Kurt Shintaku's Blog

Many enterprises use Key Management Service (KMS) to activate their Windows clients.  I found a ton of documentation on how to use KMS specifically for Windows 10.  (Enterprise or Professional)

ACQUIRING THE KMS KEYS
There are two keys you need to obtain in order to activate your Windows 10 clients using KMS.

• CLIENT KEYS
  The KMS Client Setup keys are publicly posted at https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/JJ612867.aspx and are the same for everyone.  They are:
  • Windows 10 Professional: W269N-WFGWX-YVC9B-4J6C9-T83GX
  • Windows 10 Professional N: MH37W-N47XK-V7XM9-C7227-GCQG9
  • Windows 10 Enterprise: NPPR9-FWDCX-D2C8J-H872K-2YT43
  • Windows 10 Enterprise N: DPH2V-TTNVB-4X9Q3-TJR4H-KHJW4
  • Windows 10 Education: NW6C2-QMPVW-D7KKK-3GKT6-VCFB2
  • Windows 10 Education N: 2WH4N-8QGBV-H22JP-CT43Q-MDWWJ
  • Windows 10 Enterprise 2015 LTSB: WNMTR-4C88C-JK8YV-HQ7T2-76DF9
  • Windows 10 Enterprise 2015 LTSB N: 2F77B-TNFGY-69QQF-B8YKP-D69TJ
    …
• HOST KEYS:
  Obtaining the KMS Host Key is a bit more difficult since it requires accessing the Volume Licensing Service Center, which only Volume Licensing administrators generally have access to.  To retrieve the KMS Service Host Key supporting Win10 activations from the Volume Licensing Service Center:
  • Login to the Volume Licensing Service Center (https://www.microsoft.com/Licensing/servicecenter/default.aspx)
  • Click through “Licenses –> Relationship Summary” 
  • Select the Licensing ID you wish to manage.
  • Click the “Product Key” tab. 
  • Look for the key called “Windows Srv 2012R2 DataCtr/Std KMS for Windows 10”
  • Copy that down and use when installing the new KMS Service Host key below.

PATCHING THE KMS SERVICE HOST
As with any other release of Windows or Windows Server, the KMS Service host must be patched to support the new OS.  Instructions for doing so for Windows 10 is located at the support article for “KB3058168: Update that enables Windows 8.1 and Windows 8 KMS hosts to activate Windows 10”
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/3058168

Or here: “KB3079821: Update that enables Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 KMS hosts to activate Windows 10”
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/3079821

The steps are as follows:

1. Verify that your KMS service host is running Windows 8.1, Windows Server 2012 R2, Windows 8, or Windows Server 2012.  If it isn’t, this won’t work and you’ll need to wait until there is an update available for KMS running on Windows Server 2008 R2 or Windows 7.  We released the Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows 7 patch here:
   https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/3079821
2. Download the update for the OS that your KMS server is running on.
3. Run the .msu file & follow the instructions.
4. Restart the KMS server.

INSTALLING THE NEW KMS SERVICE HOST KEY
To get your KMS Services host to activate Windows 10 clients, you’ll need to update the KMS Host Key on your KMS Server.  This is documented at the page called “Deploy KMS Activation” (https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dn502531.aspx) & “Slmgr.vbs Options for Volume Activation” (https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dn502540.aspx)

Here’s the general steps:

1. Uninstall the current product by entering the “uninstall product key” extension:
   slmgr.vbs /upk
2. Install the key that you obtained above for “Windows Srv 2012R2 DataCtr/Std KMS for Windows 10”
   slmgr.vbs /ipk <25-digit-key-goes-here>
3. Verify that the key took by executing a Detailed License View:
   slmgr.vbs /dlv

(WARNING: You must activate a minimum of 25 Windows clients or 5 Windows servers – as with any new KMS implementation – or the KMS services host key will be deactivated.  Deactivation will require you to rearm the key by calling into Microsoft Volume Activation & potentially having to fill out & fax in forms, documents, and stuff just to get the key going again so you can deploy Windows 10.  So don’t mess this up.)

