Silly Cisco Country of Origin Markings

April 24, 2009 | Filed Under general, networking, technology | 1 Comment 

I just received the antenna for my Cisco Access Point I just purchased and inside the box was this plastic bag with the mounting brackets in it. Here is a picture of an interesting sticker on the plastic bag showing where the contents of the bag was made:

I wonder if Cisco even considered what this tag is saying when they made it out? Screw-USA? Really? Maybe they just don’t agree with the country of origin marking requirements and found a clever way to voice that? Probably a far stretch.

If nothing else at least the screws were made in the USA, can’t say the same for the rest of the components though that they are helping keep together.

(sigh)

Boredom = Picture time

February 10, 2009 | Filed Under photography | 1 Comment 

I was feeling a little bored last night and so I started playing with my camera and my macro lens. This is what I came up with:

Just a quick and dirty picture of my Maglite flashlight’s bulb burning brightly :)

Windows Vista & Server 2008 Product Keys

January 26, 2009 | Filed Under general | 5 Comments 

When you install Windows Vista Business or Enterprise without providing a product key (i.e. you just clicked Next when prompted to input a key) they are by default set up to try and activate against a KMS (Key Management Service) server. However, if you have systems which are currently configured with MAKs (Multiple Activation Key), retail key, or a number of other key types and you now want to now activate those machines against your KMS server instead or you’re creating unattended deployments for any Vista and Server 2008 SKUs and don’t want to have to input a product key during the deployment how could you accomplish this?

Well Microsoft has made this really easy to do by allowing you to just change the product key to a specialized key. Gone are the days of having to reinstall using a special volume build of Windows in order to change how it activates or doesn’t activate. To do this all you have to do is open up an elevated command prompt type the following:

cscript %systemroot%\system32\slmgr.vbs –ipk Product-Key

replacing product-key with one of these product keys:

Windows Vista Business	YFKBB-PQJJV-G996G-VWGXY-2V3X8
Windows Vista Business N	HMBQG-8H2RH-C77VX-27R82-VMQBT
Windows Vista Enterprise	VKK3X-68KWM-X2YGT-QR4M6-4BWMV
Windows Vista Enterprise N	VTC42-BM838-43QHV-84HX6-XJXKV
Windows Server 2008 Datacenter	7M67G-PC374-GR742-YH8V4-TCBY3
Windows Server 2008 Datacenter without Hyper-V	22XQ2-VRXRG-P8D42-K34TD-G3QQC
Windows Server 2008 for Itanium-Based Systems	4DWFP-JF3DJ-B7DTH-78FJB-PDRHK
Windows Server 2008 Enterprise	YQGMW-MPWTJ-34KDK-48M3W-X4Q6V
Windows Server 2008 Enterprise without Hyper-V	39BXF-X8Q23-P2WWT-38T2F-G3FPG
Windows Server 2008 Standard	TM24T-X9RMF-VWXK6-X8JC9-BFGM2
Windows Server 2008 Standard without Hyper-V	W7VD6-7JFBR-RX26B-YKQ3Y-6FFFJ
Windows Web Server 2008	WYR28-R7TFJ-3X2YQ-YCY4H-M249D

 

You can also use these keys for fully unattended scripts as well as the keys below for the editions of Windows that don’t support KMS activation.

Windows Vista Business	4D2XH-PRBMM-8Q22B-K8BM3-MRW4W
Windows Vista Business N	76884-QXFY2-6Q2WX-2QTQ8-QXX44
Windows Vista Home Basic	RCG7P-TX42D-HM8FM-TCFCW-3V4VD
Windows Vista Home Basic N	HY2VV-XC6FF-MD6WV-FPYBQ-GFJBT
Windows Vista Home Premium	X9HTF-MKJQQ-XK376-TJ7T4-76PKF
Windows Vista Ultimate	VMCB9-FDRV6-6CDQM-RV23K-RP8F7

 

These same keys work for both 32-bit and 64-bit versions of the OS as well as the Full and Core installations of Windows Server. They also allow you to use the system for 30-days (60-days initial grace for Server) before requiring you to activate either against a KMS server if you’re using Vista Business, Vista Enterprise or Server 2008 or Microsoft’s activation servers using a MAK, retail or other types of keys. Once you’ve changed the keys simply using the –ato switch with the slmgr.vbs script to activate the box against your KMS server. This also works in reverse if you’re going from a volume key to a retail, MAK or another type of key.

