Volume license editions Office 2010 support KMS activation. If your environment has an existing KMS host for activating Windows you have a few ways of activating Office 2010 using a KMS host:

1. Use your existing Windows KMS host and add Office KMS support to it, if it is running a supported version of Windows (recommended)
2. Migrate your Windows KMS host to a version of Windows that supports Office KMS and add Office KMS support to it (recommended)
3. Install Office KMS support on a different computer and configure your environment for it.

Adding Office KMS support to an existing Windows KMS host if your best option, because doing so does not require any work being done outside of installing Office 2010 KeyManagementServiceHost.exe and installing/activating your Office 2010 KMS host key. The catch here is you must be running Windows KMS on an operating system that supports Office 2010 KMS. See this post for details on supported operating systems and for steps on installing Office 2010 KMS host: http://blogs.technet.com/b/odsupport/archive/2010/06/01/office-2010-kms-installation-and-troubleshooting.aspx.

I’m going to focus on option 3 for the rest of this post – installing Office KMS support on a second computer in an environment that already has a Windows KMS host running. The steps to install Office KMS is the same as step 1 and 2. So is installing and activating your key. You should note that this is not the recommended way of adding Office KMS support. Microsoft recommends only having a single KMS host for both Windows and Office. Having more than one KMS host on your network is not necessary and adds extra administration work to implement. The extra work involves preparing DNS to allow multiple computers to manage _VLMCS records.

When you install a KMS host and install a key, your KMS host registers itself in DNS by adding a _VLMCS record to DNS. The first KMS server to do this owns all rights for _VLMCS records. When you bring a second KMS host online it will not be able to register itself in DNS. Your KMS host will work, but your client computers will not be able to find it because the _VLMCS record for it does not exist in DNS. There are two way to fix this:

1. Manually add a _VLMCS record to DNS for the second KMS host
2. Create a global security group that contains the machine accounts for your KMS hosts and grant that group control over _VLMCS records in DNS (recommended).

You can follow the steps in this article to configure DNS for multiple KMS hosts: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff793405.aspx. Keep in mind that the SRV resource record you want to edit permissions on in DNS is the _VLMCS record of your KMS host. Editing this record’s permissions to grant the global security control will enable additional _VLMCS records to be created by the other KMS hosts as needed.

We recommend the 2nd option here to keep future administrative tasks to a minimum. If you ever change the host name DNS will be updated automatically. Stale _VLMCS records in DNS can cause long delays in launching Office applications if they are requesting activation.

If you are deploying volume editions of Office 2010 using KMS or MAK activation, the Volume Activation Management Tool (VAMT) 2.0 can be used to manage activation for these products. In this video I walk you through using VAMT 2.0 to activate Office 2010 installations and manage Office 2010 product keys.

If you haven’t already downloaded VAMT 2.0 you can grab a copy here: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=ec7156d2-2864-49ee-bfcb-777b898ad582

This article on TechNet that walks you through VAMT 2.0 usage. It is focused on Windows activation, but the same steps apply for Office 2010: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff686878.aspx

View Video
Format: wmv
Duration: 12:17

Use the following steps to see detailed information about what type of activation your Office 2010 installation us using and what the status of your activation is.

1. Open an administrative level command prompt.
2. Navigate to the Office14 folder:
   • 32bit Office on 64bit OS – “cd \Program Files(x86)\Microsoft Office\Office14”
   • 32bit Office on 32bit OS and 64bit Office on 64bit OS – “cd \Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office14”
3. Execute “cscript ospp.vbs /dstatus”
4. Look at “LICENSE NAME” for license type and “LICENSE STATUS” for activation status

If Office is KMS activated you will see “KMS_Client edition” in the license name field:

If Office is MAK activated you will see “MAK edition” in the license name field:

If Office is Retail activated you will see “Retail edition” in the license name field:

If you are running a volume licensed edition of Office 2010 and it needs to be activated, you may see this message when you open any Office 2010 application:

This message means Office is failing to activate against a KMS host on your network. KMS activation is the default activation type when you install a volume license edition of Office 2010. There are two ways of getting Office 2010 activated:

• Enter a MAK key and activate over the internet or phone
• Setup an Office 2010 KMS host and activate using it.

Option 1: Enter a MAK key and activate over the internet or phone

To enter a MAK key, click the “Change Product "Key” button and enter your key when prompted:
 

Click “Continue”, then “Install Now”.

Office will configure itself. Close any open Office 2010 applications. The next time you launch an Office application you will see a screen like this:

Go through the activation wizard. Once it is done you will be activated and should not see any of these messages again.

Option 2: Setup an Office 2010 KMS host and activate using it.

See this blog post for a very detailed guide on how to setup an Office 2010 KMS Host: http://blogs.technet.com/b/odsupport/archive/2010/06/01/office-2010-kms-installation-and-troubleshooting.aspx

When launching Office 2010 applications, a message appears indicating that Office is not activated. Attempts to activate Office may result in the following error:

"Error 0xC004F074: The Software Licensing Service reported that the computer could not be activated. No Key Management Service (KMS) could be contacted. Please see the Application Event Log for additional information."

Error 0xC004F074 equates to, "The Key Management Server (KMS) is unavailable". This error occurs when volume license versions of Office 2010 are installed on client machines using the built-in, KMS client key and an Office KMS host is not available to activate installations of Office 2010.

The following is a partial Office Web Apps Setup product key, required for product installation on Microsoft SharePoint, rather than a product key that is specific to client installations of the Office 2010 suites:

FC7HF-CF42G-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx

Attempting to enter this key via the File/Help and Change Product Key link will result in the error, "This is not a valid Office Product key. See above examples to learn more".

