Windows 2008/R2 activation fails on EC2
July 7. 2016 0 Comments
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Just ran into an issue where some old Windows server 2008 installs were starting to pop up with could not reach key management server (KMS), and thus bouncing to not genuine. Spent some time searching around for fixes, including running slmgr, swapping out dns, etc. None of it worked.
Turned out the solution was actually easier:
- Upgrade EC2Config to latest from: http://aws.amazon.com/developertools/5562082477397515
- Turn on windows activation plugin in EC2Config. Open "C:\Program Files\Amazon\Ec2ConfigService\Settings\config.xml" and change the state of EC2WindowsActivate plugin from Disabled to Enabled.
- Upgrade the network drivers from Redhat PV to Citrix PV: http://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSEC2/latest/WindowsGuide/Upgrading_PV_drivers.html
The network driver upgrade will force a reboot. Once that’s done, the instance will be able to activate.