Windows 10: proper virtual machine licencing and activation

We're medium sized engineering business and would like to properly license the use of Windows (XP, 7 and 10) virtual machines. We will be using VMWare Workstation for our staff and they will need access to a pool of about 20 different VMs. The idea is that a staff member will copy the VM they need off our file server and then run it locally on their laptop. The VMs are essential for us as they will help us connect to specialized and sometimes very outdated equipment that is on-site with our customers.


We already learnt that if our laptop is running Windows 10 Enterprise it can run up to 4 VMs simultaneously and still be fully licenced under the Microsoft terms of use. We will begin upgrading our laptops from Windows 10 Professional to Enterprise to cater for this.


One area of concern is how the VMs running on these laptops are activated, as in, the Windows-activation that normally happens when you first install the operating system. Activation is also required when the VM is copied to a laptop and started for the first time (it generates new hardware addresses and changes other settings, enough to trigger de-activation).


How will these copied VMs get activated? Do we need a KMS server to locally distribute product keys for this? We will be using more than 25 VMs at any one time (about 3 or 4 VMs on a laptop and there's about 20 staff) so the latter is something we can consider.


Anyone any experience with this?

:)

 

Clean install of W10 not possible in Virtual Machine.


Please get a cup of coffee, lean back and think an answer for these two questions. Take your time, then check the answers below the questions:

Questions:

1. If you do a clean install of let's say Windows 10 Insider Build 10525 on a totally new computer which has never had an activated Windows 10 on it, does it activate?
2. If you do a clean install of Windows 10 Insider Build on a computer where the underlying Windows 10, upgraded from a qualifying old operating system has already been activated, does it activate?

Answers:

1. No, of course not.
2. Yes, of course.

Why do you think that a virtual machine would make any difference? You have tried to install Windows 10 on a totally new machine which has never had an activated Windows 10 installed, therefore the Microsoft activation servers block the activation due invalid machine ID. In the highlighted part in below quote you admit your mistake yourself, plain and simple, yet you when doing this wrong draw conclusion that even if done correctly it would not work:

What you have tried is essentially the same as if you took a brand new real physical PC without any operating system, which has never had any operating system, and then installed Windows 10 Insider Preview wondering why it does not activate! Virtual Machines behave exactly the same way; if you want to clean install Windows 10 Insider Preview and get it activated you must do it on an existing virtual machine, one which has already had an upgraded Windows 10 activated. This "computer", the virtual machine, its machine ID is marked on activation servers as valid and activated and it will of course activate.

Be it a virtual machine or a physical computer, you cannot activate a clean installed Windows 10 Insider Preview on a totally new machine. How difficult can this be to understand?

When clean installing Windows 10 Insider Preview on a computer which has already had a previous Windows 10 Insider activated, you do not use the product key! It will be asked twice, once before the installation starts and once after the last reboot to OOBE phase. In both cases you skip the product key and your Windows will be automatically activated.

 

Clean install of W10 not possible in Virtual Machine.


@Kari

You can do clean install with windows 10 but it won't activate on Virtual Machine at least it didn't on mine. I followed the proper steps to do that.

Again I will repeat what I did step by step with some additions.

Step 1 Installed windows 7 retail on a virtual box, it activated without issue.
Step 2 changed the virtual box description to windows 10
Step 3 upgrade to windows 10 and it activated without issue
Step 4 backed up (So I could go back to it later)
Step 5 Removed windows 10.
Step 6 created a new virtual machine
Step 7 Installed clean windows 10 and it didn't activate and did that error code see below.


@night-hawk had a similar issue and got the same error code

Error code: 0xC004C003 with the specified product key being blocked

Night Hawk does it make a difference on what version of Virtual box that you are using?

My testing was done on Xubuntu using VirtualBox Graphical user interface version 4.3.26-Ubuntu r98988

 

Windows 10 activation in a virtual machine

Depends what you changed. Windows 10 is activated using a digital licence against the hardware. (no different for a host or virtual machine) If the key for Windows 7 Pro was a boxed retail product then you may be able to get it re-activated by calling support,
or type support in search and select the top result.

If you increased the memory or size of the hard drive then windows should not lose activation. If you essentially changed the motherboard then that is seen as a new machine and requires a new licence.

If you are using a MS account to sign-in have you used the Activation Troubleshooter.?