Which changes trigger reactivation in a Windows guest?

Discussions about using Windows guests in VirtualBox.
Lauscher
Posts: 47
Joined: 14. Mar 2012, 14:19
Primary OS: Ubuntu other
VBox Version: PUEL
Guest OSses: Windows XP, Ubuntu 7.04+10.04, Xubuntu 11.10
Location: Germany

Re: Which changes trigger reactivation in a Windows guest?

Post by Lauscher »

I found some interesting information about how Windows Vista counts hardware changes: Vista: Toleranz der Aktivierung bei Hardware-Tausch.
-------------------------------------------------
Festplatten-Seriennummer (VSN) 11
BIOS-ID (Mainboard) 9
IDE-Adapter 3
Hauptprozessor 3
Soundkarte 2
Netzwerkkarte 2
SCSI-Adapter 2
CD/DVD-ROM oder CD-RW 1
Grafikkarte 1
Ram amount 1
---------------------------------------------
Needed minimum 26
Possible Maximum 35

With ervery change of hardware, you loose some points. Whether you have less than 26 points, you have to reactivate. Windows 7 works similar, I think, with other amount of points und maybe some other hardware parts. Your experimentals in the posts before seems to show, Windows 7 counts more points on Bios-ID than on the VSN.

Once Windows 7 lost its activation, it don't come back giving it the old hardware.
mpack
Site Moderator
Posts: 39156
Joined: 4. Sep 2008, 17:09
Primary OS: MS Windows 10
VBox Version: PUEL
Guest OSses: Mostly XP

Re: Which changes trigger reactivation in a Windows guest?

Post by mpack »

Lauscher wrote:Once Windows 7 lost its activation, it don't come back giving it the old hardware.
That seems to contradict the findings of earlier participants in this thread. It seems sensible to me that Win7 will record the hardware signature at last activation. So, and long as you don't reactivate with a changed signature then you should be able to go back to the original hardware recipe without having to activate again.
Lauscher
Posts: 47
Joined: 14. Mar 2012, 14:19
Primary OS: Ubuntu other
VBox Version: PUEL
Guest OSses: Windows XP, Ubuntu 7.04+10.04, Xubuntu 11.10
Location: Germany

Re: Which changes trigger reactivation in a Windows guest?

Post by Lauscher »

Code: Select all

long as you don't reactivate with a changed signature then you should be able to go back to the original hardware recipe without having to activate again.
There was a test with a physical installed and activated Windows 7. After running it in VirtualBox, it reclaims reactivation because of changed hardware. It became virtual activation. After that, of course, it reclaims reactivation in physical mode (but didn't get it). Than running again in VirtualBox, it doesn't reclaim. Than running again physical, it does. Than running again virtual it does, too!
mpack
Site Moderator
Posts: 39156
Joined: 4. Sep 2008, 17:09
Primary OS: MS Windows 10
VBox Version: PUEL
Guest OSses: Mostly XP

Re: Which changes trigger reactivation in a Windows guest?

Post by mpack »

Sorry, I don't know what you mean by "reclaims activation". But of course, if you switch the same Win7 image back and forth between physical and virtual hardware then you'll keep getting the activation message on whichever side is not a match for the last activation.
Lauscher
Posts: 47
Joined: 14. Mar 2012, 14:19
Primary OS: Ubuntu other
VBox Version: PUEL
Guest OSses: Windows XP, Ubuntu 7.04+10.04, Xubuntu 11.10
Location: Germany

Re: Which changes trigger reactivation in a Windows guest?

Post by Lauscher »

Hello mpack, sorry, my english speaking ist not the best.
With "reclaims activation" I mean, Windows wants to get activated.
Switching between virtual and physical mode means, Windows is physical installed and runs in VirtualBox using raw disc access. So the same installation can be booted physical and virtual, like in this thread: Windows 7: In both VM and native (using Linux as host OS) -- VirtualBox 3.x
mpack
Site Moderator
Posts: 39156
Joined: 4. Sep 2008, 17:09
Primary OS: MS Windows 10
VBox Version: PUEL
Guest OSses: Mostly XP

Re: Which changes trigger reactivation in a Windows guest?

