to Educational (turn off internet first, also requires a restart) Then we enter the Professional key and it upgrades from Educational to Professional and activates
When you use Windows Server Datacenter edition, you can use AVMA keys to automatically activate the underlying VMs (datacenter edition allow unlimited vms). The VM can move across different datacenter edition servers and still be valid, and activated by the host license.
windows server as a vm host is the most cursed thing i have ever heard, its like being told the apartment you are renting on the 90th floor of a building is being held up by paper clips
@scottpott8474 Its still popular in certain fields as bad as it sounds. I've deployed one cluster installation where I made use of these AVMA keys. We specialize in on-premise, dark installations.
In general, it's important to stop confusing a licence key and a licence which is not the same. If you have a licence, you may use the product. If you don't have a licence, but just a licence key, you may not use the product. Means: if you have a generic key from your IT department, the company has purchased licences from Microsoft. If you have a retail key, you usually purchased it from a store. Or a second hand reseller, so someone else purchased it from Microsoft or a store like Saturn, Media Markt etc.. If you have an OEM key, the hardware manufacturer purchased the licence from Microsoft. If you have an active MSDN subscription, Microsoft itself grants you the right to use an individual key that comes from your purchased MSDN subscription. Got the point?
Also with volume licensing when you buy a license for a particular product you typically are issued a MAK that allows a set number of activations but that number bears no relationship to the number of licences you purchased. You can activate more copies of the software than you bought licences for so you have to keep a log of the number of licenses you have and the machines you allocated them to in case you are audited.
The KMS explanation is good but it has a few mistakes or missing information. The KMS Server is, yes an server in the organization that can activate windows and office (the old MSI version) in bulk, but that server will never talk with Microsoft for activation. How it works is, you would sign in into the Volume License Key portal (these days they send you to Microsoft 365 Admin portal if I'm not mistaken) and you retrieve the Windows server KMS key, the last step is to then install this key on the VM or Physical server that will be hosting the KMS service. After this, setting up the KMS server is pretty straight forward, you add the role to the server and create some DNS entries for Autodiscover. When a device that has these generic keys connects to the network, they will use the DNS entries to find the KMS server and attempt to activate Windows, this process repeats every 3 months (don't quite recall but I think that it can occur sooner, but the 3 months is the max your device can go without contacting the KMS). Now how does Microsoft Know's how many devices you activated? Well.. they don't. On each renewal of the License Agreement, a company will look into the KMS server and see how many devices they currently have activated, and they need to report these numbers to Microsoft. Once in a while Microsoft will reach out to you to perform an audit, and if the numbers match of what you reported your good but if not ... well prepare the company will need to start preparing the wallet to pay a fine for breach of contract :). The good thing about these keys is you have the right to downgrade or upgrade to any version of windows (i believe there's now a limit that you cannot go below Windows 7.. but back in the day f you had a machine with Windows 7 you could downgrade to Windows 95 or even upgrade the OS to Windows 10 Enterprise). This was possible ONLY if you had an OEM Pro license, machine with no license or with a home edition would not qualify for this upgrade/downgrade, hence if you had this and was found during an Audit .. well you know what would happen. These days this is a relic from the past ... everything is now subscription based as it helps Microsoft to keep tabs on the usage of their products.
There are two tipes of generic keys: the KMS ones and generic retail keys, which are used to point the PC to an edition and tell it to activate with a digital license
What are you talking about; back in the day when I built my own computers I would buy the OEM version of Windows on DVD, and it came with an OEM key. Not exactly limited availability. Sold on Newegg
There's one other special activation key, though for Windows Server; AVMA keys, used to activate a VM against the Hyper-V host's license. Standard entitles 2 VMs at the Host's OS version or older, Datacenter is unlimited.
If you have a Microsoft agreement that has the correct skews, annual license in 3 yr cycle, setup a KMS behind your firewall and the benefit is: i) purchase devices with Windows Home (saves a few bucks per device) and KMS upgrades the OS to Enterprise and ii) allow Windows VM on a Mac hosted in Parallels or Fusion (just need a current OS license, macOS counts, not Linux). Under KMS activation, if a device disappears, can't see the org KMS, after 6 months, device is rather useless (in reduced functionality mode). In our scripts to setup new devices, we wipe it clean to remove bloatware and install a fresh Windows 11 Enterprise, KMS activated. I think KMS was needed for light and zero touch device builds.
Microsoft use to have an Insider Preview key for preview versions of Windows 10 but disabled those when W10 was announced. I still have a computer running W10 that was activated with it. It set up a digital license so it will also activate W11 (although the machine is slow when running it).
OEM:DM are also HardwareID locked keys assigned to Microsoft account. They will not activate after for example BIOS update, you need to login into Microsoft account and move license to newly showed PC.
Yeah, here's what AI says: Windows KMS Key Definition A KMS (Key Management Service) key, also known as a GVLK (Generic Volume License Key), is a type of product key used for volume licensing editions of Windows Server and Windows client operating systems. It’s a special key that allows computers to activate automatically without requiring individual product keys. Here’s how it works: A KMS key is installed on a central server or a master image. When a Windows client or server boots up, it checks for the presence of a KMS key. If found, the client or server contacts the KMS server (usually a Microsoft-authorized server) to verify the key. The KMS server responds with an activation confirmation, and the client or server is activated. Using a KMS key offers several benefits: Simplified activation process: No need to manually enter individual product keys for each device. Easy deployment: KMS keys can be installed in an image or deployed through group policy. Centralized management: Administrators can manage and monitor KMS keys from a central location.
One thing I wish you would address more, especially when doing a video on product keys, is to talk about the subject of keys not being licenses. There is no reason for a Generic key to be illegal because they are just product keys and not licenses. They just enable the product as all product keys do for windows operating systems. I would strongly request that you do a video on the subject of product keys vs a license. The COA sticker is the actual license for OEM products and even direct OEMs that use SLP print a hologram label on their devices to indicate the license. The most common point of confusion with Microsoft is people believe the key is the license and thus you have sites that sell keys which selling the key isn't the illegal part, it's making people believe that they've purchased a license when in fact all they have purchased is a key.
If you have a "pre-licenced" version (store bought computer) of Windows and want to get the product key/code, you can with Linux. The key is stored in a ACPI table called "MSDM", so a 'sudo strings /sys/firmware/acpi/tables/MSDM' prints it out as the last line 🙂
There are tools to get your key exposed... annoyingly, Defender flags them as "Potentially Unwanted Software" and treats them as a virus... As a tech, I use them when the client (or myself) can't be bothered looking up for the key before a reinstall of windows, or office. Or for getting my OEM key, since companies don't want to display it, they just have it embedded in the system.
@@wolphin732 I'm pretty sure you don't need to download any of these tools, I remember just using a simple prompt command to extract my Windows-10 key from the system...
Kinda sad that some day there will be no one to reminisce with about calling windows actvation and having to enter a 200 character code then type another 200 character code. That was hell
And when you upgrade Windows 10 to 11 (or earlier 7/8 to 10), your product key gets converted to a digital license, which can be stored in your Microsoft account. Don't remember what the exact string in slmgr is, though.
Generic keys are definitely misunderstood. Back when Windows 8.1 was released, the setup used a different set of keys to the original Windows 8. Microsoft expected you to do an inplace upgrade from 8 to 8.1 via the store but I wanted to do a clean install of 8.1 with an 8 key. It turns out that the restriction was only in the 8.1 setup - the installed OS would happily accept a Windows 8 key just fine. So I found that if you clean installed 8.1 with the official generic 8.1 Pro key, it wouldn't activate of course, but it would get it installed, where you could then activate your 8 key without having to do the inplace upgrade. I posted this on a forum once and the post was deleted, presumably because the mod thought I was doing something illegal when that was absolutely not the case.
I remember watching one of those KMS Windows 10 activation using CMD videos in 2018, and to this day I haven't had to renew the activation again. Also the system works perfectly with all the timely updates and everything. If anyone could tell me what I actually did back then, that'd be very helpful XD
You haven't needed to renew because a task was set up to regularly check with the KMS server to refresh the activation. If the KMS server goes down or the task gets disabled/deleted it'll deactivate once the 180 days are up. There's really no reason to use traditional KMS activation anymore. HWID (permanent) or KMS38 (until January 19, 2038) are way better for Windows. KMS isn't even needed for Office anymore with ohook.