DEPLOYING CLIENTS WITH THE CLIENT KEYS
To start deploying your Windows 10 clients, you’ll use the KMS Client keys you found above for the edition of Windows that you plan on deploying.

By default, Volume License editions of Windows 10 are KMS clients. If the computers you want to activate by using KMS are using Windows 10 and the network allows DNS auto-discovery, no further configuration is needed.

The steps for integrating the client key into your deployment is available at “Deploy KMS Activation – Configuring KMS Clients”. (https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dn502531.aspx)

If you’re an IT professional looking to deploy Windows 10, I highly encourage you to look into this series of online training videos called “Windows 10 Update for IT PROs”.

It consists of 5 modules and each module is about 30-45min long so you could actually get through it all in an afternoon.

• Module 1 –  Windows as a Service: What does it mean for your business?
  In this module we’ll discuss how servicing and updating of Windows is changing with the release of Windows 10. We’ll also cover how we move to a more rapid response cadence when it comes to updates.
• Module 2- What’s New in Windows 10 Deployment
  In this module we’ll cover what’s new in Windows 10 deployment and the new and updated ways to update devices. We’ll cover in-place upgrades, new provisioning tools to convert BYOD devices into Enterprise devices.
• Module 3 – What’s New in Management and the Windows Store
  Windows has always had a strong management platform and that continues to get better in Windows 10. In this module we’ll cover what’s new with management and how the new features will help you better manage devices in the enterprise.
• Module 4 – Runtime Provisioning in Windows 10
  In this module we’ll cover a new feature in Windows 10 called runtime provisioning. This new feature will help reduce the cost of deploying tablets and phones in the enterprise. We’ll explore how IT Pro’s will be able to transform BYOD devices into enterprise devices without re-imaging those…
• Module 5 – A new era of threat resistance for the Windows 10 platform
  In this final module we’ll cover the most important update to Windows 10, security. Windows 8.1 made a huge leap forward in threat resistance. But that was just the beginning. In this module we’ll cover and impressive lineup of changes such as Device guard that make Windows 10 the most secure…

Do you have a Surface?  Has your “Pen Loop” stylus holder fallen off?

I own 5 Surface devices and I’ve never had the pen loop fall off on me. (The “pen loop” is that thing that holds the stylus that you usually attach to the keyboard)   I followed the instructions and pressed really hard on when adhering the pen loop to my respective keyboards and left it it sit for a bit on each device, and they’ve maintained their adhesion on each keyboard.

Well, I think my primary machine’s pen loop got snagged while pulling it out of a case I had it in and I pulled hard enough our of frustration that it came off.  And now it won’t stick back on.

Lo-and-behold, there are replacements available on the Microsoft store in the color of your choice:

• Surface Pen Loop (Black)
  http://www.microsoftstore.com/store/msusa/en_US/pdp/Pen-Loop-Stylus-Holder-Black/productID.295531700

Okay, that’s cute.  But what if I want something a little sturdier?

I discovered that we apparently sell ANOTHER pen loop product with more “sticky surface area” to attach to the keyboard of your Surface.  Here’s the description:

This stylus loop is made of a strong black elastic strap, designed for all brands of styli, thin pencils or thick fountain pens. The loop is self-adhesive so if you want to, you can just stick it to your tablet or the inside back cover of a notebook or calendar.

Anyway, if you wanna try this pen loop, it might be a good alternative.  I have one on order so I’ll update this once I get it.

• Pen Loop Stylus Holder (Black)
  http://www.microsoftstore.com/store/msusa/en_US/pdp/Pen-Loop-Stylus-Holder-Black/productID.295531700

Group Policy tools use Administrative template files to populate policy settings in the user interface. This allows administrators to manage registry-based policy settings.

Also the documentation below are spreadsheets that list the policy settings for computer and user configurations that are included in the Administrative template files delivered with the Windows operating systems specified. You can configure these policy settings when you edit Group Policy Objects.

