IBM Support

Cannot find product key for IBM-Sourced Microsoft Windows Server 2008 - IBM System x

Troubleshooting


Problem

IBM provided Windows 2008 media does not include a product key for activation. The user provided Volume License, retail, or Microsoft Developer Network (MSDN) product keys fail to work with IBM-provided media.

Resolving The Problem

Source

RETAIN tip: H195753

Symptom

IBM provided Windows 2008 media does not include a product key for activation. The user provided Volume License, retail, or Microsoft Developer Network (MSDN) product keys fail to work with IBM-provided media.

Affected configurations

The system is configured with at least one of the following:

  • Microsoft Windows Server 2008, Datacenter 32-bit, any service pack
  • Microsoft Windows Server 2008, Datacenter 64-bit, any service pack
  • Microsoft Windows Server 2008, Enterprise 32-bit, any service pack
  • Microsoft Windows Server 2008, Enterprise 64-bit, any service pack
  • Microsoft Windows Server 2008, Standard 32-bit, any service pack
  • Microsoft Windows Server 2008, Standard 64-bit, any service pack

This tip is not hardware specific.
This tip is not option specific.

Note: This does not imply that the network operating system will work under all combinations of hardware and software. Please see the compatibility page for more information: http://www.ibm.com/servers/eserver/serverproven/compat/us/

Workaround

The product key affixed to the system on the Certificate Of Authenticity (COA) should be used.

Additional information

There are several different kinds of media available to install Windows Server 2008. All of these media types, such as retail, Volume License, Original Equipment Manufacture (OEM), and MSDN contain the same Operating System (OS) bits but use different product key ranges.

 

Document Location

Worldwide

Operating System

System x:Windows Server 2008

System x:Windows Server 2008 x86-64 & 2008 R2

[{"Type":"HW","Business Unit":{"code":"BU016","label":"Multiple Vendor Support"},"Product":{"code":"HW332","label":"System x->System x3850 M2"},"Platform":[{"code":"PF033","label":"Windows"}],"Line of Business":{"code":"","label":""}},{"Type":"HW","Business Unit":{"code":"BU016","label":"Multiple Vendor Support"},"Product":{"code":"HW333","label":"System x->System x3950 M2"},"Platform":[{"code":"PF033","label":"Windows"}],"Line of Business":{"code":"","label":""}},{"Type":"HW","Business Unit":{"code":"BU016","label":"Multiple Vendor Support"},"Product":{"code":"HW334","label":"System x->System x3200 M2"},"Platform":[{"code":"PF033","label":"Windows"}],"Line of Business":{"code":"","label":""}},{"Type":"HW","Business Unit":{"code":"BU016","label":"Multiple Vendor Support"},"Product":{"code":"HW335","label":"System x->System x3250 M2"},"Platform":[{"code":"PF033","label":"Windows"}],"Line of Business":{"code":"","label":""}},{"Type":"HW","Business Unit":{"code":"BU016","label":"Multiple Vendor Support"},"Product":{"code":"HWX10","label":"System x->System x3400 M2"},"Platform":[{"code":"PF033","label":"Windows"}],"Line of Business":{"code":"","label":""}},{"Type":"HW","Business Unit":{"code":"BU016","label":"Multiple Vendor Support"},"Product":{"code":"HWX20","label":"System x->System x3500 M2"},"Platform":[{"code":"PF033","label":"Windows"}],"Line of Business":{"code":"","label":""}},{"Type":"HW","Business Unit":{"code":"BU016","label":"Multiple Vendor Support"},"Product":{"code":"HWX30","label":"System x->System x3550 M2"},"Platform":[{"code":"PF033","label":"Windows"}],"Line of Business":{"code":"","label":""}},{"Type":"HW","Business Unit":{"code":"BU016","label":"Multiple Vendor Support"},"Product":{"code":"HWX40","label":"System x->System x3650 M2"},"Platform":[{"code":"PF033","label":"Windows"}],"Line of Business":{"code":"","label":""}}]

Document Information

Modified date:
29 January 2019

UID

ibm1MIGR-5081316

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