I believe you can also buy OEM keys (usually online), and I don't think these keys are transferrable to new PCs? But, maybe something changed last time I checked.
Microsoft claims that OEM keys cannot be transferred but after my mother's boyfriend bought one from kinguin, speaking to a Microsoft rep on the phone they had no problem authorizing it to be used as a regular retail key. So I think they're willing to do it, it's more that they're HOPING when people see that statement that they arent supposed to be transferrable, people will think twice about buying an OEM key for cheap and instead pay full price.
This reminds me back in the days of MS ForntPage 98 that there was a generic key that worked for that program that was a mixture of just 1's and 0's (in a particular order). I would argue that unless you're authorized to use such generic keys though, they are otherwise legal, but again, only if you're authorized to have access to them and use them (such as beta testers or in some cases, schools for example who maybe have a contract that is not tied to a specific number of machines (on a per-machine basis) but a flat-fee contract.
A lot of Microsoft software before say 2000 or so, had a generic installer key that essentially bypassed the need for a real key. Pretty sure you could install Office 97 and possibly Windows 98 with nothing but 1's in every box, and 7's in the final box, if memory serves me right.
An OEM key is uniquely identified to the hardware of that computer, including its serial code. This makes it impossible to authenticate on another computer.
Fun fact: someone has reverse engineered the KMS Host and reimplemented it in Python with the Microsoft connection and machine minimums removed. I’m also pretty sure it can’t be taken down because APIs can’t be copy written/trademarked. Of course, it does technically break the EULA if you use it 😉
I worry that the online KMS servers that are advertised to be free to use actually have the purpose of finding people who are deliberately bypassing Windows security to be able to get free activation in order to target them for malware. The adage, if you get something for free then YOU are the product, seems appropriate. As for AVMA, this seems to me to be the way that the custom deployment option worked that allowed you to use a single Windows Server Essentials license into a Hyper-V host OS and a Hyper-V VM OS. This was possible in WSE 2012R2 and WSE 2016 and involved extracting the original WIM into two customized host and vm WIMs (using dism to change which components were in which WIM), and then creating a new install.wim to use to install on bare metal which would auto-create the license linked VM.
install keys might have been a better statement... yes ; they are absolutely legal and also used when you install windows without entering a key when asked.
OEM:SLP activates using SLIC tables stored in the bios, that is the only sense in which they are ""bound"" to the machine, it's technically possible to inject these tables into any computer you want but nobody really does that anymore
I tend to use generic keys in my work refurbishing laptops. Microsoft would get upset if we resold laptops using the OEM key, so we have to go through a Microsoft Authorized Refurbisher to get our laptops activated. The utility we have for this can only be done post-install and we only stock Pro keys, so if the embedded key tells our boot media to install a Home edition of Windows, we have to use a generic key to make it swap to Pro prior to activation.
I recently updated my old laptop from 8.1 Pro to 10 Pro from an instructional video that was made when upgrading was still free. Unfortunately now it’s no longer available and MS doesn’t sell them nor am I confident in what is sold third party. They all seem to be all over the place with pricing an vague descriptions of what they are. Is there a legitimate way to get a key for my pc or should I just ignore it?
When I installed Windows 10 on my computer that came with Windows 7, I used COA key on the bottom and it activated online, but then seemed to changed itself to a Windows 10 retail licence attached to my Microsoft account. When I installed Windows 7 back on it, that key had stopped working but I was able to activate it offline by installing the OEM:SLP licence file and product key that had come pre-installed.
Keep in mind the key is not a license and does not entitle you to use the software. Microsoft (and other vendors) will actually want to see the proof of purchase for the applicable version (theres a bit more too it than just that but thats its in q nutshell)
how did i just find out about this channel? liked. subscribed. and i found out my corporate issued laptop has retail windows on it XD [edit: pay as you go!? i guess it was only a matter of time...]
With windows 7 Ultimate and Pro on release, there was a hyper-v windows XP virtual machine called XP mode available for download from MS that used the Automatic Virtual Machine activation key, it basically gets tied to the host machine's key. I expect there is a load of this stuff running on windows azure images, but who uses them when linux runs just fine :D
I remember years ago I had a trash picked Dell PC with one of those BIOS embedded keys for Windows XP (or was it Vista, I'd have to check the Windows label). In any event I found a tool online that let you embed a different Windows version. So I embedded a Windows 7 Pro SLC license and flashed it to the BIOS and then installed Windows 7 to it and I never had to activate it, I was just curious about stuff like that years ago and never really used that Dell PC as my main computer was a MacBook Pro. I still have that trash picked Dell PC. In fact I'm using it to keep an Ethernet Cable in place. LOL.
The Tool you are talking about was actually a rootkit hack. it would change the way your computer booted, and it would first boot a shim, that would take over the memory functions of the BIOS. It would choose the rootkit based on the type of oem key and type (home / pro ) you selected at install. Then it would install the Master OEM key in the windows registry and other files. so that when activation checked the license (the registry and files) against the Key in the BIOS the rootkit would provide the windows activation with the "proper oem code" and then it would allow computers to run. This is why Bootcode is now digitally signed to prevent the rootkit shim from running. It was also an open door to the group that wrote the code as most of the rootkits were used to run botnets clients with. If you were sufficient in firmware hacking, you could take a firmware update with your desired key inserted into it, and flash the bios and simply run the license you wanted, the computer would simply install the product type you chose. That's why most firmware now have Little fuses that the OEM burns with a proper voltage on configuration that prevents the Bios memory area that holds the keys from being written to again. There are ways around this, of course But this isn't a discussion on HOW to do all of this. Simply the History of how older products including the first versions of windows 10 had holes in them a meter wide.
@@gjdunga Actually what I used replaced the slic that was in the motherboard's firmware with one for Windows 7. The OS files were never touched. Then I flashed the patched BIOS to the motherboard.
What a nightmare. As I don't use any Adobe professional software, I migrated all my machines to Debian, and acquired a couple of ARM-based computers, that work surprisingly well with the new video protocol Wayland. Only after a number of months you realize the prison (with Windows) you were inside with all these requirements for authorisations - just to type a letter, or build an home controller. Thank you ThioJoe, for the comprehensive explanation of all the different authorisation codes for Windows. Greetings from the UK, Anthony
None of this is a problem anymore because for Windows 10 and all you don't actually need to activate (it only locks down your ability to change the background lol)
Same, been on Linux for months and it's insane that you can literally achieve anything you want. If you have an idea then you can do it since no parts of the OS is off-limits, that is amazing to me and made me love using computers again. 🙂
@@evilleader1991 Can achieve literally anything I want _except for being able to use the WIndows software I actually want to use._ Sorry, no thanks, Linux is still a non-starter for me (and evidently most other people, judging by adoption rates).
I was able to upgrade from Windows 7 to Windows 10 using an OEM key from a random computer at a factory I worked at. But it wasn't straightforward, instead of typing the key and it's activated (it failed this way) I had to call a Microsoft 800 number and activate it that way. But it worked! I assume bc they were offering free upgrades. I think I might have missed the deadline? I forget why I had to go this route
fun fact: there is indeed a subsku of windows enterprise called "enterprise for virtual desktops", according to the documentation, software will see this sku as a server version i believe
I work with this version a lot at the day job. You're correct, they are detected as server versions. Probably to maintain compatibility with old on-premises Remote Desktop session hosts/Terminal Servers.
@@steeviebops I believe so, the reason for this is actually documented on Microsoft Learn. By the way, how is it that you can legally work with this SKU when it's exclusive to Azure?
a lot of the activation can be Manipulated, for examle, one of my machines is KMS activated, but responds as retail no where is volume licence mentioned
Simple the Generic ones are for updates and installation in a Enterprise Environment where the windows will be activated by a enterprise Hosted KMS Server . u cannot use the enterprise KMS Server to install windows but u use the generic ones first for installing and then activate it with u enterprise kms server.