Attempting to input this key via the ospp.vbs script will result in the error, "0xc004f050 The Software Licensing service reported that the product key is invalid"

To resolve this issue, obtain a Multiple Activation Key (MAK) volume license product key for Office 2010, and then do one of the following:

1) Open an Office 2010 application (i.e., Microsoft Word), go to File/Help, and then click on the Change Product Key link. Enter the Office 2010 product key. After the process of installing the product key completes, close all open Office applications, open Microsoft Word, go to File/Help, and check to see if “Product Activated” is displayed.

—or—

2) From an elevated command prompt, run command lines similar to the following (if you are running 32-bit Office 2010 on a 64-bit operating system, the path should include Program Files (x86)):

%windir%\System32\cscript.exe "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office14\OSPP.VBS" /inpkey:xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx     (where xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx is your 25 digit MAK product key for Office 2010)

%windir%\System32\cscript.exe “C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office14\ospp.vbs” /act

For most Microsoft products, there are two ways to obtain volume license product keys:

1)  Go to the Product Keys section of the Volume Licensing Service Center (VLSC) for Open, Open Value, Select, Enterprise Agreements and the Services provider License Agreement (SPLA)  - https://www.microsoft.com/licensing/servicecenter/home.aspx

2) Call your Microsoft Activation Center - http://www.microsoft.com/licensing/existing-customers/activation-centers.aspx

Related links:

Frequently asked questions: Volume activation of Office 2010

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff678211.aspx

Volume activation quick start guide for Office 2010

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ee624359.aspx

Microsoft Volume Licensing Product Activation and Key Information

http://www.microsoft.com/licensing/existing-customers/product-activation.aspx

Microsoft Volume Licensing Frequently Asked Questions About Volume License Keys

http://www.microsoft.com/licensing/existing-customers/product-activation-faq.aspx

KMS host key = This key is obtained from the VLSC. This is the key that you would use during the install of the KMS host when setting up a Office 2010 KMS server

KMS Client Key = This is a generic key that is hardcoded into all of the Office 2010 client products. ie.. ProPlus, Visio, Project.
This key allows the product to be installed without manually entering a product key. Also, when this key is installed it triggers the Office product to attempt to locate and activate against a KMS server.

Volume license versions of Office 2010 are hardcoded with a generic KMS Client Key. This key can be located by opening the setup.xml file from the *.ww folder of the product.

As an example,  here is the built-in KMS Client Key from the Visio 2010 volume license setup.xml
 

Visio is a unique product in the volume license space in that Visio can install as Visio Standard, Visio Professional, or Visio Premium based upon the key that is input. By default, Visio 2010 uses this Visio Premium 2010 KMS client key, which enables all the features that are available for Visio Premium 2010. If you are licensed to use Visio Standard 2010 or Visio Professional 2010, you must install the appropriate KMS client key. Different features or applications are available, depending on the kind of key that is installed. This makes it easier for you to upgrade or downgrade without having to deploy a different product edition.

If your license agreement with Microsoft is for Visio Standard 2010 or Visio Professional 2010, use the appropriate Generic KMS client key shown in the following table.

For information about how to plan your Visio Professional 2010 installation, see Plan customizations and options for Visio 2010.

There are two scenarios to consider for installing an appropriate KMS Client key.

Scenario 1

Visio 2010 has already been deployed in your organization.
At the time of the deployment no key was specified and as a result everyone has Visio Premium installed although the organization is licensed for Visio Standard 2010 or Visio Professional 2010.

To downgrade these versions from Premium to Pro or STD, they will need to change the installed KMS Client key to the generic PRO, or STD key using a script that calls ospp.vbs , or by using VAMT. After the key is changed it will automatically activate against the KMS s host server, provided the KMS host is healthy and reachable.

Method 1 – Using a script that calls ospp.vbs on the machine to install a new KMS Client key. This script can be pushed out as a startup script via GPO to the affected machines.

Here is a simple, example batch file script that I have used to install the Visio 2010 Client key for Standard edition post install. This should work on X86 and X64 machines. I have placed a registry key query in this script so that it checks for the existence of a registry key that does not exist natively, and then when the script runs it adds that dummy registry key. This way the next time the script runs (if deployed as a startup script for example) it will simply end when it locates the dummy key that had been added during the script’s previous run.

OSPP.BAT                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

Method 2 – Use the VAMT tool to install a different KMS Client key for Visio 2010 post install.

For more information and a walkthrough of the Volume Activation Management tool

Managing Office 2010 Activations using the Volume Activation Management Tool (VAMT 2.0)
http://blogs.technet.com/b/odsupport/archive/2010/08/06/managing-office-2010-activations-using-the-volume-activation-management-tool-vamt-2-0.asp

Scenario 2

Visio 2010 has not yet been deployed in the organization and we need to ensure that correct edition of Visio 2010 is deployed.

If the organization is not licensed for Premium, they will either need to ensure that they modify the config.xml (in the visio.ww folder) and include the generic KMS client key for Pro or STD, or create a custom.msp file with the Office customization tool and specify the generic KMS client key for Pro or STD. After the install Visio will activate against KMS without issue if the KMS host is activated, healthy and has had the 5 minimum unique requests.

Method 1

Modify the config.xml to specify the KMS Client key to use.  If we specify the KMS Client key for Standard edition in the config.xml file from the Visio.ww folder, than Visio will install with that KMS Client key instead of the built-in key for Premium.

As an example, here is a modified config.xml with the generic KMS Client key for Standard specified.

Method 2

Create a custom MSP file with the Office Customization Tool to specify the KMS Client key to use.  If we specify the KMS Client key for Standard edition in the Office Customization Tool and save the custom MSP in the updates folder, Visio will install with that KMS Client key instead of the built-in key for Premium.

Open the Office Customization Tool by calling setup.exe with the /admin switch

In the OCT under the Licensing and user interface section, you can choose “Enter another product key” and input your generic Pro or STD KMS Client key.

