Can Windows reactivation be avoided during ESXi 6.7 to Promox migration?

[davewalsh308]

I'm attempting to migrate several old Windows Server VMs from ESXi 6.7 to Proxmox and have done several test runs. Each server is detecting too many hardware changes so it's triggering Windows to lose its activation. I expect I'll be able to reactivate them but would prefer to avoid it, if possible.

I've done some searching but can't find any information about how to best prevent Windows from requiring reactivation. Is there a hardware config I can do in ESXi that will cause the least "hardware" changes during migration to Proxmox?

 

[mariol]

I've done some searching but can't find any information about how to best prevent Windows from requiring reactivation. Is there a hardware config I can do in ESXi that will cause the least "hardware" changes during migration to Proxmox?

If it is absolutely the same hardware, then reactivation is not necessary. Is there anything to be said against reactivation, it's done quite quickly with Microsoft.

Otherwise, I would suggest the following:

• Same MAC address for the network card
• Same CPU type and number of cores
• Ajust "SMBIOS settings" -> in your VM configuration under options

Here an physical machine as example:



You can find out your present values by using "lshw" under Linux, and on Windows you can boot a Livesystem like Ubuntu and do the same.