This "Pay as you go"-Model sounds like they are meant for Azure-VMs and you pay per minute/hour the vm server is running. If you shut it down, you don't pay for it. But that's only a guess.
Yeah. I bought a coppy of Windows Server 2008. The Windows Vista Server. And I got two licences. a key for physical hardware and a key for Hyper-X activation. So I have a VM Key.
QUESTION: I have a Prebuild HP PC with Windows 11. If I want to build another PC by myself, can I use the HP OEM Key? Will it activate Windows or it’s tied to only that PC?
Technically you violate the rules but the chance is very very small that MS will come after you. I've activated my Windows 11 pro with a win7 pro Acer OEM key from a pc that was on the e-waste pile. It's been 2 years already and no problems so far. MS doesn't care anymore if you buy a legit key or pirate it. They just want your personal data anyways.
Depends on the laws of your country... Licenses cannot supercede the laws of your country. I believe that what you describe would be legal in mine as long as you have legally acquired the license.
Microsoft lets you use a key 5 times , So keep your old keys and save money as 7 10 keys work in 11. it locks the key on the 6 time it used. You can unlock it by using the Windows that key did come with and upgrading to 11 then logging in to Microsoft to reset the key , Are call for key reset. I have been using Win 7 Enterprise forever in 11.
What about those really cheap keys for like 10 euro for the latest windows or office? I bought two of those a few years ago for the latest office, and it still all works tied to my MS account. Thought it would have been removed by now.
So let us know Jo if those web sites i.e CD Sales that sell Windows keys are legit or not because I activated a Windows 11 on a computer that refurbed for my granddaughter and there has not been any problems with it??
5:16... "Windows is activated forever" NO, you are totally wrong. Windows checks in to Microsoft every so often, and if they can't, after 180 days, it will show the "Windows Not Activated" message on the screen. That is why many display screens which do something where there isn't actual users often have issues. If they wanted, they could connect it to the internet or doing a phone activation.
the `slmgr /dli` is mostly wrong nowerdays if your using Microsoft 365 Licensing which is a Volume License key you have to use the Generic to install and then once connected to MDM it will auto update to the version for Businesses (Business or Enterprise) and you run the slmgr /dli it will say retail when your not on a retail version
I found that sometimes specifically Dell computers that come with windows home license, I am able to install the pro version then activate it using a generic key, I didn't check what type of license though (assuming it was hardware based since I reinstalled Windows pro)
hey,can you make video how to disable when you uninstall outlook(new) app and started to use mail app an pin to the taskbar, windows automatically unpin the mail app and install outlook(new) app and pin the outlook(new) app. I tried multiple times
You should team up wiyh Dave from Dave's Garage. Pretty sure he'll give you the full run down of what eqch us/does regarding the activation keys, since he was one of the ones to implement it 😂😂😂
That's sort of a rather over-simplified and confusing breakdown of MS licensing. It's almost never that simple however. By default, most Windows 10/11 are actually licensed with a generic key, and the generic key basically allows the machine to run unlicensed for the "trial" period, after which you start seeing that nagging prompt to activate your windows, or your version of Windows appears to be not legitimate. I won't bring up the discussion of the topic of "re-arming".. MAK keys and KMS keys are usually provided to an organization under some sort of MS licensing agreement; MAK keys are the per-computer licensing that is essentially manually installed, and go out to the internet for verification, or can be also activated over the phone for each computer activated. KMS can greatly simplify the actual process of handing out operating system licenses; but it's still activated at least once over the internet for verification or can be activated over the phone. To simplify things, KMS works hand in hand with DNS to add to a list of servers that provide the KMS functionality; KMS is largely dependent upon DNS being correct to make things run smoothly. Safeguarding KMS & MAK keys is akin to safeguarding money, you know, real money like $$$. Using the KMS/MAK keys of a company that you don't run - is essentially piracy; and it can cost the company money, so... MAK and KMS keys also cover other Microsoft products such as Office 2016 and various Microsoft server products. That's even more confusing to most. But then the MAK/KMS licensing file for my enterprise happens to be 1720 lines long, each with a different MAK or KMS key .. No one in their right mind that has had to deal with MAK/KMS keys ever has stated that MAK & KMS licenses are easy to deal with; it requires a basic understanding of KMS/MAK licensing.. In today's world, I'd likely look at the licensing agreement to determine what I am allowed to license, then license it for the HIGHEST level and anything below the KMS server will handle. At work, I'm allowed Windows 11 Enterprise, which will also license Windows10, and lesser versions of Windows 11 like Windows 11 Professional, Windows 7 enterprise, etc. A single KMS server can license thousands or tens of thousands of KMS clients.. Oddly enough, it's not easy to tell HOW many clients are licensed without resorting to looking at logs, and tallying them up by using those logs. By default, all I can tell is if I have enough clients in order to run a licensed KMS server to where it functions; headcounts are often performed annually using other means.. The process is often referred to as "TRUE-UP" and is on the honor system for the most part. Remember, I said confusing right? So, I run in an enterprise environment with servers.. That same server has KMS running for 2022 Datacenter, yet also down-level licenses Windows 11/Windows 10 Enterprise and below, but it's using a 2022 Datacenter KMS key.. ( No wonder the help desk gets confused when it comes to licensing )... And that KMS activation server ONLY runs a single KMS key, and that's all it can do. It was running a 2019 Datacenter KMS key until we started to deploy 2022 servers, at which then we needed to upgraded to a 2022 Datacenter KMS key. There are also other caveats to KMS keys as well.. And there's also caveats to using MAK keys as well. In a corporate/enterprise environment KMS is often also configured in DNS otherwise all clients would need to be touched in order to receive KMS licensing. Setting a client manually to point to a KMS server sets that "pointer" permanently until either changed or removed; If the KMS server goes away or gets replaced with a KMS server with a different name, the manually configured client will often no longer activate until tinkered with. Best to configure KMS correctly on the server and set up/clean up DNS so that it's right for the KMS to issue the keys automatically.. There can be MULTIPLE KMS clients in the environment; for example, it's possible to have a KMS server for handling : 1) Windows 11 Enterprise clients (example), or down-level licenses like Windows 10 Pro or Windows 10 Enterprise 2) a separate KMS server for handling Windows 2022 Datacenter licensing (and below) ; This server could also issue licenses to Windows 11 Enterprise/Pro /Windows 10 Enterprise/pro.. 3) a third KMS server for handling Windows legacy Office licensing.. All 3 could easily be listed in DNS, and all operate automatically; Simply put, KMS on the client (albeit a server or workstation or laptop ), it will try the first, then move onto the second then the third till it gets the type of license that the KMS client is looking for.. If the server contacted does not provide the license requested, the kms client just moves onto the next DNS record. Note that I really don't need the separate KMS server for just Windows workstations and laptops.. It's actually cheaper to NOT have it and put the workload on the KMS server handling server-side KMS.. So, my point here is - KMS is a deeper subject that depicted in this video, and in real life, handled much differently.
Here's another fun fact -
Generic keys are also used when you are trying to upgrade or downgrade from one version (like home) to another version (to pro) of windows. But make sure to use the generic keys of that perticular version you are trying to upgrade to (in this case pro)
You can't directly apply the oem key you may have Baugh for pro to upgrade your system from home. First you'll have to use a genric key, to start the upgrade process to pro. And then add your own key after the upgrade, to activate windows. 😉
Hope it helps someone, who might be looking to upgrade from home to pro or some other version. ❤
@@lyrixm.8907 just use massgravel, if you use it's menu option to change variant it'll start the process automatically and of course you'll get a free license ! (disclaimer: i do not condone piracy)
That's only because trying to use an OEM key to upgrade is against the terms of service. OEM Keys are only meant to be entered during the installation process of windows.
If you buy a retail windows key through the Microsoft store or other retail channel, those can be used to directly upgrade windows without the whole workaround, because retail keys actually support doing so. I learned this through a call with the Microsoft licensing support hotline - I'm not sure if that's even documented anywhere public facing.
you have to be offline so it won't say can't connect to the server
I remember using a generic key to downgrade Windows 10 to 8.1 like 2-3 years ago 😅
@@Cloud67TR the generic keys for upgrading editions... it will do the upgrade without complaint online, then say it needs a valid key. I have used it to get all my 10 home's to 10 pro, and then used a win7 or 8 key to activate and get a "digital entitlement" license :)
You were probably joking about the youtube moderators banning your video for piracy, but that's exactly what happened to me. I showed the generic keys in a video about upgrading to another windows edition, and they banned it. Even after requesting a manual review, they kept it banned.
