Labbing with 2k8 servers not activated

earweed

I'm using some of the same servers (cloned and renamed) for labbing for the 70-642 I used for the 83-640. My problem, if it is a problem is that now I'm getting the message of Your windows is not genuine and have black background. Will this take away functionality? If so, how much and what functionality? Do I need to reinstall server 28k again? They're not connected to internet and I don't intend to if I can avoid it.

mrmcmint

You will go into notification mode... Windows 2008 Licensing what happens after trial period ends

Watch out for cloning though unless you are going to generate a new sid.

earweed

mrmcmint wrote: »

You will go into notification mode... Windows 2008 Licensing what happens after trial period ends

Watch out for cloning though unless you are going to generate a new sid.

It's not a trial version, but I have had these 2 VM's past the time period to activate. Don't really want to activate as I'm just using them to lab for my SErver 2k8 certs. They're both legal and I've even been making sure not to keep extras that I no longer use.
I haven't noticed a change in functionality just the notification every restart and the black background.
Is there a way to avoid this problem in the future without doing clean installs?

mrmcmint

earweed wrote: »

It's not a trial version, but I have had these 2 VM's past the time period to activate. Don't really want to activate as I'm just using them to lab for my SErver 2k8 certs. They're both legal and I've even been making sure not to keep extras that I no longer use.
I haven't noticed a change in functionality just the notification every restart and the black background.
Is there a way to avoid this problem in the future without doing clean installs?

There won't be a way round the nag screen unfortunately without a hack, or unless you sysprep it maybe? This should reset the timer again, but you can only sysprep it so many times. This is where a technet subscription would come in handy

earweed

Got mine through MSDNAA and Dreamspark. We get that through WGU. Yeah I'm at my 30 day point from creation as I just had to change my password too. I guess I'll just have to deal with the nag screen until I finish this chapter.

MentholMoose

You can extend the trial period:
How to extend the Windows Server 2008 evaluation period

Also, it's good to start over from scratch. It would help reinforce what you've learned from your 640 studies.

earweed

MentholMoose wrote: »

You can extend the trial period:
How to extend the Windows Server 2008 evaluation period

Also, it's good to start over from scratch. It would help reinforce what you've learned from your 640 studies.

That's true, actually sort of did. I cloned these from the snapshots of the original servers I created with no roles or anything, just don't want to take the time to create new VM's from the disk doing the whole install process.
I'm just redoing first few chapters I had already studied before I put 70-642 on hold to concentrate on 70-640. I should have reviewed Chapters 2 & 3 from this book for my 70-640 as some of the information would have helped me on that test.
Edit: Thanks menthol moose. The nagging has stopped.

stonedtrout

I don't know if this will work or not but can you go into the bios and change the date? When I was in school i ran a trial of xp by doing this. It's a virtual machine so i don't think date is all that important.

earweed

actually by going to the link provided above I found that you can reset the trial period up to 3 times by typing at command prompt slmgr.vbs -rearm
After the third time I'll have to recreate the VM which is not a big problem.

ciscog33k

Just use RemoveWAT. I don't think anyone is going to give you **** for not spending 1k bucks on a legit version for training purposes.

earweed

I actually have a legit version but haven't got it connected to the net. I'm using it for labbing on a VM and I've gone through so many different configurations and such I'd hate to be on the phone to MS every other day reactivating it.

Devilsbane

I used to manage a server 2008 DC for a classroom and had problems with activation. I had to go in and "change the product key" but I just changed it to the same key that was already entered and the black screen went away and the notifications stopped.

I had called MS about this, and after bumping me from team to team for 45 minutes I got disconnected somehow.

Why couldn't you connect to the net for 30 seconds for activation and then disconnect. Seems like doing that is easier than rebuilding a VM.

earweed

didn't rebuild vm because of any activation issue. How many times can I activate off one key? When I'm using 2 servers at a time and starting them from scaratch quite often while labbing I don't want to activate period.
I can use the command above every 60 days 3 times which will give me 6 months, I wont use it that long. My cloning isn't working right so when I need internet access I have to build from scratch otherwise the cloning is fine.
Mentholmoose's link solved this problem for me. If I wanted to activate I'd be on the phone to MS almost daily as I go through about a chapter a day, more if they're short, and would hate to be activating over and over.

Devilsbane

I contacted Microsoft about this once regarding os installs. (Could potentially be different for server installs).

I was told that there is no limit. However I do know that they keep track and if they think you are abusing it (aka installing on different machines, since I don't know anybody who installs and activates an os on the same computer 3 times in 1 day) they can lock it out and force you to call in. But they can unlock that too.

earweed

you can extend the period 3 times.

