Licensing errors after following MS Articles

Many thanks to Brandy Nee and Les Connor for much help already given with
this problem.

First, my setup:

One SBS 2003 server
Four member servers
One file server running 2000 Server
One SQL Server running 2000 Server
Two file servers running Server 2003 Std

While attempting to clean up and properly configure licensing in my SBS 2003
network, I followed the instructions in article 153140
(http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;153140), "How to
reset License Manager Information". This article instructed me to delete or
rename several files, one of them being C:\Winnt\System32\cpl.cfg, which
contains all the license purchase history information. I chose to rename
rather than delete this file.

After completing the instructions in that article, I moved on to article
327644 (http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;327644),
"How to configure licensing on an additional Windows server in an SBS
network. Following the instructions in that article under the heading
"Configure client access licenses on an additional server" results in the
following error message when I attempt to complete step 5:

LICENSE SYSTEM
You do not have the appropriate access privileges to complete this
operation.

I finally (after two days) found LicenseService event 205 in my application
log. TechNet has this to say about it:

"205 The purchased license data could not be
saved to CPL.CFG.The data is the error code.

"Indicates that changes to license purchase information
could not be saved. The License Logging service may
be able to successfully save the data later. If not, the data
will be lost. Data replicated from other servers will be
received again during the next replication. Data entered
on this server will have to be re-entered."

Over the 5 days I've been messing with this, a new CPL.CFG file has never
been created to replace the renamed original. So this morning, on a hunch,
I renamed the original file back to CPL.CFG and then tried again to
configure licensing according to article 327644. It worked perfectly and no
error message was displayed. The Licensing snap-in shows my entire original
purchase history, plus the new entry just created by following the
instructions in 327644.

What I'd like to accomplish is to start with a clean purchase history and
configure licensing on my servers from scratch. Apparently, deleting the
CPL.CFG file per the instructions in article 153140 isn't always the way to
go, since SBS 2003 (or at least, MY SBS 2003) won't or can't recreate the
file for some reason. I triple-checked group membership and permissions on
my member servers; the Domain Admins group is a member of the local
Administrators group on all member servers.

Any thoughts?

Thanks in advance,

Bryan


.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: License for a member server
    ... Make sure that the SBS 2003 server is the Licensing Computer. ... click License Site Settings. ... Microsoft CSS Online Newsgroup Support ... This newsgroup only focuses on SBS technical issues. ...
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    ... The Windows Server 2003 External Connector license is an optional ... An EC license is not applicable to Web Edition or Windows Small Business ... For more information about External Connector License, ...
    (microsoft.public.windows.server.sbs)
  • Re: Shutdown hangs...
    ... Server shutdown operation is very slow and the SBS 2003 CAL Licenses ... >> license folder from scan. ... >> - An antivirus program deletes or quarantines the license store file. ...
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    ... the two-user license for the corporate product was ... If it is Norton Antivirus, ... It is server-based and pushes out to the workstations (if you ... That's less than $200 per year to protect the server ...
    (microsoft.public.windows.server.sbs)
  • Re: Licensing errors after following MS Articles
    ... Description of the License Logging Service in Windows Server Operating ... > Four member servers ... > After completing the instructions in that article, ...
    (microsoft.public.windows.server.sbs)