Hi, A long time ago, I activated my Vista Business using the KMS Method. To be able to install the SP1 I wanted to change to the Vista Loader Method, so I downloaded the "Windows Vista Activator 2.1.2.1.2 with OEM Logo by StR0". I started it, chose ASUS as the BIOS Manufacturer, Gigabyte as the OEM Manufacturer (because I actually have a Gigabyte Motherboard) and changed the key to the ASUS key for Business edition using the "Install Optional Key" button, then, clicked "Activate", "Reboot" and when I tried to log in, Vista changed to the reduced funtionality mode...... Luckily I had a backup, but what did I do wrong? Do the OEM and BIOS Manufaturer have to match? Does the key have to match the OEM manufacturer and not the BIOS manufacturer as I thought? Or does it not work to change from a KMS activation to the Loader method without re-installing? Thanks in advance for any help! Znib2
If you do some research on this forum you will find that many people have had problems when trying to switch from one form of activation to another. It is also possible that VistaLoader won't work on your machine. You may need to try other soft mods, or better yet, use a hard coded BIOS mod. When you chose Asus, you were picking which BIOS SLIC to emulate along with the matching "cert" to use; when you chose Gigabyte, you were picking the logos to use (as in the logo that is displayed when you look at computer properties - the logo has no impact on activation, it is just there to look pretty ) There is no problem with using an Asus slic/cert with an HP PC (for example). Most OEMs use an Award or Phoenix BIOS anyways, so the brand of slic/cert is irrelevant as long you use a matching PID. This may change in the future, but I doubt it. There are tools (such VOATK) that can remove previous soft mods but I am not sure about KMS activation. My suggestion is that you start clean with a Vista SP1 DVD (with SP1 already integrated) and use a hard coded BIOS mod. Search this forum for your motherboard model and you will probably find an existing mod that you can use. With a modded BIOS you don't need to use VistaLoader, but you will still need the appropriate cert & PID. You might also want to research tokens.dat in regards to reduced functionality mode. This could have saved you from having to do a complete restore. There is lots of information available on this forum, so take some time and do some reading. You will find that most of your questions have already been answered.
KMS is VOL, with different pkeyconfig.xrm-ms from OEM. (Sorry, couldn't remember whether the tokens.dats are the same or not. If not, then the tokens.dat needs replacement as well.) So: 1. Replace the \Windows\System32\Licensing\pkeyconfig\pkeyconfig.xrm-ms (and the \Windows\ServiceProfiles\NetworkService\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\SoftwareLicensing\tokens.dat) with the one from OEM Business edition 2. Run \Windows\System32\sysprep\sysprep.exe /generalize /oobe /reboot 3. Upon completetion of installation: (1) slmgr -ipk <OEM Business key> (2) slmgr -ilc <OEM Certificate> 4. With matched and working SLIC (In respect of SOFTMOD, some machine's BIOS SLIC functionality is locked), you should be enlightened with "Windows activated".