After saving the custom MSP file from the Office Customization tool, make sure to place the custom MSP file in the updates folder of the Visio source. Now when your Visio installation takes place it will use the custom msp file you created in the updates folder and apply your generic Pro/STD key rather than the built in Premium key.

This is also discussed in the following technet article:

Deploy volume activation of Office 2010
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ee624357.aspx

When troubleshooting KMS configuration and activation issues, our customers are often surprised to find unexpected Windows or Office KMS hosts in their environment.

By default, Windows and Office clients discover KMS hosts via DNS and a related _vlmcs SRV record. To determine whether a KMS client can locate a KMS host and/or whether undesired KMS hosts exist on the network, run a command line similar to the following:

nslookup -type=srv _vlmcs._tcp >%temp%\kms.txt

Review the kms.txt file. It should contain one or more entries similar to the following:

Running this nslookup command frequently reveals _vlmcs SRV entries which are tied to unauthorized Windows or Office KMS hosts.

In many cases, Windows KMS hosts may have been unintentionally set up by users who mistakenly entered a KMS host product key, rather than a Windows client product key. To remedy this issue, perform the following steps on the machine(s) in question, to replace the KMS product group key and "convert" it to a KMS or MAK client:

1) Open an elevated command prompt.
2) Run a command similar to the following:

cscript slmgr.vbs /ipkxxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx   (where xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx is a 25 digit, Windows product key)

3) To prevent instability in the license service, the system should be restarted or the Software Protection Service should be restarted. The following command lines can be used to restart the Software Protection Service:

net stop sppsvc
net start sppsvc

4) Run a command line similar to the following to display the license information for the installed, active Windows edition:

cscript slmgr.vbs /dli

5) Using DNS Manager, in the appropriate forward lookup zone, delete the _vlmcs SRV records that exist for each machine which is not to serve as a Windows KMS host.
6) See the following articles for additional information:

Slmgr.vbs Options
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff793433.aspx

Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 Customer Hosted Volume Activation Guide / Deploying KMS Activation
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff793409.aspx

Unintentional creation of an Office KMS host is less common, because setting up an Office KMS requires a specific product key and the installation of the Microsoft Office 2010 KMS Host License Pack.

To determine whether a machine has the Office 2010 KMS Host License Pack installed and is an active Office KMS host, run a command line similar to the following:

cscript slmgr.vbs /dlv bfe7a195-4f8f-4f0b-a622-cf13c7d16864

The output of a machine which has the Office 2010 KMS Host License Pack installed will resemble the following. Key items are "Partial Product Key: GB7AH" and "License Status: Licensed", which indicate that the Office 2010 KMS host key is successfully installed and activated.

Perform the following steps to remove an Office KMS host in your environment:

1) Open an elevated command prompt.
2) Run a command similar to the following:

cscript slmgr.vbs /upk bfe7a195-4f8f-4f0b-a622-cf13c7d16864

 CAUTION:If the above command line is run without the Office activation ID ("bfe7a195-4f8f-4f0b-a622-cf13c7d16864"), all installed product keys are uninstalled, including those for Windows.

3) Run following command line again, to check the status of the Office KMS host:

cscript slmgr.vbs /dlv bfe7a195-4f8f-4f0b-a622-cf13c7d16864

4) If the Office KMS host product key has been removed, the output will be similar to that below. Key items are "This license is not in use" and "License Status: Unlicensed".

5) Using DNS Manager, in the appropriate forward lookup zone, delete the _vlmcs SRV records that exist for each machine which is not to serve as an Office KMS host.
6) See the following articles for additional information:

Deploy volume activation of Office 2010
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ee624357.aspx

Troubleshoot volume activation for Office 2010
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ee624355.aspx

The current version of the Office 2010 KMS Host License Pack cannot be installed on machines running Windows 8 or Windows Server 2012. Attempts to do so will result the error, "Unsupported operating system".

1/7/2013 UPDATE: The "Product activation failed" error that can occur when attempting to perform a phone activation of an Office 2010 KMS host installed on Windows 8 or Windows Server 2012 machines has been addressed in the latest release of the KeyManagementServiceHost*.exe file, which can be found in the link below.

12/4/2012 UPDATE: This issue has been addressed in the latest version of the Office 2010 KMS Host License Pack, which can be found at the link below.

Microsoft is working on an update for the Office 2010 KMS Host License Pack which will allow it to be successfully installed on Windows 8 or Windows Server 2012 machines.

In the meantime, the following steps can be used to work around the issue:

1) Download the Office 2010 KMS Host License Pack (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/p/?LinkID=169244)
2) Run the downloaded KeyManagementServiceHost.exe file to extract files that it contains. Ignore the "Unsupported operating system" error that occurs and click OK.
3) Press the Enter key to close the command window that is related to cscript.exe.
3) Browse to the %programfiles% or %programfiles(x86)% folder and navigate to the MSECache\OfficeKMS subfolder. If you installed the Office 2010 KMS Host License Pack on a 64-bit operating system, %programfiles% is the Program Files (x86) folder.
4) Rename the existing kms_host.vbs file to kms_host.old
5) Download the kms_host.zip file from the Office Deployment Support Team's SkyDrive share at http://sdrv.ms/RiZ8Q9
6) Extract the kms_host.vbs file from the zip file and place a copy of it in the %programfiles(x86)%\MSECache\OfficeKMS or%programfiles%\MSECache\OfficeKMS folder.

7) From an elevated command-prompt navigate to the %programfiles(x86)%\MSECache\OfficeKMS or%programfiles%\MSECache\OfficeKMS folder and run the following command:

cscript kms_host.vbs

7) If the KMS host machine has Internet connectivity, click Yes to enter the Office KMS host product key and activate online. Otherwise, click No, and press Enter to close the command window.