Sorry to hear. We need a different platform for videos. Sadly it’s a catch 22 when migrating to a new site.
Of course they did, wasn't promoting ChromeOS.
Most likely due to the high work load they have for reviewing videos.
I've seen videos where the voice to text was converting a word to a different word, and that different word was not allowed. So the youtuber requested a manual review. But all the manual review person did was read the voice to text conversion instead of listening to the video itself where it happened, and keep the video banned.
If the people having to review videos that are flagged have too much work to do, then they'll never be able to do a proper job of it.
@@xpyr This, and also there's every chance the person doing the manual review had no outstanding technical literacy, and saying something like "it's the generic Windows key" might have sounded like a made-up excuse to someone who'd never heard of such a thing.
Don't think he was joking.
The way KMS work is also why many windows and office pirated software use KMS to active the product with a generic key
MASSGRAVE!
Yep. I love this method. You don't pay Microsoft a cent for what they are doing _and_ you get activated Windows. Using it myself, and can genuinely recommend - All honesty from heart, no lies to be found! Don't want to support M$? Want free Windows? Use KMS activation!
Also re: KMS needs to check in every 180 days, not if you use the IoT LTSC Version 😉
@@ChocoRainbowCorn if on 10, HWID activation using MAS is just better
@@randomchannel9331 I didn't know that, so thanks.
I love the Windows 9 product placement! 1:42
Interesting the the only legible text done by the AI is Windows 9.
Was the misspelling of "Pulitzer" some kind of innuendo? 🙂
@@BradHouser Probably because it was included in the prompt. The Ai knew something was supposed to be there, but was not told what, so it simply put something that "looked" correct.
We use KMS at our organization in our IT department. It makes it unbelievably simple to activate new devices. When we configure new machines, it saves so many headaches. In the best case, Windows will activate automatically when a new device is configured within our building. In the worst case, all we have had to do is type in 3 commands within CMD, and it activates with our KMS service. It's pretty awesome when it is being used as it was supposed to.
afaik the KMS keys can also be used to essentially force Windows to switch license types. Once I used a KMS key to switch a *reinstalled* Windows 10 from Home to Pro (Pro had been installed previously on that computer), and while the Home version refused to activate itself with a hardware digital license. After using the KMS key to force that switch, it recognized the digital license and finished activating on it's own.
That’s kind of what I do. I have had a couple of laptops that had oem keys for home so I add a file on the usb that essentially forces it to ignore the oem key so I can install pro when I wipe the computer which I do on every laptop I get/work with.
@@warhawk_yt for me it was the other way around. I had a Portable Workstation class laptop so the hardware licence that came with it was actually for Windows 10 Pro, but when I installed Windows 10 home it wouldn't recognise the licence key so I had to use the kms key for Windows 10 Pro to get it to switch licence types and recognise the hardware licence
@@TricksterRad Damn. I prefer pro so I make sure I install that version.
@@warhawk_yt same lol, I just thought it would let me choose during installation from the iso, but it didn't - so I installed Home thinking it's whatever, it would just switch when it tried to activate, but then I actually had to force it to switch using kms keys
@@TricksterRad The ISOs that are distributed by Microsoft are either set to a specific edition, or install based on the specified key.
If it's set to a specific edition, you can edit the ISO file to delete a specific file on it that identifies which edition it's supposed to install. Then it will ask which version to install.
Also, the reason the OEM key wouldn't work is because moving from Home to Pro is considered an upgrade, and OEM keys aren't allowed to perform upgrades.
Another fact:
I recently dived down into the rabbit hole of unattended install and I found out you need to have a windows Activation key to install from an unattended file and Generic Keys are used their as well because originally the main PC is already activated with an OEM (pre-built) to reinstall using unattended still needs a key...
IIRC regarding SLP - the embedding into the OS is half-right. I did some OEM SLP activations back in the day when Win7 was still popular. Some systems would come into the repair shop I worked at and for whatever reason the COA stickers would be worn out and unreadable.
In the common case where a client wanted to have Windows re-installed, the problem was how to re-activate Windows after the OS was re-installed. That was hard to do without the COA being legible. The solution was SLP activation. There were files (pretty sure they of the xrm-ms extension like you showed) that you had to install/configure in Windows but they acted similar to decryption keys for specific "royalty" OEMs like Acer/Lenovo/HP/Dell/etc. These decryption keys (which were easy to find online) were then used on the OEM hardware in question to unlock and make readable an ACPI table (kind of a precursor to the modern MSDM equivalent you correctly describe) to authenticate that device as licensed for whatever edition and version(s) of Windows it was valid for from factory.
You needed a vendor specific product key with those files making it slightly more difficult than Windows XP (OEMBIOS files where vendor specific, product keys were the same for all SLP OEM activations), but in the grand scheme of things it was very easy and manufacturer (and by extension - customer) friendly.
You either get this a lot or don't get this at all but I really appreciate you putting subtitles on your videos
If I recall correctly, Pay-As-You-Go was available for emerging market with Windows XP Starter edition.
Generic Keys are also used for when you wipe a computer and windows needs re-activated on the same hardware but you don't have the key (usually in the case of an OEM/Prebuilt PC), the Microsoft Auth servers will reply with "oh yeah, that machine has been activated before, here you go".
I swear this channel helped me fix my computer problems like no other channel could, for instance, a bunch of technical repair stores where I live will tell me, right off the bat, not even offering alternatives, to format and reset my laptop whenever I face somewhat difficult software issues, I see this channel, I learnt in-house repair upgrade, and I successfully solved my issue with it, without losing my data and apps
VT IA is for level 1 hypervisor. It is also able to be net boot.
I used generic product keys when installing windows 8.1 as it requires a product key in the setup so you can just use that to "bypass" the product key screen. You still have to activate windows when installed since the key is not actually valid
You have to use a KMS server
Back in my day when installing Win8 or 8.1 for test purposes where a key didn't make sense I would just abuse the command line and install windows manually behind the installer's back.
I had to install Windows 8 Pro so many times back then that I still remember the XHQ8N-C3MCJ-RQXB6-WCHYG-C9WKB generic key 😂
Unfortunately it didn't work with 8.1 anymore but at that time I was no trainee anymore so OS installations were not the main part for my job anymore.
Still sad that this now useless key will be allocating brain space for the rest of my life 😅
@@maxl96systems me too i install windows xp pro so much that I remember the product key MRX3F-47B9T-2487J-KWKMF-RPWBY
Haven't watched the video yet but you usually don't dissapoint. Windows Activation is surrounded with myths etc. so it's nice for someone knowledgeable to cover these kinds of things on their platform
I found about this about 4 years ago but you expanded on it and nailed it.
I have a question about windows. How come windows might have a bug where it deactivates itself and when you go to command prompt your Product key is there even though windows said its not activated.
This happened to me before, I did fix it, but it's annoying and I want answers.
If a key opens many locks, it is a master key.
And if a lock is opened by many keys, it's a MasterLock.
A MasterLock, but not a master lock, it's just a bad lock. These locks are good for quick and dirty applications but not one you should use forever, as they're relatively low value and don't actually help much@@Preinstallable
And if a card is used by many people, it's a MasterCard.
@@Preinstallable Never gets old
@@Preinstallable beat me to it
Corporate policy is not the same as US law.
Huh? What are you talking about with respect to the context of the video? If you use a software product outside the terms and conditions (the EULA which you accepted), you could be brought to court. To that extent, this isn't a "Microsoft corporate policy" situation - it can, will, and has been enforced through the legal channels available to Microsoft.
@@Jamesaepp that's called a "civil suit", James. It's a different thing to a criminal case. It isn't illegal to violate ToS or EULAs. You can be sued for breach of contract in a civil court, but it is NOT a criminal matter.