• DOWNLOAD: Group Policy/.ADMX Templates
  https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=48257
• DOCUMENTATION: Group Policy Settings Reference for Windows and Windows Server (includes Windows 10)
  http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=25250

Yesterday, we released the final version of Team Foundation Server 2015.  TFS 2015 is a major step forward, with tons of improvements throughout the development process but with special emphasis on DevOps capabilities.

Here are all of the TFS 2015 related downloads.  Look under Visual Studio 2015 for things like Test Professional, under Team Foundation Server 2015 for TFS, Project Server, etc. and under Tools for Visual Studio 2015 for Release Management, Test Agents, etc.

Read more here:

• BLOG: Team Foundation Server 2015 Final Release
  http://blogs.msdn.com/b/bharry/archive/2015/08/06/team-foundation-server-2015-final-release.aspx

I’ve been asked to send this notification to everyone at my customer responsible for web-based solutions & browser deployment/management/lifecycle and I thought I’d post the content of the email here for your reference in case you didn’t get it.

Anyway, here’s the email:

I’d like to make sure you are aware of Microsoft’s web browser direction with Internet Explorer 11 and Microsoft Edge in Windows 10, and reasons why your organization should begin moving to IE11 today. Internet Explorer 11 provides increased performance, improved security, better backward compatibility, and support for the modern web technologies that power today’s websites and services.

Last year Microsoft announced that after January 12, 2016 Internet Explorer 11 will be the only supported version of Internet Explorer on Windows 7, Windows 8.1 and Windows 10. This means that in order to receive IE updates – including security updates and technical support – your organization needs to upgrade to IE11 if you have not done so already. Using Internet Explorer 11 on Windows 7 ensures continued support after January 12, 2016, and easier upgrades to Windows 10.

It’s easier than ever to upgrade to IE11 thanks to Enterprise Mode, Enterprise Site Discovery, and other features.  According to a Forrester Consulting study, the Total Economic Impact of Internet Explorer 11, customers using Enterprise Mode backward compatibility were able to upgrade about twice as fast–and save money by doing so.

Microsoft offers numerous online, self-service support resources for customers and partners who wish to migrate to the latest version of Internet Explorer, many of which can be found at Microsoft’s Internet Explorer TechCenter website.

If you would like hands-on guidance, Microsoft has a number of deployment and compatibility services available to assist with migrations, including Microsoft Services Support, Microsoft Consulting Services and through partners on Microsoft Pinpoint.  I would be glad to assist you further by connecting you to these great resources.

Next Steps Requested of You:

1. Please confirm you have received this email.
2. Provide the approximate number of desktops in your organization currently running IE8, IE9, IE10 (if known) that are impacted by this upgrade request.
3. Watch this video about Microsoft’s browser roadmap.
4. Share a more detailed technical video with your IT teams who will manage the IE migration.

Last, if there is a person directly responsible for Internet Explorer support that I didn’t reach on this email, please forward to them and ask them to reach out to me for assistance if needed.

Thank you for your time and please let me know if you’d like to continue receiving information like this from me. If not, I can remove you from my distribution list.

As of July 30th, 2015, the Remote Server Administration Tools for Windows 10 are still a couple weeks away according to Sr Windows PM Michael Niehaus:

Still a couple of weeks for the updated RSAT tools

https://twitter.com/mniehaus/status/626849596703178757

The RSAT tools Tech Preview download is still posted but I don’t believe it works on build 10240 (the “RTW”) as it stopped working as of build 10122.

Remote Server Administration Tools for Windows 10 Technical Preview lets IT administrators manage Windows Server Technical Preview from a remote computer running Windows 10 Insider Preview or Windows 10 Technical Preview. It does not run on the May 2015 release of Windows 10 Insider Preview, build number 10122. An RSAT package will be available shortly after Windows 10 RTM.

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=45520

I think this will be a brand new cloud addition to Dynamics CRM Online.

