Updated: July 10, 2020 (April 8, 2013)
Charts & IllustrationsActivation 3.0 Methods
Although activation methods share a common goal of limiting software piracy, with Activation 3.0 an organization can use the following methods to activate or associate a product’s license key with the product:
OEM activation, which is performed by the OEM to activate products preinstalled on the OEM hardware
Retail activation, which is carried out by the purchaser to activate a product bought in retail stores
Multiple Activation Key (MAK) activation, which is used by purchasers of volume-licensed products to activate a small number of copies of a product using a Microsoft-hosted activation service
Key Management Services (KMS) activation, which is employed by purchasers of volume-licensed products to activate large numbers of copies of a product using a customer-hosted activation service
Active Directory (AD) activation, which is performed by the purchaser of volume-licensed products to activate large numbers of products using the customer’s AD.
In some cases, there is a grace period between when a product is installed, or the hardware in the computer is substantially changed, and when a successful activation is required for the software to run.
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