@@notaplic8158 I never said it was criminal or that one would be tried under criminal code. I said "you could be brought to court" - SPECIFICALLY because I knew it would likely be under tort/contract law - but at the same time, I'm not a lawyer, so I left the language vague enough to communicate what I wanted without communicating what I *didn't* want to.
That guy probably is taking "illegal" to literally and not understanding intention of the video is to clear up misconceptions about 'Generic' Windows Keys.
@@Jamesaepp eulas are not above the law
I don't know why, but this was somehow very interesting
GVLK Keys can also be used in a fresh install of Windows to force the installation of a specific Windows Edition like Pro or Enterprise. I use that method on laptops with key inside the bios for example to force the installation of Pro on an ultrabook that comes preinstalled with home.
One of the useful uses of a windows 10/11 pro kms key is that if you have a home version it will obviously change your version to pro but it will also allow you to rdp to that computer, even after the grace period ends.
I was a bit addicted to Eve a while back, and I had a bunch of laptops set up with rdp for ... stuff!
Technically you shouldn't be using Windows after the evaluation period expired, but just like WinRAR it doesn't stop you from using what you shouldn't. Also as far as I know most Windows features aren't DRM'd and are simply not installed or hidden on the wrong version. Even without upgrading Windows version sometimes it's possible to enable those features. Not sure if RDP can be enabled that way though, but at least group policy can.
@FlameRat_YehLon Any Windows 11 computer can use Rdp to go into another computer.
It's the target computer that needs a pro/enterprise to accept the connection.
There is no group policy way to force that to my knowledge.
I create Windowss 11 WIM images at work all the time that technically don't have a license.
Once the system is imaged, a post install task puts the computer on thendomain registers the kms server.
Windows 11 computers don't have an evaluation mode like the older versions did that would literally lock you out.
@@Derekzparty I use group policy as an example of how some features can be enabled on the wrong version of Windows. It's not related to the availability of RDP.
And the reason I come up with that is I think it might be possible to enable RDP host in Windows Home with some method, for example editing registry or something, but don't know if that's actually possible or not.
And the "evaluation" part: I think a non-activated copy of Windows is supposed to be for evaluation purpose only, Microsoft just didn't lock out any significant feature and allow the use of such copy indefinitely. Using such copy other than for evaluation purpose is technically piracy, it's just that Microsoft didn't try to stop it.
@@FlameRat_YehLon I'd be interested if you could find a way to accept an RDP in a home version of Windows.
I looked into it pretty thoroughly a few years ago but ended up using the Pro kms key work around..
I don't play Eve anymore but could be useful in the future.
@@FlameRat_YehLon As for using non-activated versions of Windows 11, it is completely legal to never activate if you don't want to, be it for financial or technical reasons.
At work I am responsible for creating the windows images all of our computers use, Staff, Patron, Catalog and a few Server images.
All of those images were captured off the domain and obviously activated through our KMS server.
Once those computers are imaged the post install puts them on the domain and changes the windows key to the Windows 11 Enterprise one.
Microsoft could very easily lock me/us out if they wanted to as they have done with previous version of Windows, but that would just make setting up an image more complicated.
A long time ago, I reinstalled Windows on a notebook (I believe HP) by deleting the beginning of the drive first, so it was practically a clean drive. Then, I learned the hard way that the activation key was saved somewhere on the drive I'd deleted.
Fortunately, the support hotline could navigate me through a secret menu embedded in the notebook's firmware/BIOS, which recreated that key on the drive.
After seeing this video, I believe that that license was a SLP license.
It's not theft if MS is paid with users' data.
paid alert
@@coolingchips1410 My bad.
@@CnCDune allg
Me when “reading the ToS” (I can’t do that and can’t know that MS can do whatever it wants with my data, and I agreed to it)
Those generic keys do not activate Windows.. until they do. About 5 years ago I put them in 2-3 clean installs of Windows 10 and when I put my Microsoft account, it activated with digital licence linked to the account. But it's been patched for a while.
AVMA = Virtual Machine activation. The "Datacenter Editions" of Windows Server hosted on a physical machine gives you the license to host unlimited virtual machines on it running Windows Server up to the version you licensed. You can then use the AVMA key and then the HyperV services of the host act like a KMS server to the virtual machines.
So that's why cloud service provider usually wouldn't charge for extra on Windows Server activation if Windows is offered as an option, and also why even virtual desktop on cloud would use Windows Server rather than Windows Pro or something.
But I guess financially it make sense. An unlimited amount of VMs likely wouldn't increase load to the Microsoft server since updates are often handled locally, and thus a flat price is possible.
0:45 bros eye’s muscles said: b-bye
3:08 Oh so, K.M.S. It's sort of like a "Middleman Host Server?! 😮" That's what it sounds like to me.
KMS was actually abused with a man-in-the-middle attack by software designed to activate using volume licenses. Another program abused time-based keys to keep Windows in a perpetual state of evaluation activation.
More like a check-in desk or something. KMS probably don't hand Windows the actual key, it just tell Windows that they are good to go. Microsoft also probably wouldn't check if an individual Windows copy is getting a legit license, they just check if the KMS hands out permission in a suspicious way.
i tried to use one of this generic key and i lost the original one now i am not able to recover my old one
unfortunate
Wow... My windows deactivated after upgrading my hardware
@@ExploringNew1 what did you upgrade??
@@ExploringNew1yeah this happens. ship of thesus type of situation. if you replace too much hardware at once windows can no longer tell if you're using the same computer. you can contact Microsoft and explain the situation and they should be able to reactivate your copy.
@@ExploringNew1 average windows oem key. it's bound to the motherboard :(
There is actually another use for the Generic Windows Keys
We sometimes get Laptops that have Windows Home version pre-installed and the customer buys a Professional key
Windows refuses to activate that key saying it's the wrong version
So we use Generic key for Educational versions first to upgrade from Home to Educational (turn off internet first, also requires a restart)
Then we enter the Professional key and it upgrades from Educational to Professional and activates
When you use Windows Server Datacenter edition, you can use AVMA keys to automatically activate the underlying VMs (datacenter edition allow unlimited vms). The VM can move across different datacenter edition servers and still be valid, and activated by the host license.
windows server as a vm host is the most cursed thing i have ever heard, its like being told the apartment you are renting on the 90th floor of a building is being held up by paper clips
@scottpott8474 Its still popular in certain fields as bad as it sounds. I've deployed one cluster installation where I made use of these AVMA keys. We specialize in on-premise, dark installations.
Are avma also available in the public?@@SilenceHunt3r
In general, it's important to stop confusing a licence key and a licence which is not the same.
If you have a licence, you may use the product. If you don't have a licence, but just a licence key, you may not use the product.
Means: if you have a generic key from your IT department, the company has purchased licences from Microsoft. If you have a retail key, you usually purchased it from a store. Or a second hand reseller, so someone else purchased it from Microsoft or a store like Saturn, Media Markt etc.. If you have an OEM key, the hardware manufacturer purchased the licence from Microsoft. If you have an active MSDN subscription, Microsoft itself grants you the right to use an individual key that comes from your purchased MSDN subscription.
Got the point?
License*
@@丷 yeah, it's really confusing. in German, there is only one word for that.
Also with volume licensing when you buy a license for a particular product you typically are issued a MAK that allows a set number of activations but that number bears no relationship to the number of licences you purchased. You can activate more copies of the software than you bought licences for so you have to keep a log of the number of licenses you have and the machines you allocated them to in case you are audited.
The KMS explanation is good but it has a few mistakes or missing information. The KMS Server is, yes an server in the organization that can activate windows and office (the old MSI version) in bulk, but that server will never talk with Microsoft for activation. How it works is, you would sign in into the Volume License Key portal (these days they send you to Microsoft 365 Admin portal if I'm not mistaken) and you retrieve the Windows server KMS key, the last step is to then install this key on the VM or Physical server that will be hosting the KMS service. After this, setting up the KMS server is pretty straight forward, you add the role to the server and create some DNS entries for Autodiscover. When a device that has these generic keys connects to the network, they will use the DNS entries to find the KMS server and attempt to activate Windows, this process repeats every 3 months (don't quite recall but I think that it can occur sooner, but the 3 months is the max your device can go without contacting the KMS).