Open an elevated command prompt and run the following command line to check the installation, licensing state, and current status of the Office KMS host:

cscript slmgr.vbs /dlv bfe7a195-4f8f-4f0b-a622-cf13c7d16864

 See the following articles for additional information related to Office KMS host installation, activation, and troubleshooting:

Deploy volume activation of Office 2010
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ee624357.aspx
 
Troubleshoot volume activation for Office 2010
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ee624355.aspx

Office Deployment Support Team Blog, "Office 2010 KMS installation and troubleshooting"
http://blogs.technet.com/b/odsupport/archive/2010/06/01/office-2010-kms-installation-and-troubleshooting.aspx

If you are attempting to set up an Office 2010 or Office 2013 KMS host by using the slmgr.vbs script, the "/ipk" switch, and a valid Office KMS host product key, the following error will occur:

Error: 0xC004F050 The software licensing service reported that the product key is invalid

Unlike Windows KMS host setup, Office KMS host setup involves installing a separate “KMS host license pack”, entering a related product key, and activating online or via phone.
 
See the following articles for additional information, to download the KMS host license packs, and step-by-step instructions for setting up Office KMS hosts:

Deploy volume activation of Office 2010 / Prepare and configure the KMS host
http://technet.microsoft.com/library/ee624357(office.14).aspx#section2

Download: Microsoft Office 2010 KMS Host License Pack
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=25095

Deploy volume activation of Office 2013 / Prepare and configure the Office KMS host
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ee624357(v=office.15).aspx#section2

Download: Microsoft Office 2013 Volume License Pack
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=35584

Overview:

The KMS Host installation and activation process for Microsoft Office 2013 is similar to the one for Microsoft Office 2010.

Prerequisites:

Installation of the update that adds support for Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012 to Windows Server 2008, Windows 7, and Windows Server 2008 R2 KMS hosts is required for a successful installation of the KMS Host.  The update can be downloaded from the link http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2757817.

Installation:

STEP 1: If you have not downloaded and installed the update to add support for Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012 to Windows 2008 R2 KMS host, please do so by accessing the link http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2757817 and downloading and installing the appropriate update.

NOTE: Due a known issue which will be addressed soon, the following error may occur when installing the update related to KB275817. This error can be ignored, and will not cause a problem with a subsequent installation of the Office 2013 Volume License Pack.

STEP 2: Download the Microsoft Office 2013 Volume License Pack from the Microsoft Download Center (MSDL) site

STEP 3: Double-click the downloaded EXE to run it:

STEP 4: Click Yes on the "Would you like to enter a Microsoft Office 2013 KMS host product key ..." prompt and enter the KMS Host Key:

STEP 5: Key installed and activated:

While attempting to activate your Office 2010 clients in your environment you find that some of your machines fail to activate against KMS with the following ERROR CODE: 0x80070005.

If you run OSPP.VBS to attempt activation and you may receive an error similar to the following:

C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office14>cscript ospp.vbs /act

---Processing--------------------------
---------------------------------------
Installed product key detected - attempting to activate the following product:
SKU ID: 6f327760-8c5c-417c-9b61-836a98287e0c
LICENSE NAME: Office 14, OfficeProPlus-KMS_Client edition
LICENSE DESCRIPTION: Office 14, VOLUME_KMSCLIENT channel
Last 5 characters of installed product key: PKJDS
ERROR CODE: 0x80070005
---------------------------------------
---------------------------------------
---Exiting-----------------------------


If you then run OSPP.VBS to check the dstatus and you receive an error similar to the following:

C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office14>cscript ospp.vbs /dstatus

---Processing--------------------------
---------------------------------------
SKU ID: 6f327760-8c5c-417c-9b61-836a98287e0c
LICENSE NAME: Office 14, OfficeProPlus-KMS_Client edition
LICENSE DESCRIPTION: Office 14, VOLUME_KMSCLIENT channel
LICENSE STATUS:  ---NOTIFICATIONS---
ERROR CODE: 0xC004F056
ERROR DESCRIPTION: The Software Licensing Service reported that the computer cou
ld not be activated using the Key Management Service (KMS).
Last 5 characters of installed product key: PKJDS
---------------------------------------
---------------------------------------
---Exiting-----------------------------

These errors can indicate a permissions issue in the registry.

There are a few reasons this error can occur. Please review the following methods to resolve.

Method #1
Please attempt to reset security permissions to default as outlined in KB313222.

How do I restore security settings to the default settings?
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/313222

Method #2
These errors can also indicate a permissions issue with the OfficeSoftwareProtectionPlatform folder. If the Network Service is missing permissions on this folder you can also receive ERROR CODE: 0x80070005.

To resolve, run the following command from an elevated command prompt:

In Vista/Win7/2008-
icacls C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\OfficeSoftwareProtectionPlatform /grant "Network Service:(OI)(CI)(R,W,D)" /t

In WinXp/2003-
cacls "C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Microsoft\OfficeSoftwareProtectionPlatform" /t /e /p "Network Service":C

Method #3

This situation may be the result of applying a Plug and Play Group Policy object (GPO).

Computer Configuration / Policies / Windows Settings /Security Settings / System Services / Plug and Play (Startup Mode: Automatic)

If this policy is set, you can resolve this issue by either disabling this policy, or modifying the security settings for the Policy.