These are the default install keys used by the setup program, you cannot activate Windows alone by using these keys so please don’t try because you will fail. If Windows is not activated it will try and activate every two hours by default and once activated against a KMS server it will try and re-activate by default every seven days. If it fails re-activation for 180 consecutive days then the system will fall into a 30-day grace period, like the period after you first install, to get the system activated.

Failing to activate within that grace period will result in the system going into RFM (Reduced Functionality Mode). The RFM has been changed significantly in Service Pack 1 for Vista in that you are no longer blocked from logging on and using your system. This is a big step forward to help businesses that have roaming users who may at one point or another not be able to connect up to the corporate system and activate their copy of Vista within the allowed 210 days. Instead when Vista with SP1 or Server 2008 goes into RFM you’re able to log into the system but are restricted to a black background, a constant Activate Now alert dialog box will be displayed instructing the user how to activate, built-in games will no longer operate, premium features like Aero Glass are no longer available, you can only download and install critical updates from WU and you’ll be logged off after an hour of use. For more information about RFM see: Description of the behavior of reduced functionality mode in Windows Vista KB925582.

The other nice feature available in Volume Activation 2.0 that Vista and Server 2008 uses is that if you’re in a pinch and have a user who is away from the office and stuck in RFM you have the ability to reset the activation timer. You’re allowed to do this up to three times for Windows Vista and Server 2008 and up to five times with Vista Enterprise. Resetting the activation timer gives you another 30-day grace period and essentially since you can do it three times you have a 90-day grace before you have to activate Vista or Server 2008 and 150-day grace if you’re running Vista Enterprise. So, unless you have a user who frequently goes away from the office for more then 210 days you should be good with the KMS method. To reset the activation timer all you have to do is use the –rearm switch with the slmgr.vbs script from an elevated command prompt.

I think this is much improved experience over the XP and 2003 days of activation and I really like the fact that you no longer have to hunt down volume license media in order to use your volume license keys. It’s also great that you can switch from a retail or multiple activation key to a volume key in a matter of seconds without needing to reinstall your OS. You also no longer have to put your valued keys inside the unattended scripts which have caused headaches in the past for organizations trying to control those keys, you can also use the –cpky switch with slmgr.vbs to clear your product key from the registry stopping programs like the Magical Jelly Bean Keyfinder and others dead in their tracks.

Microsoft has released a plethora of information regarding the Volume Activation 2.0 system, much more they have ever provided in the past for their activation system. I strongly urge you if you’re interested in learning more to read through this documentation:

Volume Activation 2.0 Overview Guide
Volume Activation 2.0 Planning Guide
Volume Activation 2.0 Deployment Guide
Volume Activation 2.0 Operations Guide
Volume Activation 2.0 Technical Guidance (includes many of the online guides)
Volume Activation 2.0 Implementation, MSIT Case Study
Volume Activation 2.0 Changes in Vista SP1 and Server 2008
Volume Activation 2.0 Frequently Asked Questions
Volume Activation 2.0 Resources

There is also some very good webcasts on the subject:

Understanding Activation and Validation in Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 (Level 200)
Best Practices in Planning for and Deploying Volume Activation 2.0 (Level 200)
Troubleshooting Activations and Validation Issues in Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 (Level 300)

Reboot…Blog…Reset

January 23, 2009 | Filed Under general | 2 Comments 

I cannot believe I have let this blog go neglected for the past six months. The last time I wrote I had planned on starting a new beginning and posting regularly which unfortunately did not happen.

What I would like to do now though is resurrect what I originally attended to do with this blog which is to share some of my technical knowledge with the hopes of helping out someone in need. I think the best way to do this is to start fresh and so to that end I’ve removed all of my previous posts which were just cluttering things up. I’m also working on a new theme, no this is not it, and hopefully I’ll get most of that work completed by the end of this coming weekend.

One of the posts that gathered a lot of attention was my post on Windows Vista and Server 2008 product keys used for bypassing product key prompts during unattended installations as well as how to switch from a MAK to a KMS solution. I’m working on creating a new entry about this and will have it up soon. In the meantime Paul with Brute Force Technology has reposted much of the information provided in my original post here. His blog is also very active and full of great information so I recommend you check it out.

One thing that I’ll ask which will help me keep this going is to please provide me with feedback, letting me know if a post helped you or letting me know if you need further clarification on something. Also please do contact me if you want me to dedicate a post to something specific, like maybe you’re having issues with Windows deployment or a specific network setup or just about anything really. I will let you know if I cannot help but hopefully I can point you in the right direction.

Thanks!