Now how does Microsoft Know's how many devices you activated? Well.. they don't. On each renewal of the License Agreement, a company will look into the KMS server and see how many devices they currently have activated, and they need to report these numbers to Microsoft. Once in a while Microsoft will reach out to you to perform an audit, and if the numbers match of what you reported your good but if not ... well prepare the company will need to start preparing the wallet to pay a fine for breach of contract :). The good thing about these keys is you have the right to downgrade or upgrade to any version of windows (i believe there's now a limit that you cannot go below Windows 7.. but back in the day f you had a machine with Windows 7 you could downgrade to Windows 95 or even upgrade the OS to Windows 10 Enterprise).
This was possible ONLY if you had an OEM Pro license, machine with no license or with a home edition would not qualify for this upgrade/downgrade, hence if you had this and was found during an Audit .. well you know what would happen. These days this is a relic from the past ... everything is now subscription based as it helps Microsoft to keep tabs on the usage of their products.
There are two tipes of generic keys: the KMS ones and generic retail keys, which are used to point the PC to an edition and tell it to activate with a digital license
What are you talking about; back in the day when I built my own computers I would buy the OEM version of Windows on DVD, and it came with an OEM key. Not exactly limited availability. Sold on Newegg
These days they don't bother with COA's as much given you can just embed the licences these days
There's one other special activation key, though for Windows Server; AVMA keys, used to activate a VM against the Hyper-V host's license. Standard entitles 2 VMs at the Host's OS version or older, Datacenter is unlimited.
I know a couple office XP keys that still work one has kckct tbbg I like the Windows 98 key it's a simple algorithm and it does not phone home
If you have a Microsoft agreement that has the correct skews, annual license in 3 yr cycle, setup a KMS behind your firewall and the benefit is: i) purchase devices with Windows Home (saves a few bucks per device) and KMS upgrades the OS to Enterprise and ii) allow Windows VM on a Mac hosted in Parallels or Fusion (just need a current OS license, macOS counts, not Linux). Under KMS activation, if a device disappears, can't see the org KMS, after 6 months, device is rather useless (in reduced functionality mode). In our scripts to setup new devices, we wipe it clean to remove bloatware and install a fresh Windows 11 Enterprise, KMS activated. I think KMS was needed for light and zero touch device builds.
Microsoft use to have an Insider Preview key for preview versions of Windows 10 but disabled those when W10 was announced. I still have a computer running W10 that was activated with it. It set up a digital license so it will also activate W11 (although the machine is slow when running it).
If someone tries to activate windows without key, he is in Massgrave situation 😅
wink wink
🤫🤫
:3
@@infradragon ofc you are here
hi :3
@@MIOG_MIOG alalzozola is behind you.
OEM:DM are also HardwareID locked keys assigned to Microsoft account. They will not activate after for example BIOS update, you need to login into Microsoft account and move license to newly showed PC.
I used a KMS key to activate windows never had problems
Same. Mine doesn't even expire!
Yeah, here's what AI says:
Windows KMS Key Definition
A KMS (Key Management Service) key, also known as a GVLK (Generic Volume License Key), is a type of product key used for volume licensing editions of Windows Server and Windows client operating systems. It’s a special key that allows computers to activate automatically without requiring individual product keys.
Here’s how it works:
A KMS key is installed on a central server or a master image.
When a Windows client or server boots up, it checks for the presence of a KMS key.
If found, the client or server contacts the KMS server (usually a Microsoft-authorized server) to verify the key.
The KMS server responds with an activation confirmation, and the client or server is activated.
Using a KMS key offers several benefits:
Simplified activation process: No need to manually enter individual product keys for each device.
Easy deployment: KMS keys can be installed in an image or deployed through group policy.
Centralized management: Administrators can manage and monitor KMS keys from a central location.
One thing I wish you would address more, especially when doing a video on product keys, is to talk about the subject of keys not being licenses. There is no reason for a Generic key to be illegal because they are just product keys and not licenses. They just enable the product as all product keys do for windows operating systems. I would strongly request that you do a video on the subject of product keys vs a license. The COA sticker is the actual license for OEM products and even direct OEMs that use SLP print a hologram label on their devices to indicate the license. The most common point of confusion with Microsoft is people believe the key is the license and thus you have sites that sell keys which selling the key isn't the illegal part, it's making people believe that they've purchased a license when in fact all they have purchased is a key.
If you have a "pre-licenced" version (store bought computer) of Windows and want to get the product key/code, you can with Linux. The key is stored in a ACPI table called "MSDM", so a 'sudo strings /sys/firmware/acpi/tables/MSDM' prints it out as the last line 🙂
On Windows you can use Nirsoft FirmwareTableView for the same purpose. Table signature is ACPI:MSDM there.
Interesting!
30 seconds later:
"FBI open up!!"
There are tools to get your key exposed... annoyingly, Defender flags them as "Potentially Unwanted Software" and treats them as a virus...
As a tech, I use them when the client (or myself) can't be bothered looking up for the key before a reinstall of windows, or office. Or for getting my OEM key, since companies don't want to display it, they just have it embedded in the system.
@@wolphin732 I'm pretty sure you don't need to download any of these tools, I remember just using a simple prompt command to extract my Windows-10 key from the system...
what's not legal is not subscribing to mr joe
Bro be riding wild
@binaryraptor and yet your here, commenting, watching?
@@manaholic1680??????
mama
Give him a pin
WIN11 24H2: OEM, COA, NSLP here, good vid.
Kinda sad that some day there will be no one to reminisce with about calling windows actvation and having to enter a 200 character code then type another 200 character code. That was hell
Hey, I remember doing that. I HATED IT!
And when you upgrade Windows 10 to 11 (or earlier 7/8 to 10), your product key gets converted to a digital license, which can be stored in your Microsoft account. Don't remember what the exact string in slmgr is, though.
Generic keys are definitely misunderstood. Back when Windows 8.1 was released, the setup used a different set of keys to the original Windows 8. Microsoft expected you to do an inplace upgrade from 8 to 8.1 via the store but I wanted to do a clean install of 8.1 with an 8 key. It turns out that the restriction was only in the 8.1 setup - the installed OS would happily accept a Windows 8 key just fine. So I found that if you clean installed 8.1 with the official generic 8.1 Pro key, it wouldn't activate of course, but it would get it installed, where you could then activate your 8 key without having to do the inplace upgrade. I posted this on a forum once and the post was deleted, presumably because the mod thought I was doing something illegal when that was absolutely not the case.
ive been watching for 6 years now holy
I remember watching one of those KMS Windows 10 activation using CMD videos in 2018, and to this day I haven't had to renew the activation again. Also the system works perfectly with all the timely updates and everything. If anyone could tell me what I actually did back then, that'd be very helpful XD
you did the thing he said his video isnt about, you ran a kms activator :P
You haven't needed to renew because a task was set up to regularly check with the KMS server to refresh the activation. If the KMS server goes down or the task gets disabled/deleted it'll deactivate once the 180 days are up. There's really no reason to use traditional KMS activation anymore. HWID (permanent) or KMS38 (until January 19, 2038) are way better for Windows. KMS isn't even needed for Office anymore with ohook.
@@Jon717 Ty for this.
I believe you can also buy OEM keys (usually online), and I don't think these keys are transferrable to new PCs? But, maybe something changed last time I checked.
Microsoft claims that OEM keys cannot be transferred but after my mother's boyfriend bought one from kinguin, speaking to a Microsoft rep on the phone they had no problem authorizing it to be used as a regular retail key. So I think they're willing to do it, it's more that they're HOPING when people see that statement that they arent supposed to be transferrable, people will think twice about buying an OEM key for cheap and instead pay full price.
@@rashira9610 well you can still buy expensive retail oem keys, but they're like 50% cheaper than a normal retail key
I think that they get "connected" to the motherboard and it remains activated as long as you don't replace the motherboard.