How to check the machine to see if that policy is being applied via a domain GPO. 
From the command prompt, run rsop.msc

Check for the the following:



If you see that Plug and Play is set to Automatic but permission is Not Defined, continue with the next steps to grant “service” rights

To check permissions for the Plug and Play service GPO via command line, run the following command:

sc sdshow plugplay

If all is configured as it should be, the output displayed when running this command will contain the following:

D:(A;;CCDCLCSWRPWPDTLOCRSDRCWDWO;;;BA)
(A;;CCDCLCSWRPWPDTLOCRSDRCWDWO;;;SY)
(A;;CCLCSWLOCRRC;;;IU)
(A;;CCLCSWLOCRRC;;;SU)
S:(AU;FA;CCDCLCSWRPWPDTLOCRSDRCWDWO;;;WD)

If any of these permissions are missing, run the following command line to set the default permissions for the Plug and Play service:

sc sdset plugplay D:(A;;CCDCLCSWRPWPDTLOCRSDRCWDWO;;;BA)(A;;CCDCLCSWRPWPDTLOCRSDRCWDWO;;;SY)(A;;CCLCSWLOCRRC;;;IU)(A;;CCLCSWLOCRRC;;;SU)S:(AU;FA;CCDCLCSWRPWPDTLOCRSDRCWDWO;;;WD)

Alternatively, the following steps can be used to edit the permissions of the Group Policy via a GUI interface:

1. Open the Group Policy that is identified in Method A, Step 1 above, and open the corresponding Group Policy setting. 
2. Click the Edit Security button, and then click the Advanced button.
3. In the Advanced Security Settings for Plug and Play window click Add and then add the SERVICE account. Then, click OK
4. Select the following permissions in the Allow section and then click OK:

Query template
Query status
Enumerate dependents
Interrogate
User-defined control
Read permissions

Note: The Previous rights are the minimum required permissions. 

5. Run gpupdate /force after you apply the previous permissions to the Group Policy setting.

Windows 7 displays "Windows is not Genuine" with an error code of 0x80070005  (Also applies to Office 2010)
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2008385

ISSUE:

When attempting to activate Microsoft Office running on Windows 8.1 or Windows Server 2012 R2 clients using KMS activation, the activation fails with an error code 0xC004F074.

Running ospp.vbs /dstatus shows the following output:

LICENSE NAME: Office 15, OfficeProPlusVL_KMS_Client edition
LICENSE DESCRIPTION: Office 15,VOLUME_KMSCLIENT channel
LICENSE STATUS: ---OOB_GRACE---
ERROR CODE: 0x4004F00C
ERROR DESCRIPTION: The Software Licensing Service reported that the application is running within the valid grace period.
REMAINING GRACE: 29 days (43178 minute(s) before expiring)
Last 5 characters of installed product key: GVGXT

Running ospp.vbs /act shows the following output:

LICENSE NAME: Office 15, OfficeProPlusVL_KMS_Client edition
LICENSE DESCRIPTION: Office 15, VOLUME_KMSCLIENT channel
Last 5 characters of installed product key: GVGXT
ERROR CODE: 0xC004F074
ERROR DESCRIPTION: The Software Licensing Service reported that the product could not be activated. No Key Management Service (KMS) could be contacted. Please see the Application Event Log for additional information.

The application event log will show an event ID 12288 containing an error 0x8007000D.

MORE INFORMATION:

This issue occurs due to a change made to the activation engine of Windows 8.1 and Windows Server 2012 R2 that prevents KMS host running on down-level operating systems from activating these clients.  Microsoft has published a hotfix to address this issue.  This hotfix has to be applied to all down-level operating systems that are running KMS Host.  No update to hosts running on Windows 8.1 or Windows Server 2012 R2 is needed.

RESOLUTION:

Download and install the appropriate hotfix from the Microsoft Knowledge Base Article:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2885698

While attempting to activate your Office 2010 clients in your environment you find that some of your machines fail to activate against KMS with the following ERROR CODE: 0x80070005.

If you run OSPP.VBS to attempt activation and you may receive an error similar to the following:

C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office14>cscript ospp.vbs /act

---Processing--------------------------
---------------------------------------
Installed product key detected - attempting to activate the following product:
SKU ID: 6f327760-8c5c-417c-9b61-836a98287e0c
LICENSE NAME: Office 14, OfficeProPlus-KMS_Client edition
LICENSE DESCRIPTION: Office 14, VOLUME_KMSCLIENT channel
Last 5 characters of installed product key: PKJDS
ERROR CODE: 0x80070005
---------------------------------------
---------------------------------------
---Exiting-----------------------------


If you then run OSPP.VBS to check the dstatus and you receive an error similar to the following:

C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office14>cscript ospp.vbs /dstatus

---Processing--------------------------
---------------------------------------
SKU ID: 6f327760-8c5c-417c-9b61-836a98287e0c
LICENSE NAME: Office 14, OfficeProPlus-KMS_Client edition
LICENSE DESCRIPTION: Office 14, VOLUME_KMSCLIENT channel
LICENSE STATUS:  ---NOTIFICATIONS---
ERROR CODE: 0xC004F056
ERROR DESCRIPTION: The Software Licensing Service reported that the computer cou
ld not be activated using the Key Management Service (KMS).
Last 5 characters of installed product key: PKJDS
---------------------------------------
---------------------------------------
---Exiting-----------------------------

These errors can indicate a permissions issue in the registry.

There are a few reasons this error can occur. Please review the following methods to resolve.

Method #1
Please attempt to reset security permissions to default as outlined in KB313222.

How do I restore security settings to the default settings?
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/313222

Method #2
These errors can also indicate a permissions issue with the OfficeSoftwareProtectionPlatform folder. If the Network Service is missing permissions on this folder you can also receive ERROR CODE: 0x80070005.

To resolve, run the following command from an elevated command prompt:

In Vista/Win7/2008-
icacls C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\OfficeSoftwareProtectionPlatform /grant "Network Service:(OI)(CI)(R,W,D)" /t

In WinXp/2003-
cacls "C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Microsoft\OfficeSoftwareProtectionPlatform" /t /e /p "Network Service":C

Method #3

This situation may be the result of applying a Plug and Play Group Policy object (GPO).

Computer Configuration / Policies / Windows Settings /Security Settings / System Services / Plug and Play (Startup Mode: Automatic)

If this policy is set, you can resolve this issue by either disabling this policy, or modifying the security settings for the Policy.

