Windows Activation Error 0x80072F8F
Hi, I'm getting the below error code 0x80072F8F when trying to activate the windows (Windows server 2008 R2). Though i tried the following methods to resolve the issue unfortunately issue remains the same Method 1: I checked the date, time, year in BIOS and on windows as well and they were accurate. I also set the date or year back and restarted the system (set date one year back, reboot, set actual date, reboot, activate) but no luck Method 2: Changed the media boot install registry key from 1 to 0 Kindly let me know if there is any workaround to activate windows other than the above mentioned methods. Thanks in advance
Server 2025 not accepting Ricoh scans
The scanner has stopped scanning to their server since I upgraded the server OS from Windows Server 2022 to 2025. • Installed the Ricoh drivers for both the scanner and printer (from Ricoh’s web site) • Created a new simple share/filepath for the scanner to send to (\\SERVER2022\Scans) • Used IP address (10.1.10.2) instead of server name in file (UNC) path • Entered admin credentials with or without server name (it is a workgroup server, not a DC) • Created another user and tried all above with that new admin • With either server share and/or user, tried different permissions on the shared folder • Tried disabling/enabling inherited permissions on the shared folder • Disabled the Advanced Firewall entirely for testing – no change either way • Double checked incoming ports/programs on the firewall – all required were open • Activated SMB1 on server, tried with or without SMB2/SMB3 disabled • I was able to create a share on two other computers; one running Windows 10 and one running Windows 11. They both worked.
Windows Server 2025 24H4 is not useable anymore after Nov. Update KB5068861
Hello, currently, on several Windows Server 2025 Datacenter systems, version 24H2, I am experiencing severe issues accessing network resources after the automatic installation of update KB5068861. This affects network access from Windows Server 2025 24H2 to Windows Server 2025 24H2. Access from these servers to older Windows Server 2016 systems works without any problems. When entering a UNC path—whether by name or by IP—I am always prompted for my credentials, even as a domain administrator. No matter which credentials I enter, I always receive the message that the username or password is incorrect. Under “Change advanced sharing settings,” the two switches “Network discovery” and “File and printer sharing” are set to OFF in the domain network after the update. Re-enabling these two options, which are normally enabled by default, does not improve the situation. Since this patch, I also have an issue on a Windows Server 2025 RDS host where a logged-in user cannot type in the “Search” field. Additionally, the performance on the RDS host feels extremely sluggish. Unfortunately, uninstalling the patch is not possible. The patch KB5067036 is not installed. I have already performed a restore to the day before KB5068861 was installed, but without the desired improvement in performance. Even after the restore, I still cannot access the network via UNC through File Explorer as a user. In the search window, I can access via UNC path. As an administrator, access via UNC path works both in File Explorer and in the “Search” field. Everything worked fine before 11/11/2025. Has anyone had similar experiences or already found a solution? Is a patch for the patch planned? Currently, troubleshooting feels like groping in the dark! In this state, the 24H2 server is no longer usable. What was Microsoft even thinking, releasing such faulty patches—and for weeks now? Is there still any quality control at Microsoft for such critical updates and patches? Thanks for every support, idea, and comment.
Cache drive reconfiguration in Server 2025 Storage Spaces Direct cluster
We have a three node S2D cluster running Server 2025, with the storage in a 3 way mirror, running Hyper-V VMs. Each node has 4 x NVMe drives that are currently being used as cache drives, but which are connected to a RAID controller (in HBA mode), so in the S2D configuration they appear as SSD drives rather than NVMe drives. We've purchased the required cables and drive bays to be able to reconfigure the NVMe drives so that they're attached directly to the PCIe bus, so they'll show up as NVMe drives and hopefully give us a performance boost, so I'm just trying to plan the reconfiguration. I was hoping it would be a relatively simple process of shutting everything down, reconfiguring the storage and bringing everything back online, but ChatGPT suggests things won't be that easy and that a complete reconfiguration of the storage would be required. So in a nutshell, can the cache drives be reconfigured without a complete rebuild of the S2D storage ? Cheers, RobIssues with Group Policy Update (gpupdate)
I am getting an error when I attempt to perform a gpupdate /force on workstations. I have checked the health of the DC's and find no issues. I am going to include a screenshot of the error - hoping someone can guide me as on how to resolve. The system will say to reboot but the policy never seems to run just keeps prompting for reboot.
