Failed to Install Product Key [hr=0xc004f050]

[fletcherjames]

I have set up a Vista machine, using MS's Vista Business with SP1 ISO. I am attempting to use the same unattend.xml file which worked under Vista BEFORE SP1, but it is giving me the message [msoobe.exe] Failed to Install Product Key

---

. I am using the key which appears on the MSDN site.

I know that the key is good, because I can activate the machine manually, by copy/paste from the value in unattend.xml.

There is a second anomalous behavior: Although the log says that UnattendedJoin.exe succeeded, I cannot log into the domain (it says that the trust relationship is broken) and the Domain Controller does NOT show an account for the machine. At the same time, however, the machine's Administrators group DOES show the Domain Admins and 2 other domain groups which I added through the unattend file. So, it would almost seem as if the machine had been added to the domain, and subsequently removed (e.g. when it decided that the product key was no good.)

COMMENTS:

1) I read one post warning that there are some changes required between original RTM and SP1 versions. However, there was nothing stated about what adjustments might need to be made.

2) I cannot be sure whether I actually ended up installing the Volume License edition of Vista or the Retail edition. However, if I have the wrong edition, I am puzzled as to why it would allow activation with manual entry of the key.

3) As to the Unattended Join: It is NOT EXACTLY the case that this worked previously -- it worked when my machines were in an earlier NT domain; we now have an AD Domain based on Windows Server 2008, so it is possible that missed a required adjustment.

My unattend.xml file follows:

<?xml version='1.0' encoding='utf-8'?>
<unattend xmlns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:unattend">
  <settings pass="generalize" wasPassProcessed="true">
    <component name="Microsoft-Windows-PnpSysprep" publicKeyToken="31bf3856ad364e35" language="neutral" versionScope="nonSxS" processorArchitecture="x86">
      <PersistAllDeviceInstalls>true</PersistAllDeviceInstalls>
    </component>
  </settings>
  <settings pass="oobeSystem" wasPassProcessed="true">
    <component name="Microsoft-Windows-International-Core" processorArchitecture="x86" publicKeyToken="31bf3856ad364e35" language="neutral" versionScope="nonSxS" xmlns:wcm="http://schemas.microsoft.com/WMIConfig/2002/State" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance">
      <InputLocale>en-us</InputLocale>
      <SystemLocale>en-us</SystemLocale>
      <UILanguage>en-us</UILanguage>
      <UserLocale>en-us</UserLocale>
    </component>
    <component name="Microsoft-Windows-Shell-Setup" processorArchitecture="x86" publicKeyToken="31bf3856ad364e35" language="neutral" versionScope="nonSxS" xmlns:wcm="http://schemas.microsoft.com/WMIConfig/2002/State" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance">
      <OOBE>
        <HideEULAPage>true</HideEULAPage>
        <ProtectYourPC>3</ProtectYourPC>
        <SkipMachineOOBE>false</SkipMachineOOBE>
        <SkipUserOOBE>false</SkipUserOOBE>
      </OOBE>
      <UserAccounts>
        <LocalAccounts>
          <LocalAccount wcm:action="add">
            <Password>*SENSITIVE*DATA*DELETED*</Password>
            <Description>WSAdmin Account</Description>
            <DisplayName>WSAdmin</DisplayName>
            <Group>Administrators</Group>
            <Name>WSAdmin</Name>
          </LocalAccount>
        </LocalAccounts>
        <DomainAccounts>
          <DomainAccountList wcm:action="add" xmlns:wcm="http://schemas.microsoft.com/WMIConfig/2002/State">
            <DomainAccount wcm:action="add">
              <Name>WSAdmin</Name>
              <Group>Administrators</Group>
            </DomainAccount>
            <DomainAccount wcm:action="add">
              <Name>Domain Admins</Name>
              <Group>Administrators</Group>
            </DomainAccount>
            <DomainAccount wcm:action="add">
              <Name>Development</Name>
              <Group>Administrators</Group>
            </DomainAccount>
            <Domain>levitjames</Domain>
          </DomainAccountList>
        </DomainAccounts>
      </UserAccounts>
    </component>
  </settings>
  <settings pass="specialize" wasPassProcessed="true">
    <component name="Microsoft-Windows-UnattendedJoin" processorArchitecture="x86" publicKeyToken="31bf3856ad364e35" language="neutral" versionScope="nonSxS" xmlns:wcm="http://schemas.microsoft.com/WMIConfig/2002/State" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance">
      <Identification>
        <Credentials>
          <Domain>levitjames</Domain>
          <Password>*SENSITIVE*DATA*DELETED*</Password>
          <Username>wsadmin</Username>
        </Credentials>
        <JoinDomain>levitjames</JoinDomain>
      </Identification>
    </component>
    <component name="Microsoft-Windows-Shell-Setup" processorArchitecture="x86" publicKeyToken="31bf3856ad364e35" language="neutral" versionScope="nonSxS" xmlns:wcm="http://schemas.microsoft.com/WMIConfig/2002/State" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance">
      <TimeZone>Eastern Standard Time</TimeZone>
      <ProductKey>*SENSITIVE*DATA*DELETED*</ProductKey>
      <DoNotCleanTaskbar>true</DoNotCleanTaskbar>
      <CopyProfile>true</CopyProfile>
    </component>
    <component name="Networking-MPSSVC-Svc" processorArchitecture="x86" publicKeyToken="31bf3856ad364e35" language="neutral" versionScope="nonSxS">
      <DomainProfile_EnableFirewall>false</DomainProfile_EnableFirewall>
      <PrivateProfile_EnableFirewall>false</PrivateProfile_EnableFirewall>
      <PublicProfile_EnableFirewall>false</PublicProfile_EnableFirewall>
    </component>
  </settings>
</unattend>