How to check the machine to see if that policy is being applied via a domain GPO. 
From the command prompt, run rsop.msc

Check for the the following:



If you see that Plug and Play is set to Automatic but permission is Not Defined, continue with the next steps to grant “service” rights

To check permissions for the Plug and Play service GPO via command line, run the following command:

sc sdshow plugplay

If all is configured as it should be, the output displayed when running this command will contain the following:

D:(A;;CCDCLCSWRPWPDTLOCRSDRCWDWO;;;BA)
(A;;CCDCLCSWRPWPDTLOCRSDRCWDWO;;;SY)
(A;;CCLCSWLOCRRC;;;IU)
(A;;CCLCSWLOCRRC;;;SU)
S:(AU;FA;CCDCLCSWRPWPDTLOCRSDRCWDWO;;;WD)

If any of these permissions are missing, run the following command line to set the default permissions for the Plug and Play service:

sc sdset plugplay D:(A;;CCDCLCSWRPWPDTLOCRSDRCWDWO;;;BA)(A;;CCDCLCSWRPWPDTLOCRSDRCWDWO;;;SY)(A;;CCLCSWLOCRRC;;;IU)(A;;CCLCSWLOCRRC;;;SU)S:(AU;FA;CCDCLCSWRPWPDTLOCRSDRCWDWO;;;WD)

Alternatively, the following steps can be used to edit the permissions of the Group Policy via a GUI interface:

1. Open the Group Policy that is identified in Method A, Step 1 above, and open the corresponding Group Policy setting. 
2. Click the Edit Security button, and then click the Advanced button.
3. In the Advanced Security Settings for Plug and Play window click Add and then add the SERVICE account. Then, click OK
4. Select the following permissions in the Allow section and then click OK:

Query template
Query status
Enumerate dependents
Interrogate
User-defined control
Read permissions

Note: The Previous rights are the minimum required permissions. 

5. Run gpupdate /force after you apply the previous permissions to the Group Policy setting.

Windows 7 displays "Windows is not Genuine" with an error code of 0x80070005  (Also applies to Office 2010)
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2008385

Volume license editions Office 2010 support KMS activation. If your environment has an existing KMS host for activating Windows you have a few ways of activating Office 2010 using a KMS host:

1. Use your existing Windows KMS host and add Office KMS support to it, if it is running a supported version of Windows (recommended)
2. Migrate your Windows KMS host to a version of Windows that supports Office KMS and add Office KMS support to it (recommended)
3. Install Office KMS support on a different computer and configure your environment for it.

Adding Office KMS support to an existing Windows KMS host if your best option, because doing so does not require any work being done outside of installing Office 2010 KeyManagementServiceHost.exe and installing/activating your Office 2010 KMS host key. The catch here is you must be running Windows KMS on an operating system that supports Office 2010 KMS. See this post for details on supported operating systems and for steps on installing Office 2010 KMS host: http://blogs.technet.com/b/odsupport/archive/2010/06/01/office-2010-kms-installation-and-troubleshooting.aspx.

I’m going to focus on option 3 for the rest of this post – installing Office KMS support on a second computer in an environment that already has a Windows KMS host running. The steps to install Office KMS is the same as step 1 and 2. So is installing and activating your key. You should note that this is not the recommended way of adding Office KMS support. Microsoft recommends only having a single KMS host for both Windows and Office. Having more than one KMS host on your network is not necessary and adds extra administration work to implement. The extra work involves preparing DNS to allow multiple computers to manage _VLMCS records.

When you install a KMS host and install a key, your KMS host registers itself in DNS by adding a _VLMCS record to DNS. The first KMS server to do this owns all rights for _VLMCS records. When you bring a second KMS host online it will not be able to register itself in DNS. Your KMS host will work, but your client computers will not be able to find it because the _VLMCS record for it does not exist in DNS. There are two way to fix this:

1. Manually add a _VLMCS record to DNS for the second KMS host
2. Create a global security group that contains the machine accounts for your KMS hosts and grant that group control over _VLMCS records in DNS (recommended).

You can follow the steps in this article to configure DNS for multiple KMS hosts: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff793405.aspx. Keep in mind that the SRV resource record you want to edit permissions on in DNS is the _VLMCS record of your KMS host. Editing this record’s permissions to grant the global security control will enable additional _VLMCS records to be created by the other KMS hosts as needed.

We recommend the 2nd option here to keep future administrative tasks to a minimum. If you ever change the host name DNS will be updated automatically. Stale _VLMCS records in DNS can cause long delays in launching Office applications if they are requesting activation.

If you are deploying volume editions of Office 2010 using KMS or MAK activation, the Volume Activation Management Tool (VAMT) 2.0 can be used to manage activation for these products. In this video I walk you through using VAMT 2.0 to activate Office 2010 installations and manage Office 2010 product keys.

If you haven’t already downloaded VAMT 2.0 you can grab a copy here: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=ec7156d2-2864-49ee-bfcb-777b898ad582

This article on TechNet that walks you through VAMT 2.0 usage. It is focused on Windows activation, but the same steps apply for Office 2010: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff686878.aspx

View Video
Format: wmv
Duration:

Use the following steps to see detailed information about what type of activation your Office 2010 installation us using and what the status of your activation is.