@@rashira9610 Ew, Kinguin, just pirate at that point
@@MarkoVuckovic32 Yea correct, like a normal OEN pc
This reminds me back in the days of MS ForntPage 98 that there was a generic key that worked for that program that was a mixture of just 1's and 0's (in a particular order). I would argue that unless you're authorized to use such generic keys though, they are otherwise legal, but again, only if you're authorized to have access to them and use them (such as beta testers or in some cases, schools for example who maybe have a contract that is not tied to a specific number of machines (on a per-machine basis) but a flat-fee contract.
A lot of Microsoft software before say 2000 or so, had a generic installer key that essentially bypassed the need for a real key.
Pretty sure you could install Office 97 and possibly Windows 98 with nothing but 1's in every box, and 7's in the final box, if memory serves me right.
@@mzxeternal Older installers needed the sum of all or some of the digits to be a multiple of 7.
An OEM key is uniquely identified to the hardware of that computer, including its serial code. This makes it impossible to authenticate on another computer.
@ThioJoe I think you should explain the activation process and what happens during it, MAS has a good understanding of it when you activate manually
I would imagine PAYGO is for AWS/Cloud instances that want to licence per the hour
"This is the lockpicking lawyer ..."
Fun fact: someone has reverse engineered the KMS Host and reimplemented it in Python with the Microsoft connection and machine minimums removed. I’m also pretty sure it can’t be taken down because APIs can’t be copy written/trademarked. Of course, it does technically break the EULA if you use it 😉
I worry that the online KMS servers that are advertised to be free to use actually have the purpose of finding people who are deliberately bypassing Windows security to be able to get free activation in order to target them for malware. The adage, if you get something for free then YOU are the product, seems appropriate.
As for AVMA, this seems to me to be the way that the custom deployment option worked that allowed you to use a single Windows Server Essentials license into a Hyper-V host OS and a Hyper-V VM OS. This was possible in WSE 2012R2 and WSE 2016 and involved extracting the original WIM into two customized host and vm WIMs (using dism to change which components were in which WIM), and then creating a new install.wim to use to install on bare metal which would auto-create the license linked VM.
install keys might have been a better statement... yes ; they are absolutely legal and also used when you install windows without entering a key when asked.
OEM:SLP activates using SLIC tables stored in the bios, that is the only sense in which they are ""bound"" to the machine, it's technically possible to inject these tables into any computer you want but nobody really does that anymore
It's still good for permanently activating Windows Server 2008-2025.
I tend to use generic keys in my work refurbishing laptops. Microsoft would get upset if we resold laptops using the OEM key, so we have to go through a Microsoft Authorized Refurbisher to get our laptops activated. The utility we have for this can only be done post-install and we only stock Pro keys, so if the embedded key tells our boot media to install a Home edition of Windows, we have to use a generic key to make it swap to Pro prior to activation.
I recently updated my old laptop from 8.1 Pro to 10 Pro from an instructional video that was made when upgrading was still free. Unfortunately now it’s no longer available and MS doesn’t sell them nor am I confident in what is sold third party. They all seem to be all over the place with pricing an vague descriptions of what they are. Is there a legitimate way to get a key for my pc or should I just ignore it?
When I installed Windows 10 on my computer that came with Windows 7, I used COA key on the bottom and it activated online, but then seemed to changed itself to a Windows 10 retail licence attached to my Microsoft account. When I installed Windows 7 back on it, that key had stopped working but I was able to activate it offline by installing the OEM:SLP licence file and product key that had come pre-installed.
Idk if you still do the name thing, but a while ago I came up with Thio "me up, before you Joe" Joe and I'm quite proud of it.
Keep in mind the key is not a license and does not entitle you to use the software. Microsoft (and other vendors) will actually want to see the proof of purchase for the applicable version (theres a bit more too it than just that but thats its in q nutshell)
They really dont care about home users
Only if you're an enterprise, they couldn't care less if you're a home user.
how did i just find out about this channel? liked. subscribed. and i found out my corporate issued laptop has retail windows on it XD [edit: pay as you go!? i guess it was only a matter of time...]
props to Joe for making another informative video 👏👏
With windows 7 Ultimate and Pro on release, there was a hyper-v windows XP virtual machine called XP mode available for download from MS that used the Automatic Virtual Machine activation key, it basically gets tied to the host machine's key. I expect there is a load of this stuff running on windows azure images, but who uses them when linux runs just fine :D
I remember years ago I had a trash picked Dell PC with one of those BIOS embedded keys for Windows XP (or was it Vista, I'd have to check the Windows label). In any event I found a tool online that let you embed a different Windows version. So I embedded a Windows 7 Pro SLC license and flashed it to the BIOS and then installed Windows 7 to it and I never had to activate it, I was just curious about stuff like that years ago and never really used that Dell PC as my main computer was a MacBook Pro. I still have that trash picked Dell PC. In fact I'm using it to keep an Ethernet Cable in place. LOL.
The Tool you are talking about was actually a rootkit hack. it would change the way your computer booted, and it would first boot a shim, that would take over the memory functions of the BIOS. It would choose the rootkit based on the type of oem key and type (home / pro ) you selected at install. Then it would install the Master OEM key in the windows registry and other files. so that when activation checked the license (the registry and files) against the Key in the BIOS the rootkit would provide the windows activation with the "proper oem code" and then it would allow computers to run. This is why Bootcode is now digitally signed to prevent the rootkit shim from running. It was also an open door to the group that wrote the code as most of the rootkits were used to run botnets clients with. If you were sufficient in firmware hacking, you could take a firmware update with your desired key inserted into it, and flash the bios and simply run the license you wanted, the computer would simply install the product type you chose. That's why most firmware now have Little fuses that the OEM burns with a proper voltage on configuration that prevents the Bios memory area that holds the keys from being written to again. There are ways around this, of course But this isn't a discussion on HOW to do all of this. Simply the History of how older products including the first versions of windows 10 had holes in them a meter wide.
@@gjdunga Actually what I used replaced the slic that was in the motherboard's firmware with one for Windows 7. The OS files were never touched. Then I flashed the patched BIOS to the motherboard.
Excellent work. I love your investigations.
Nice vids. Would love a tutorial on how to download ram though.
What a nightmare. As I don't use any Adobe professional software, I migrated all my machines to Debian, and acquired a couple of ARM-based computers, that work surprisingly well with the new video protocol Wayland.
Only after a number of months you realize the prison (with Windows) you were inside with all these requirements for authorisations - just to type a letter, or build an home controller.
Thank you ThioJoe, for the comprehensive explanation of all the different authorisation codes for Windows.
Greetings from the UK,
Anthony
None of this is a problem anymore because for Windows 10 and all you don't actually need to activate (it only locks down your ability to change the background lol)
Same, been on Linux for months and it's insane that you can literally achieve anything you want. If you have an idea then you can do it since no parts of the OS is off-limits, that is amazing to me and made me love using computers again. 🙂
@@evilleader1991 Can achieve literally anything I want _except for being able to use the WIndows software I actually want to use._
Sorry, no thanks, Linux is still a non-starter for me (and evidently most other people, judging by adoption rates).
@@wasd____ ok good for you lmao
@@wasd____ It's totally fine for everyday stuff.
I was able to upgrade from Windows 7 to Windows 10 using an OEM key from a random computer at a factory I worked at. But it wasn't straightforward, instead of typing the key and it's activated (it failed this way) I had to call a Microsoft 800 number and activate it that way. But it worked! I assume bc they were offering free upgrades. I think I might have missed the deadline? I forget why I had to go this route
I've got a sticker on my machine with a serial but windows doesn't activate over the internet when I try to connect.
What can I do Joe.
fun fact: there is indeed a subsku of windows enterprise called "enterprise for virtual desktops", according to the documentation, software will see this sku as a server version i believe
I work with this version a lot at the day job. You're correct, they are detected as server versions. Probably to maintain compatibility with old on-premises Remote Desktop session hosts/Terminal Servers.
@@steeviebops I believe so, the reason for this is actually documented on Microsoft Learn. By the way, how is it that you can legally work with this SKU when it's exclusive to Azure?
1:43 That AI-generated Windows 9 is wild
a lot of the activation can be Manipulated, for examle, one of my machines is KMS activated, but responds as retail no where is volume licence mentioned
Simple the Generic ones are for updates and installation in a Enterprise Environment where the windows will be activated by a enterprise Hosted KMS Server . u cannot use the enterprise KMS Server to install windows but u use the generic ones first for installing and then activate it with u enterprise kms server.
