Windows Vista Business edition and Windows Vista Enterprise edition can be activated by using a corporate KMS (Key Management Service) server, without contact or communicate with Microsoft. When you try to validate Windows Vista (Business or Enterprise) with KMS server, there are a few common problems and error messages that users may encountered. This article will provide some explanation and resolution or workaround to fix the errors for the following few error codes and descriptions.

Error” 0x80070005 Access is denied: the requested action requires elevated privileges.

Cause: Permissions issue as you don’t have enough privileges to execute the process or command.

Solution: Run as administrator.

If you’re not log on to Windows Vista as administrator user account, or your administrator account has been disabled, try the following steps to enable the administrator account again:

  1. Right click on Computer, then click on Manage, and then click Local Users and Groups, and finally select Users.
  2. Right click on Administrator account, and select Properties.
  3. Uncheck (untick or unselect) the check mark in front of Account is Disabled.
  4. Right click on the user account you currently used and logged on with, the select Properties.
  5. Select (tick or check) the option of Account is Disabled.
  6. Click OK.

0xC004F039 The computer could not be activated. The Key Management Service could not be reached.

Cause: KMS server is down, or Windows Vista unable to contact and reach the KMS server due to network issue, or been blocked access by firewall, or on wrong port.

Resolution: Try later, or try to disable your KMS firewall, or change to the correct port used for activation by specified :xxxx after the KMS server name (xxxx been port number).

Error 0x800706BA occurred in connecting to server -skms.
Error description: The RPC server is unavailable.

Reason: Possible due to incorrect product key or volume license key been entered, or didn’t input any product license key when installing Windows Vista.

Resolution: Click on Start menu, right click on Command Prompt, and select “Run as Admin”. Then issue the following command in Command Prompt:

cscript C:\windows\system32\slmgr.vbs -ipk YFKBB-PQJJV-G996G-VWGXY-2V3X8

If it’s still having the problem, try to reinstall Windows Vista, and key in YFKBB-PQJJV-G996G-VWGXY-2V3X8 as product key.

0x800706BF

Reason: Permissions and privileges issues.

Workaround: Right click on Command Prompt (cmd) and select Run as Admin.

0xC004F038 The computer could not be activated. The returned count from your Key Management Service is insufficient.

Cause: KMS service needs at least 25 clients to be able to start the activation process.

Solution: Use more Windows Vista client to activate against the KMS server, or use crack or patch the KMS server as if there is always at least 25 clients.