Jander1023

I have a noob question - Should I install SP2 for my VM running 2008 Server? I download the SP, but the installation agreement says I should have a valid license, which I don't since I am just using it on a trial basis for studying. I am new at VM, so any input is appreciated. Thx.

earweed

Personally the VM's I use for labbing I usually don't install any updates on. If I did I'd be spending a lot of time waiting for updates to install. If you're using the trial version or whatever as long as it's not in a production environment I'd go ahead and install the SP.

Jander1023

earweed wrote: »

Personally the VM's I use for labbing I usually don't install any updates on. If I did I'd be spending a lot of time waiting for updates to install. If you're using the trial version or whatever as long as it's not in a production environment I'd go ahead and install the SP.

Yeah, it takes some time for the updates. I usually read while it's updating so its no biggie. But I may hold off on the SP for now to save time.

My bigger concern with the SP was that it might lock me up after installation since I don't have a license. However, I don't really need the SP and I'll save time by not installing it.

earweed

I don't think it'll lock you up. You have a grace period where you don't have to activate and you can install any updates you want. You can renew your trial period on Server 2k8 up to 3 times by typing slmgr.vbs -rearm as shown in the link further up in this thread.
When I was labbing with Server 2003 earlier (never got certs just learned a little about it) I did it the hard (time consuming) way and activated and installed all updates. I ended up being on the time consuming Microsoft "on hold" phone system quite a bit. That's my main reason for not activating there.
My lab setup now has Server 2k8 R2 with Hyper-V and my VM's I'm using here I'm updating but still not activating as I revert back to before I did my last lab scenario usually. I'm studying for the 70-643 and it actually has a lot of neat stuff but the labs in the MS Press book don't go nearly as deep as what you need to learn the stuff. I've got 4 HDD's and started out doing all kinds of storage setups (RAID - 10, 01, and 5) and have left those HDD's at RAID 5 and I've done all types of different scenarios with clustering, NLB, and even created a server farm. Playing with termeinal services was fun as I utilized my main comp (one I'm on now has Vista Ultimate) and my wife's (Windows 7 ) which are both joined to my domain and did a lot of extra scenarios with them.
Needless to sya if you're going after your MCITP:EA it would really benefit you to get a comp that you can use Hyper-V on. If you don't have access to anything but trial versions of software it may benefit you to get a technet subscription.

Jander1023

My computer can take advantage of Hyper-V, but I need to upgrade to Window 7 64bit. I may do this eventually anyway, once I upgrade my processor to Quad core and then add another 4 gigs of RAM.

Did you need the hyper-v for the 642? I am trying to avoid the cost of upgrading my CPU and extra RAM as long as possible. Hopefully, I'll get a X-Mas bonus this year and can do it then. Currently, I am using the Windows Virtual PC, which works fine. I am planning on switching to VMWare Server for the 642.

earweed

Yeah, you can put it off a while. Most people don't even actually install or us Hyper-V at all while doing this series of tests. I did it because I had just built a box for labbing. The old comp I'm on now (old HP Pavillion w/PentiumD) only supports 2 GB RAM so it was kind of useless for labbing anything anyway. I have it setup to RPC everything on my new comp so it's really convenient.
You can put off the upgrade until after you do the 642. The 642 has a few mentions of Hyper-V while the 643 actually requires you to learn a little about it. The biggest limitation you'll have while studying for the Server 2008 classes is if you don't have enough RAM to run several VMs.

Hyper-Me

Dont worry with it, its not a huge deal and doesnt hinder functionality. You just get lame notifications.

In the beginning the Server basically became useless but it was affected actual customers trying to do 2008 rollouts and MS backtracked on it REAL fast.

For the VMs, sysprep a clean clone and then shut it off. Keep it off and just copy the VHD/VMKD when you want to make a new machine. This ensures a new SID and proper setup so you don't get any weirdness from using a straight cloned VM.

Jander1023

earweed wrote: »

Yeah, you can put it off a while. Most people don't even actually install or us Hyper-V at all while doing this series of tests. I did it because I had just built a box for labbing. The old comp I'm on now (old HP Pavillion w/PentiumD) only supports 2 GB RAM so it was kind of useless for labbing anything anyway. I have it setup to RPC everything on my new comp so it's really convenient.
You can put off the upgrade until after you do the 642. The 642 has a few mentions of Hyper-V while the 643 actually requires you to learn a little about it. The biggest limitation you'll have while studying for the Server 2008 classes is if you don't have enough RAM to run several VMs.