This "Pay as you go"-Model sounds like they are meant for Azure-VMs and you pay per minute/hour the vm server is running. If you shut it down, you don't pay for it. But that's only a guess.
Yeah. I bought a coppy of Windows Server 2008. The Windows Vista Server. And I got two licences. a key for physical hardware and a key for Hyper-X activation. So I have a VM Key.
QUESTION:
I have a Prebuild HP PC with Windows 11. If I want to build another PC by myself, can I use the HP OEM Key? Will it activate Windows or it’s tied to only that PC?
No you cannot.
I think you can try it, but it will violate your license agreement
Technically you violate the rules but the chance is very very small that MS will come after you. I've activated my Windows 11 pro with a win7 pro Acer OEM key from a pc that was on the e-waste pile. It's been 2 years already and no problems so far.
MS doesn't care anymore if you buy a legit key or pirate it. They just want your personal data anyways.
Hirens boot CD can test the computer - motherboard and give a report.
Depends on the laws of your country... Licenses cannot supercede the laws of your country. I believe that what you describe would be legal in mine as long as you have legally acquired the license.
Microsoft lets you use a key 5 times , So keep your old keys and save money as 7 10 keys work in 11. it locks the key on the 6 time it used. You can unlock it by using the Windows that key did come with and upgrading to 11 then logging in to Microsoft to reset the key , Are call for key reset. I have been using Win 7 Enterprise forever in 11.
What about those really cheap keys for like 10 euro for the latest windows or office? I bought two of those a few years ago for the latest office, and it still all works tied to my MS account. Thought it would have been removed by now.
So let us know Jo if those web sites i.e CD Sales that sell Windows keys are legit or not because I activated a Windows 11 on a computer that refurbed for my granddaughter and there has not been any problems with it??
I'm guessing VM type activations could be found under Hyper-V guests running on a Windows Server Datacenter Edition
This video should have mentioned the discount product key companies that advertise on some tech tubers' channels
"My Lord, is that legal?"
"I will make it legal!"
This explains why some of our work computers will randomly have the "Windows is not activated" sign, even though they should be.
Informative Video, Can you share the excel sheet
I wonder if the command that activates windows would also be considered illegal I would assume so
5:16... "Windows is activated forever" NO, you are totally wrong. Windows checks in to Microsoft every so often, and if they can't, after 180 days, it will show the "Windows Not Activated" message on the screen. That is why many display screens which do something where there isn't actual users often have issues.
If they wanted, they could connect it to the internet or doing a phone activation.
the `slmgr /dli` is mostly wrong nowerdays if your using Microsoft 365 Licensing which is a Volume License key you have to use the Generic to install and then once connected to MDM it will auto update to the version for Businesses (Business or Enterprise) and you run the slmgr /dli it will say retail when your not on a retail version
I found that sometimes specifically Dell computers that come with windows home license, I am able to install the pro version then activate it using a generic key, I didn't check what type of license though (assuming it was hardware based since I reinstalled Windows pro)
Microshaft Winblows should be paying me for how much info they collect. I will never pay for it.
Agreed. Sick of paying for stuff and still being the product..
That's why I buy the $5 keys from sketchy ebay sellers or websites.
@@Dubmaster3 I’m pretty sure those are also illegal. Microsoft licensing is pretty straightforward.
Well you do you boo
Why not switch to Linux?
hey,can you make video how to disable when you uninstall outlook(new) app and started to use mail app an pin to the taskbar, windows automatically unpin the mail app and install outlook(new) app and pin the outlook(new) app. I tried multiple times
In November my Win10 install hits 5 years. A record for a daily driver. This is version 2004
You should team up wiyh Dave from Dave's Garage. Pretty sure he'll give you the full run down of what eqch us/does regarding the activation keys, since he was one of the ones to implement it 😂😂😂
Remember kids, it's always morally correct to.......
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That's sort of a rather over-simplified and confusing breakdown of MS licensing. It's almost never that simple however.
By default, most Windows 10/11 are actually licensed with a generic key, and the generic key basically allows the machine to run unlicensed for the "trial" period, after which you start seeing that nagging prompt to activate your windows, or your version of Windows appears to be not legitimate. I won't bring up the discussion of the topic of "re-arming"..
MAK keys and KMS keys are usually provided to an organization under some sort of MS licensing agreement; MAK keys are the per-computer licensing that is essentially manually installed, and go out to the internet for verification, or can be also activated over the phone for each computer activated. KMS can greatly simplify the actual process of handing out operating system licenses; but it's still activated at least once over the internet for verification or can be activated over the phone. To simplify things, KMS works hand in hand with DNS to add to a list of servers that provide the KMS functionality; KMS is largely dependent upon DNS being correct to make things run smoothly. Safeguarding KMS & MAK keys is akin to safeguarding money, you know, real money like $$$. Using the KMS/MAK keys of a company that you don't run - is essentially piracy; and it can cost the company money, so...
MAK and KMS keys also cover other Microsoft products such as Office 2016 and various Microsoft server products. That's even more confusing to most. But then the MAK/KMS licensing file for my enterprise happens to be 1720 lines long, each with a different MAK or KMS key .. No one in their right mind that has had to deal with MAK/KMS keys ever has stated that MAK & KMS licenses are easy to deal with; it requires a basic understanding of KMS/MAK licensing..
In today's world, I'd likely look at the licensing agreement to determine what I am allowed to license, then license it for the HIGHEST level and anything below the KMS server will handle. At work, I'm allowed Windows 11 Enterprise, which will also license Windows10, and lesser versions of Windows 11 like Windows 11 Professional, Windows 7 enterprise, etc. A single KMS server can license thousands or tens of thousands of KMS clients..
Oddly enough, it's not easy to tell HOW many clients are licensed without resorting to looking at logs, and tallying them up by using those logs. By default, all I can tell is if I have enough clients in order to run a licensed KMS server to where it functions; headcounts are often performed annually using other means.. The process is often referred to as "TRUE-UP" and is on the honor system for the most part.
Remember, I said confusing right? So, I run in an enterprise environment with servers.. That same server has KMS running for 2022 Datacenter, yet also down-level licenses Windows 11/Windows 10 Enterprise and below, but it's using a 2022 Datacenter KMS key.. ( No wonder the help desk gets confused when it comes to licensing )... And that KMS activation server ONLY runs a single KMS key, and that's all it can do. It was running a 2019 Datacenter KMS key until we started to deploy 2022 servers, at which then we needed to upgraded to a 2022 Datacenter KMS key. There are also other caveats to KMS keys as well.. And there's also caveats to using MAK keys as well.
In a corporate/enterprise environment KMS is often also configured in DNS otherwise all clients would need to be touched in order to receive KMS licensing. Setting a client manually to point to a KMS server sets that "pointer" permanently until either changed or removed; If the KMS server goes away or gets replaced with a KMS server with a different name, the manually configured client will often no longer activate until tinkered with. Best to configure KMS correctly on the server and set up/clean up DNS so that it's right for the KMS to issue the keys automatically..
There can be MULTIPLE KMS clients in the environment; for example, it's possible to have a KMS server for handling :
1) Windows 11 Enterprise clients (example), or down-level licenses like Windows 10 Pro or Windows 10 Enterprise
2) a separate KMS server for handling Windows 2022 Datacenter licensing (and below) ; This server could also issue licenses to Windows 11 Enterprise/Pro /Windows 10 Enterprise/pro..
3) a third KMS server for handling Windows legacy Office licensing..
All 3 could easily be listed in DNS, and all operate automatically; Simply put, KMS on the client (albeit a server or workstation or laptop ), it will try the first, then move onto the second then the third till it gets the type of license that the KMS client is looking for.. If the server contacted does not provide the license requested, the kms client just moves onto the next DNS record. Note that I really don't need the separate KMS server for just Windows workstations and laptops.. It's actually cheaper to NOT have it and put the workload on the KMS server handling server-side KMS..
So, my point here is - KMS is a deeper subject that depicted in this video, and in real life, handled much differently.