[cluberti]

Once you try the key in Vista and it fails, can you run a diagnostics report?

http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=52012

[fletcherjames]

The key WORKS if I enter it manually. BTW, I'm sure that I've got the proper version, because when I do the manual activation, it shows me a sample image of a product key sticker and asks me to enter the key in the AAAAA-BBBBB-CCCCC-DDDDD-EEEEE formatn.

Are you asking me to run that diagnostic report immediately after the mini-setup, when it's got the invalid key?

[fletcherjames]

More Info:

1)

I ran the MSDiag.exe, as suggested. It told me that there was NOTHING wrong with the product key (see MSDiag.txt, attached.) I then suspected that the error message might have been spurious, and tried activating it, and it was successful (i.e. even without re-entering the key.)

2)

I am attaching the setupact.log. I booted the SysPrep'ed machine on 12/4 at 13:28, and it ran until it showed the login prompt. I came back in this morning (10:30 on 12/5) and supplied a machine name.

We have correlated this with our server logs and determined the following:

* Yesterday, it created a machine account under a temporary name, and flagged the UnattendedJoin as completing successfully.

* Today, when we gave it the machine name, it did the following (see extract from setupacct.log, below):

* Renamed the local machine (registry etc.)

* Started what it called "Mandatory Tasks"

* Immediately threw an error "Failed to Install Product Key

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"

* After a very small number of steps, exited.

WHAT IT DID NOT DO was to go back to the Domain Controller and re-name its account there. That's why it doesn't have a proper machine account in the domain.

TO SUMMARIZE: Even though it had successfully installed the Product Key, it issued an error message saying it hadn't; and then, it aborted the setup before completing the process of applying it's new name.

The following is the last dozen lines or so of setupacct.log (entire log attached.)

2008-12-05 10:39:47, Info [msoobe.exe] Starting service fdrespub
2008-12-05 10:39:47, Info [msoobe.exe] Starting service upnphost
2008-12-05 10:39:49, Info [msoobe.exe] Service fdrespub is not running
2008-12-05 10:39:50, Info [msoobe.exe] Service upnphost reports as running
2008-12-05 10:39:58, Info [msoobe.exe] Running mandatory tasks
2008-12-05 10:40:04, Error[msoobe.exe] Failed to install product key [hr=0xc004f050]
2008-12-05 10:40:04, Info [msoobe.exe] Configuring service netprofm for auto start
2008-12-05 10:40:04, Info [msoobe.exe] Successfully changed configuration for service netprofm
2008-12-05 10:40:04, Info [msoobe.exe] Successfully verified and committed UI language settings
2008-12-05 10:40:04, Info [msoobe.exe] Starting service netprofm
2008-12-05 10:40:05, Info [msoobe.exe] Service netprofm reports as running
2008-12-05 10:40:07, Info [msoobe.exe] Successfully notified UI language change
2008-12-05 10:40:07, Info [msoobe.exe] Exiting mandatory tasks... [0x0]
2008-12-05 10:42:00, Info [msoobe.exe] Mandatory tasks previously completed
2008-12-05 10:42:00, Info [msoobe.exe] Exiting mandatory tasks... [0x0]
2008-12-05 10:42:00, Info [msoobe.exe] Exiting... [0x0]
2008-12-05 10:42:00, Info [oobeldr.exe] OrchestrateUpdateImageState: Updating image state from [IMAGE_STATE_UNDEPLOYABLE] --> [IMAGE_STATE_COMPLETE]
2008-12-05 10:42:00, Info [oobeldr.exe] OOBELdr.exe exiting with code [0x0]...
2008-12-05 10:42:00, Info [windeploy.exe] Process exited with exit code [0x0]
2008-12-05 10:42:00, Info [windeploy.exe] WinDeploy.exe exiting with code [0x0]

BTW, this is a VM, so we can easily roll back & adjust the unattend, etc.

MSDiag.txt

setupact.txt

Edited December 5, 2008 by fletcherjames