I have been running 3 VMs without a problem. I have a dual core 2.67 (E6700) with 4GBs of PC8500. I usually open task manager to keep an eye of my system resources. I think I could probably run up to 5 VMs at one time without a problem, if needed.

I have a noob question about Hyper-V, do you install Server 2008 R2 on your machine in a dual boot and then run the virtualization within that OS? I actually checked out Microsoft's website on Hyper-V, but I think it confused me even more! I have all the 640 series books. If you pointed me to a useful chapter in one of them, that would be awesome!

earweed

In the 643 textbook starting on page 52. That'll give you a little bit of an idea with Hyper-v. I read some in the Hyper_v Resources book as I have access to that through books 24x7.
Most people go through this without ever using Hyper-v and with you having 4 GB I imagine you could probably get by without it. I just did it because I didn't even have a machine that could run 3 VM's effectively. Since I had built a new machine I decided to use Hyper-V instead of any of the other virtualization platforms I had been using.
As for your noob question..I had that same question earlier you install server 2008 (64 bit) or server 2008 R2 and then you'll add the Hper-V role. The MS Press book explains it pretty well. I used Server 2008 R2 because I didn't have the 64 bit version of server 2008.

Hyper-Me

Jander1023 wrote: »

I have been running 3 VMs without a problem. I have a dual core 2.67 (E6700) with 4GBs of PC8500. I usually open task manager to keep an eye of my system resources. I think I could probably run up to 5 VMs at one time without a problem, if needed.

I have a noob question about Hyper-V, do you install Server 2008 R2 on your machine in a dual boot and then run the virtualization within that OS? I actually checked out Microsoft's website on Hyper-V, but I think it confused me even more! I have all the 640 series books. If you pointed me to a useful chapter in one of them, that would be awesome!

You can install Server 2008 or R2 and then install Hyper-V as a role. Or there is also a standalone version of Hyper-V that is installed and thats the only thing the OS does, but its basically Server Core version and you have to manage it with a seperate machine.

nwmmcc

Hi

I'm new to techexams and will be working on the 70-640. My laptop is old and battery dying, so needs replacing. What would be the suggest minimum laptop to run Hyper-v with 3 or 4 vms.

Thanks

Mike

MentholMoose

nwmmcc wrote: »

Hi

I'm new to techexams and will be working on the 70-640. My laptop is old and battery dying, so needs replacing. What would be the suggest minimum laptop to run Hyper-v with 3 or 4 vms.

Thanks

Mike

Welcome to the forum. I'd recommand a laptop with a 64-bit dual core CPU, 4GB of RAM (upgradeable to 8GB recommended), and Intel VT or AMD-V (virtualization extensions). Note that the virtualization extensions are required for Hyper-V to run, and you have to be careful because some laptops have CPUs that support the virtualization extensions, but it cannot be enabled in the BIOS. Sometimes a BIOS upgrade will allow it, but not always. Also, when running VMs on a laptop, the weakeast link is usually the hard drive, so get a 7200 RPM drive, or an SSD if you can afford it.

The laptop I'm using for labbing right now is a Lenovo Thinkpad T510. I bought it with a Core i5 CPU, 4GB of RAM and a 320GB 5400 RPM hard drive. I upgraded it to 8GB of RAM (Mushkin brand) and a 120GB SSD (Corsair Force F120, basically the same as the OCZ Vertex 2). The performance is just stunning... I'm confident that I can run as many VMs as will fit on the hard drive. I wish I had it when I was studying for the 640 exam (I was using a high performance desktop at the time, Core2 Quad, 8GB RAM, RAID 10 array on a hardware RAID card, but my new laptop just smokes that thing when it comes to running VMs).

nwmmcc

That's great info.

I'll see what I can find.

Thanks

Mike

Hyper-Me

The laptop MUST do the following

1: Hardware Assisted Virtualization in the BIOS via AMD-V or Intel-VT
2. Data Execution Prevention (DEP) enabled in the BIOS
3. 64-bit Processor

A multi-core processor and gobs of RAM, plus lots of HDD space (and a fast HD, 7200rpm on a laptop) would be ideal.

MentholMoose

Hyper-Me wrote: »

2. Data Execution Prevention (DEP) enabled in the BIOS

Right, forgot about DEP.

nwmmcc

Ok. I've ordered one. What do you generally do, wipe out the existing OS on the laptop, create a partition and load 2008? Got a link that explains the best approach.

OH, and one very basic question about AD shema master. is there such a thing as clustering or similar technology where the schema master could actually be on more than one DC? In a real life situation, can you fail-over to server with a copy of schema master?