I just installed my first GA instance of Microsoft Windows 8 in my lab, and I’m fairly impressed so far. I did however run into an issue where Windows would not activate. When I tried to activate I received the following error: DNS name does not exist Error Code: 0x8007232B
It appears that windows was looking for (by default) a Key Management Service (KMS) host on my internal lab network. Since my lab is merely a testing ground, I have not setup the KMS on any server. So the solution in this scenario is to change the product key to a Multiple Activation Key (MAK).
Microsoft has embed a script since Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 called slmgr.vbs which stands for “Software Licensing Manager” which will allow us to change the windows license key to a MAK. Here are the easy steps:
1. Open command prompt as an administrator.
2. Run the following command: slmgr -ipk xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx (replace the X’s with your Serial Number Obviously)
3. You should see a confirmation pop up verifying that the key entered is correct.
4. Now you should be able to activate your Windows 8 OS.
5. If not visit this KB article: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/929826
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