1. Open an administrative level command prompt.
2. Navigate to the Office14 folder:
   • 32bit Office on 64bit OS – “cd \Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\Office14”
   • 32bit Office on 32bit OS and 64bit Office on 64bit OS – “cd \Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office14”
3. Execute “cscript ospp.vbs /dstatus”
4. Look at “LICENSE NAME” for license type and “LICENSE STATUS” for activation status

If Office is KMS activated you will see “KMS_Client edition” in the license name field:

If Office is MAK activated you will see “MAK edition” in the license name field:

If Office is Retail activated you will see “Retail edition” in the license name field:

If you are running a volume licensed edition of Office 2010 and it needs to be activated, you may see this message when you open any Office 2010 application:

This message means Office is failing to activate against a KMS host on your network. KMS activation is the default activation type when you install a volume license edition of Office 2010. There are two ways of getting Office 2010 activated:

• Enter a MAK key and activate over the internet or phone
• Setup an Office 2010 KMS host and activate using it.

Option 1: Enter a MAK key and activate over the internet or phone

To enter a MAK key, click the “Change Product "Key” button and enter your key when prompted:
 

Click “Continue”, then “Install Now”.

Office will configure itself. Close any open Office 2010 applications. The next time you launch an Office application you will see a screen like this:

Go through the activation wizard. Once it is done you will be activated and should not see any of these messages again.

Option 2: Setup an Office 2010 KMS host and activate using it.

See this blog post for a very detailed guide on how to setup an Office 2010 KMS Host: http://blogs.technet.com/b/odsupport/archive/2010/06/01/office-2010-kms-installation-and-troubleshooting.aspx

When launching Office 2010 applications, a message appears indicating that Office is not activated. Attempts to activate Office may result in the following error:

"Error 0xC004F074: The Software Licensing Service reported that the computer could not be activated. No Key Management Service (KMS) could be contacted. Please see the Application Event Log for additional information."

Error 0xC004F074 equates to, "The Key Management Server (KMS) is unavailable". This error occurs when volume license versions of Office 2010 are installed on client machines using the built-in, KMS client key and an Office KMS host is not available to activate installations of Office 2010.

The following is a partial Office Web Apps Setup product key, required for product installation on Microsoft SharePoint, rather than a product key that is specific to client installations of the Office 2010 suites:

FC7HF-CF42G-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx

Attempting to enter this key via the File/Help and Change Product Key link will result in the error, "This is not a valid Office Product key. See above examples to learn more".

Attempting to input this key via the ospp.vbs script will result in the error, "0xc004f050 The Software Licensing service reported that the product key is invalid"

To resolve this issue, obtain a Multiple Activation Key (MAK) volume license product key for Office 2010, and then do one of the following:

1) Open an Office 2010 application (i.e., Microsoft Word), go to File/Help, and then click on the Change Product Key link. Enter the Office 2010 product key. After the process of installing the product key completes, close all open Office applications, open Microsoft Word, go to File/Help, and check to see if “Product Activated” is displayed.

—or—

2) From an elevated command prompt, run command lines similar to the following (if you are running 32-bit Office 2010 on a 64-bit operating system, the path should include Program Files (x86)):

%windir%\System32\cscript.exe "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office14\OSPP.VBS" /inpkey:xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx     (where xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx is your 25 digit MAK product key for Office 2010)

%windir%\System32\cscript.exe “C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office14\ospp.vbs” /act

For most Microsoft products, there are two ways to obtain volume license product keys:

1)  Go to the Product Keys section of the Volume Licensing Service Center (VLSC) for Open, Open Value, Select, Enterprise Agreements and the Services provider License Agreement (SPLA)  - https://www.microsoft.com/licensing/servicecenter/home.aspx

2) Call your Microsoft Activation Center - http://www.microsoft.com/licensing/existing-customers/activation-centers.aspx

Related links:

Frequently asked questions: Volume activation of Office 2010

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff678211.aspx

Volume activation quick start guide for Office 2010

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ee624359.aspx

Microsoft Volume Licensing Product Activation and Key Information

http://www.microsoft.com/licensing/existing-customers/product-activation.aspx

Microsoft Volume Licensing Frequently Asked Questions About Volume License Keys

http://www.microsoft.com/licensing/existing-customers/product-activation-faq.aspx

KMS host key = This key is obtained from the VLSC. This is the key that you would use during the install of the KMS host when setting up a Office 2010 KMS server

KMS Client Key = This is a generic key that is hardcoded into all of the Office 2010 client products. ie.. ProPlus, Visio, Project.
This key allows the product to be installed without manually entering a product key. Also, when this key is installed it triggers the Office product to attempt to locate and activate against a KMS server.

Volume license versions of Office 2010 are hardcoded with a generic KMS Client Key. This key can be located by opening the setup.xml file from the *.ww folder of the product.

As an example,  here is the built-in KMS Client Key from the Visio 2010 volume license setup.xml
 

Visio is a unique product in the volume license space in that Visio can install as Visio Standard, Visio Professional, or Visio Premium based upon the key that is input. By default, Visio 2010 uses this Visio Premium 2010 KMS client key, which enables all the features that are available for Visio Premium 2010. If you are licensed to use Visio Standard 2010 or Visio Professional 2010, you must install the appropriate KMS client key. Different features or applications are available, depending on the kind of key that is installed. This makes it easier for you to upgrade or downgrade without having to deploy a different product edition.

If your license agreement with Microsoft is for Visio Standard 2010 or Visio Professional 2010, use the appropriate Generic KMS client key shown in the following table.

For information about how to plan your Visio Professional 2010 installation, see Plan customizations and options for Visio 2010.

There are two scenarios to consider for installing an appropriate KMS Client key.

Scenario 1

Visio 2010 has already been deployed in your organization.
At the time of the deployment no key was specified and as a result everyone has Visio Premium installed although the organization is licensed for Visio Standard 2010 or Visio Professional 2010.

To downgrade these versions from Premium to Pro or STD, they will need to change the installed KMS Client key to the generic PRO, or STD key using a script that calls ospp.vbs , or by using VAMT. After the key is changed it will automatically activate against the KMS s host server, provided the KMS host is healthy and reachable.

Method 1 – Using a script that calls ospp.vbs on the machine to install a new KMS Client key. This script can be pushed out as a startup script via GPO to the affected machines.