Post by mpack »

Yes, I'm aware of the scenario being considered. If Windows is prompting for reactivation when you switch between the two modes then Win7 is seeing hardware differences. I don't try to boot Windows from a physical partition, so I don't know how complete, accurate and up-to-date the linked "Howto" is.
LenW
Posts: 2
Joined: 28. Jan 2012, 21:10
Primary OS: Ubuntu other
VBox Version: OSE Debian
Guest OSses: win2k win7

Re: Which changes trigger reactivation in a Windows guest?

Post by LenW »

I activated my Win7 guest (under vbox on a Linux host),
and there are NO files C:\Windows\System32\wpa.*
(I even checked that %WINDIR% is indeed C:\Windows .)
Does Win7 have similar files somewhere else?
Lauscher
Posts: 47
Joined: 14. Mar 2012, 14:19
Primary OS: Ubuntu other
VBox Version: PUEL
Guest OSses: Windows XP, Ubuntu 7.04+10.04, Xubuntu 11.10
Location: Germany

Re: Which changes trigger reactivation in a Windows guest?

Post by Lauscher »

LenW wrote:I activated my Win7 guest (under vbox on a Linux host),
and there are NO files C:\Windows\System32\wpa.*
The wpa.*-files only exists in XP.
Does Win7 have similar files somewhere else?
Yes; but it's not enough to copy them. If you copy them back, Windows will be "angry".
You can use Advanced Tokens Manager to make a backup of your activation.
I don't know how good this program works, because I don't have Win7; it would be nice if you tell me whether it works for you.
## * Windows Vista: (Die Dateien sind versteckt; Option `Versteckte Dateien anzeigen` im Explorer aktivieren)
## * '''C:\WINDOWS\ServiceProfiles\NetworkService\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\SoftwareLicensing\tokens.dat'''
## * '''C:\WINDOWS\system32\spp\tokens\pkeyconfig\pkeyconfig.xrm-ms'''
## * Bei der 64-Bit-Version außerdem '''C:\WINDOWS\SysWOW64\spp\tokens\pkeyconfig\pkeyconfig.xrm-ms'''
## * Windows 7: (Die Dateien sind versteckt; Option `Versteckte Dateien anzeigen` im Explorer aktivieren)
## * '''C:\WINDOWS\ServiceProfiles\NetWorkService\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\SoftwareProtectionPlatform\tokens.dat'''
## * '''C:\WINDOWS\system32\spp\tokens\pkeyconfig\pkeyconfig.xrm-ms'''
## * Bei der 64-Bit-Version außerdem '''C:\WINDOWS\SysWOW64\spp\tokens\pkeyconfig\pkeyconfig.xrm-ms'''
PNutts
Posts: 3
Joined: 10. Jun 2012, 06:18

Re: Which changes trigger reactivation in a Windows guest?

Post by PNutts »

Lauscher wrote:You can use Advanced Tokens Manager to make a backup of your activation.
I don't know how good this program works, because I don't have Win7; it would be nice if you tell me whether it works for you.
I use Advanced Tokens Manager on my host (Win 7 x64 Ulitmate) with no issues. I've not tried it on a Win 7 guest and now you have me curious so I'll give it a try. If you are a do-it-yourselfer there are Windows 7 Enterprise 90 day trial downloads.
Lauscher
Posts: 47
Joined: 14. Mar 2012, 14:19
Primary OS: Ubuntu other
VBox Version: PUEL
Guest OSses: Windows XP, Ubuntu 7.04+10.04, Xubuntu 11.10
Location: Germany

Re: Which changes trigger reactivation in a Windows guest?

Post by Lauscher »

PNutts wrote:[

I use Advanced Tokens Manager on my host (Win 7 x64 Ulitmate) with no issues
.
Thank you for your replay! Did you only used it to make a backup or did you ever used it to recover a lost activation on your system?
I've not tried it on a Win 7 guest and now you have me curious so I'll give it a try.
I think, if it works on a physical installed Windows, it should work in VirtualBox, too.
If you are a do-it-yourselfer there are Windows 7 Enterprise 90 day trial downloads.
I don't have an activation code, so I cannot test whether it works myself ;-) (I only have XP with activation code).
Moose_Valley
Posts: 9
Joined: 7. Aug 2013, 08:28
Primary OS: MS Windows 7
VBox Version: PUEL
Guest OSses: Windows, Linux, etc

Re: Activation issues with Windows guests.