I’m excited to announce that Microsoft has acquired Incent Games Inc., the developer and owner of FantasySalesTeam, an innovative sales gamification platform that’s helped hundreds of companies boost sales productivity, drive revenue and improve CRM adoption through collaboration and team based competition. The benefits of this creative and popular feature will soon be available for our customers to help them incentivize their sales teams to new heights and better results.

…

Read more here:

• NEWS: Microsoft acquires FantasySalesTeam, an innovative sales gamification platform, to help organizations increase productivity
  http://blogs.microsoft.com/blog/2015/08/03/microsoft-acquires-fantasysalesteam-an-innovative-sales-gamification-platform-to-help-organizations-increase-productivity/
• SITE: Fantasy Sales Team
  http://www.fantasysalesteam.com/

For those working on Office 365, this is likely pretty important. 

Microsoft Identity Manager 2016 is the successor to Forefront Identity Manager 2012 R2.  It provides a variety of functions related to identity & access management and is an on-premises implementation.

• Synchronize identities between directories, databases and applications
• Self-service password, group and certificate management
• Increase admin security with policies, privileged access and roles (RBAC)

It’s designed to work out of the box with Microsoft’s cloud including:

1. Azure Active Directory and enabling synchronization between on-premises AD
2. Password reset through Azure Multi-factor Authentication
3. Dynamics grouping based on roles including serial or parallel

For more information, go to the following:

• PRODUCT SITE: Microsoft Identity Manager 2016
  http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/server-cloud/products/microsoft-identity-manager/
• TECHNET: Microsoft Identity Manager 2016 Resources
  http://social.technet.microsoft.com/wiki/contents/articles/28754.microsoft-identity-manager-2016-resources.aspx
• CURATED LIST OF RESOURCES: Microsoft Identity Manager (MIM 2016) Resources
  http://curah.microsoft.com/454331/microsoft-identity-manager-mim-2016-resources

This is a pretty important question, answered on our Microsoft Community Answers forum. 

The net-net is you MUST upgrade via the free upgrade offer before you wipe your PC’s hard drive in order to make it possible to reinstall & activate at no cost in the future.  The free upgrade process registers your computer’s hardware footprint in the cloud so that in the future, if you wipe & reload Windows 10 on your PC, it’ll automatically reactivate on it’s own based on the consistency of your hardware.

Q: Can I clean re-install Windows 10 after upgrading?

A: Once your device upgrades to Windows 10 using the free upgrade offer and activates online automatically, an entitlement is registered to your PC’s hardware for your edition of Windows 10.  (If you go to Settings  >> Update & Security >> Activation says “Windows is activated”.)  Now you will be able to clean install (i.e. boot from media and install Windows 10) the same edition of Windows 10 seamlessly without having to enter a product key.

1. Make sure your PC is activated by going to the Settings >> Update & Security >> Activation. 
   If the activation has not completed, you can click the Activate Now button to complete the activation process.

2. Create your installation media for the appropriate edition of Windows 10 by clicking here.  (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/p/?LinkId=617364)

3. Skip entering the product key during Windows 10 Setup. Windows 10 will activate online automatically on such devices. The skip option is only available when booting from media and launching Windows 10 setup

The automatic online activation will occur seamlessly after clean installing Windows 10 if the device had previously upgraded and activated online, with the same edition of Windows 10.

You CANNOT activate Windows 10 using a Windows 7 or Windows 8/8.1 product key. Upgraded Windows 10 PCs do NOT use unique product keys for Activation – all upgraded Windows 10 PCs use the same generic product key that activates ONLY if you launched upgrade while booted in your Windows 7/8 system.

Keep in mind that if the hardware configuration of your Windows 10 device changes significantly (e.g. motherboard change) Windows 10 may require re-activation on the device. This is the same experience as prior versions of Windows (e.g. Windows 7 and Windows 8.1) and you’ll need to contact Support.

(Taken from:
http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_10-windows_install/can-i-clean-re-install-windows-10-after-upgrading/f59fb5bd-21a5-4010-8a39-7b975611b73b?auth=1)

Grab this tool for future use:

• DOWNLOAD: Windows 10 Media Creation Tool
  http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/p/?LinkId=617364