Here is a simple, example batch file script that I have used to install the Visio 2010 Client key for Standard edition post install. This should work on X86 and X64 machines. I have placed a registry key query in this script so that it checks for the existence of a registry key that does not exist natively, and then when the script runs it adds that dummy registry key. This way the next time the script runs (if deployed as a startup script for example) it will simply end when it locates the dummy key that had been added during the script’s previous run.

OSPP.BAT                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

Method 2 – Use the VAMT tool to install a different KMS Client key for Visio 2010 post install.

For more information and a walkthrough of the Volume Activation Management tool

Managing Office 2010 Activations using the Volume Activation Management Tool (VAMT 2.0)
http://blogs.technet.com/b/odsupport/archive/2010/08/06/managing-office-2010-activations-using-the-volume-activation-management-tool-vamt-2-0.asp

Scenario 2

Visio 2010 has not yet been deployed in the organization and we need to ensure that correct edition of Visio 2010 is deployed.

If the organization is not licensed for Premium, they will either need to ensure that they modify the config.xml (in the visio.ww folder) and include the generic KMS client key for Pro or STD, or create a custom.msp file with the Office customization tool and specify the generic KMS client key for Pro or STD. After the install Visio will activate against KMS without issue if the KMS host is activated, healthy and has had the 5 minimum unique requests.

Method 1

Modify the config.xml to specify the KMS Client key to use.  If we specify the KMS Client key for Standard edition in the config.xml file from the Visio.ww folder, than Visio will install with that KMS Client key instead of the built-in key for Premium.

As an example, here is a modified config.xml with the generic KMS Client key for Standard specified.

Method 2

Create a custom MSP file with the Office Customization Tool to specify the KMS Client key to use.  If we specify the KMS Client key for Standard edition in the Office Customization Tool and save the custom MSP in the updates folder, Visio will install with that KMS Client key instead of the built-in key for Premium.

Open the Office Customization Tool by calling setup.exe with the /admin switch

In the OCT under the Licensing and user interface section, you can choose “Enter another product key” and input your generic Pro or STD KMS Client key.

After saving the custom MSP file from the Office Customization tool, make sure to place the custom MSP file in the updates folder of the Visio source. Now when your Visio installation takes place it will use the custom msp file you created in the updates folder and apply your generic Pro/STD key rather than the built in Premium key.

This is also discussed in the following technet article:

Deploy volume activation of Office 2010
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ee624357.aspx

When troubleshooting KMS configuration and activation issues, our customers are often surprised to find unexpected Windows or Office KMS hosts in their environment.

By default, Windows and Office clients discover KMS hosts via DNS and a related _vlmcs SRV record. To determine whether a KMS client can locate a KMS host and/or whether undesired KMS hosts exist on the network, run a command line similar to the following:

nslookup -type=srv _vlmcs._tcp >%temp%\kms.txt

Review the kms.txt file. It should contain one or more entries similar to the following:

Running this nslookup command frequently reveals _vlmcs SRV entries which are tied to unauthorized Windows or Office KMS hosts.

In many cases, Windows KMS hosts may have been unintentionally set up by users who mistakenly entered a KMS host product key, rather than a Windows client product key. To remedy this issue, perform the following steps on the machine(s) in question, to replace the KMS product group key and "convert" it to a KMS or MAK client:

1) Open an elevated command prompt.
2) Run a command similar to the following:

cscript slmgr.vbs /ipkxxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx   (where xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx is a 25 digit, Windows product key)

3) To prevent instability in the license service, the system should be restarted or the Software Protection Service should be restarted. The following command lines can be used to restart the Software Protection Service:

net stop sppsvc
net start sppsvc

4) Run a command line similar to the following to display the license information for the installed, active Windows edition:

cscript slmgr.vbs /dli

5) Using DNS Manager, in the appropriate forward lookup zone, delete the _vlmcs SRV records that exist for each machine which is not to serve as a Windows KMS host.
6) See the following articles for additional information:

Slmgr.vbs Options
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff793433.aspx

Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 Customer Hosted Volume Activation Guide / Deploying KMS Activation
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff793409.aspx

Unintentional creation of an Office KMS host is less common, because setting up an Office KMS requires a specific product key and the installation of the Microsoft Office 2010 KMS Host License Pack.

To determine whether a machine has the Office 2010 KMS Host License Pack installed and is an active Office KMS host, run a command line similar to the following:

cscript slmgr.vbs /dlv bfe7a195-4f8f-4f0b-a622-cf13c7d16864

The output of a machine which has the Office 2010 KMS Host License Pack installed will resemble the following. Key items are "Partial Product Key: GB7AH" and "License Status: Licensed", which indicate that the Office 2010 KMS host key is successfully installed and activated.

Perform the following steps to remove an Office KMS host in your environment:

1) Open an elevated command prompt.
2) Run a command similar to the following:

cscript slmgr.vbs /upk bfe7a195-4f8f-4f0b-a622-cf13c7d16864

 CAUTION:If the above command line is run without the Office activation ID ("bfe7a195-4f8f-4f0b-a622-cf13c7d16864"), all installed product keys are uninstalled, including those for Windows.

3) Run following command line again, to check the status of the Office KMS host:

cscript slmgr.vbs /dlv bfe7a195-4f8f-4f0b-a622-cf13c7d16864

4) If the Office KMS host product key has been removed, the output will be similar to that below. Key items are "This license is not in use" and "License Status: Unlicensed".

5) Using DNS Manager, in the appropriate forward lookup zone, delete the _vlmcs SRV records that exist for each machine which is not to serve as an Office KMS host.
6) See the following articles for additional information:

Deploy volume activation of Office 2010
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ee624357.aspx

Troubleshoot volume activation for Office 2010
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ee624355.aspx