VAMT is an important tool if you plan to activate Vista using MAK keys instead of working with KMS. I just saw it now, but it has been available for three days, already. The Windows Vista Hardware Assessment solution Accelerator is an inventory, assessment, and reporting tool which allows you to determine if the computers in your network are Vista-ready.
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I'll probably test VAMT soon, just to check if MAK really is an alternative to KMS activation. Its biggest advantage is that MAK-activated Vista machines don't need to communicate anymore with Microsoft. I think KMS is easier to handle, though. But after running into problems with KMS installation, I am not so sure about it anymore.
We're still waiting for Microsoft's response since informing them that our KMS key didn't work on a Windows Server 2003 SP1. It is funny to see that Microsoft staff doesn't know much about Windows Vista Volume Activation. This is, at least, true for the Microsoft support here in Germany.
The description of this Vista Hardware Assessment tool sounds promising. Baldwin Ng, Product Manager for Microsoft Solution Accelerator team, posted a comprehensive article about it in the Windows Vista team blog. I just hope that it is more reliable than the Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor.
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Microsoft's deployment tools for Vista are almost complete now. The only one that is still missing is SP3 for SMS 2003 (Systems Management Server). SMS 2003 SP2 only offers very limited support for Vista. I tried the SMS SP3 Beta some days ago. So far it made a good impression on me. The only thing, I found strange, is that that the OS deployment feature pack still uses a Windows XP-based Windows PE version. I wonder if this will still be the case with the final version of SMS 2003 SP3.
I don’t have 25 PC’s in my company, and don’t activate Vista using KMS. But I request MAK keys (from licensing.microsoft.com) and activate Vista Enterprise and Business via VAMT. All done and work OK 🙂
I have one small question. At licensing.microsoft.com I request MAK keys for Vista. Microsoft gather to me key (on site) and one small message – only 10 activation. If I install more than 10 systems – I don’t activate it?
(Open Value Subscription)
You have to activate every Vista installation. If you install Vista more than 10 times, then the activation limit has to be increased. I think, you can apply for it at licensing.microsoft.com.