Post by Moose_Valley »

Sasquatch wrote:Windows XP VLK doesn't have activation. I have one thanks to my school and installed it on several systems, never got an activation question after installation, or a few years running. So trying to trigger one with that will of course never work.
Same here (I'm also a teacher). None of my Windows XP installs (numerous PCs, laptops, VMs, etc) have ever required activation.
mpack
Site Moderator
Posts: 39156
Joined: 4. Sep 2008, 17:09
Primary OS: MS Windows 10
VBox Version: PUEL
Guest OSses: Mostly XP

Re: Which changes trigger reactivation in a Windows guest?

Post by mpack »

In the XP era, it's basically only retail XP that always requires activation. Some OEM XP images (main royalty branded ones such as HP, Dell) are node locked to a particular BIOS and will give you the activation message if used elsewhere (and likely cannot be activated). OTOH the OEM XP Pro SP2 license that I bought to use in VMs has never asked to be activated.

Not sure about Vista, but for Win7 and later it seems that all Win7 images need to be activated, regardless of marketing channel. And they also seem prone to suddenly deciding that your Win7 VM is not running genuine Windows, despite it being a completely genuine install. I shudder to think what Win8 is going to be like.
j.ledun
Posts: 3
Joined: 23. Oct 2013, 10:15
Primary OS: Linux other
VBox Version: PUEL
Guest OSses: WinXP & 7, ArchLinux
Location: Cézan, France

Re: Which changes trigger reactivation in a Windows guest?

Post by j.ledun »

[Moved to "Discuss the 4.3.0 Release" topic]
Hey !

I'm working since more than 1 year with my Win7 64 bits guest (arch linux 64 bits host). I originally activated it with the activation code provided for my Laptop, I've never had trouble with that.

And now, after VirtualBox 4.3 update, my Win7 guest is asking me to activate it again. What's happening ?

I've updated virtualbox + extension pack + guest additions on all my machines.
Last edited by j.ledun on 23. Oct 2013, 13:02, edited 1 time in total.
mpack
Site Moderator
Posts: 39156
Joined: 4. Sep 2008, 17:09
Primary OS: MS Windows 10
VBox Version: PUEL
Guest OSses: Mostly XP

Re: Which changes trigger reactivation in a Windows guest?

Post by mpack »

Sorry, that question is off topic. This thread is about deliberate changes and their effects, your issue is a bug or design change that looks like it's present in VirtualBox v4.3.0. New release bugs should be discussed in a version specific discussion forum (I just created one for 4.3.0).
bluec0re
Posts: 2
Joined: 25. Oct 2013, 16:32

Re: Which changes trigger reactivation in a Windows guest?

Post by bluec0re »

j.ledun wrote: Hey !

I'm working since more than 1 year with my Win7 64 bits guest (arch linux 64 bits host). I originally activated it with the activation code provided for my Laptop, I've never had trouble with that.

And now, after VirtualBox 4.3 update, my Win7 guest is asking me to activate it again. What's happening ?

I've updated virtualbox + extension pack + guest additions on all my machines.
I've possibly found a fix/workaround for this one. It seems that VBox4.3 doesn't use the hardwareuuid from the Machine tag in the vbox file anymore.

I was able to reuse MS Office in a XP VM by adding the uuid to the Hardware tag. (It had detected hardware changes after the 4.3 upgrade).

Maybe it would also affect the hardwarechecks from Win7.

Workaround:
Before

Code: Select all

<Machine uuid="{30761f24-1e22-49c8-a4a5-dedc4a7ed74c}" ...>
    ....
    <Hardware version="2">
After

Code: Select all

<Machine uuid="{30761f24-1e22-49c8-a4a5-dedc4a7ed74c}" ...>
    ....
    <Hardware version="2" uuid="{30761f24-1e22-49c8-a4a5-dedc4a7ed74c}">
Post Reply