Beyond RC4 for Windows authentication - Question regarding KB5073381
In KB5021131 MS recommends setting the value for DefaultDomainSupportedEncTypes to 0x38, in the new KB 5073381 it's 0x18. This removes the setting that forces "AES Session Keys" which should be fine if Kerberos Tickets can only use AES Encryption. But what about accounts that have RC4 enabled in their msds-supportedEncryptionTypes attribute? They could still use RC4 for Kerberos ticket encryption and would then also fallback to RC4 session ticket encryption. As far as I believe the DefaultDomainSupportedEncTypes was explicitly introduced to avoid this scenario. Or is there now some hard-coded mechanism that always ensures that Session Keys are AES encrypted?Migrating from VMware to Hyper-v
Hi, I've recently deployed a new 3x node Hyper-v cluster running Windows Server 2025. I have an existing VMware cluster running exsi 7.x. What tools or approach have you guys used to migrate from VMware to Hyper-v? I can see there are many 3rd party tools available, and now the Windows Admin Center appears to also support this. Having never done this before (vmware to hyper-v) I'm not sure what the best method is, does anyone here have any experience and recommendations pls?Configuring WAC on standalone management desktop
I'm trying to configure WAC on a standalone notebook to be used as management station for different customer installation. After installing WAC on the notebook I've followed, I think, all the required steps to configure the connection between my computer to one customer's node. I've configured Winrm on my computer and on the customer node. I've generated a self-signed cert on the node with the CN set as the FQDN used to connect from the WAC. I've imported the cert on the trusted root cert on the WAC computer. I've checked the connectivity with the Test-WsMan from the wac to the server and it works. However from the WAC console the connection to the node fails with the "ssl connection " error. Has anyone been able to configure it in such way ? thanksSetting up MFA for RD Web Access and RD Web Client using ADFS
All servers in our Remote Desktop Gateway (RDG) environment are running Windows Server 2022 (Datacenter and Standard). The RDG environment is fully operational. Users can successfully authenticate to RD Web Access and the RD Web Client, and all published folders and servers are visible as expected. Most servers are configured for direct access, with a few configured as Session Hosts. Overall, everything is functioning correctly except the MFA. Based on my research into integrating ADFS MFA with RD Web Access / RD Web Client, it appears that MFA is only triggered when authentication flows through Web Application Proxy (WAP). Question: To support MFA for internal users without exposing RD Web externally, I’m considering creating a separate WAP cluster dedicated to internal traffic that would proxy authentication requests to the ADFS servers and trigger MFA. Since I’m still building familiarity with WAP and ADFS, is it supported for ADFS to work with two WAP clusters one handling internal traffic and another handling external traffic against the same ADFS farm? -LarryBLOG: Determine and modernize Filesystem Deduplication
Version history - 1.6 Added references / links - 1.5 Added insights from Steven Ekren. Many thanks! / Added ReFS Docs link and added clarification about drawbacks. - 1.4 revised script so ReFS volumes with classic dedup will be identified, added more eligibly checks and error handling - 1.3 added point #4 in migration guidance - 1.2 revised script - 1.1 formatting This blog explains the two Windows deduplication modes classic Windows Data Deduplication (ReFS or NTFS) and ReFS Deduplication (ReFS). It covers how they differ, why you should consider upgrading to Windows Server 2025 to leverage the new ReFS dedup engine, and clear warnings about scenarios where ReFS is not recommended. Practical migration guidance and detection commands are included. Differences between classic dedup and ReFS dedup File system: Classic dedup runs on NTFS or ReFS; ReFS dedup runs on ReFS and Windows Server 2025 or later, only. Implementation: They are separate engines with different metadata formats and management cmdlets. Management: Classic dedup uses the Dedup PowerShell module (Get‑DedupVolume, Start‑DedupJob, Disable‑DedupVolume). ReFS dedup uses its own ReFS dedup cmdlets (Get‑ReFSDedupStatus, Enable‑ReFSDedup). Conversion: There is no in‑place conversion between the two; metadata and chunk formats are incompatible. Improvements: the new in-line ReFS Deduplication leverages the advantages of ReFS files system. This makes deduplication more efficient and less CPU intensive. The new ReFS Deduplication can also compress data in-line using L1Z algorithm. This makes it up to par with enterprise solutions, often found in SAN storage or Linux appliances. Compression needs to be set per volume, and optional. Edit: Steven Ekren, a former Senior Product Manager for Hyper-V shared valuable insights on how both engines operate in a comment on LinkedIn: [...] the basic conceptual difference between WS Deduplication and ReFS deduplication is that the Windows Server [dedup] version takes the duplicate file data and moves it to a repository and puts a reparse point in the file system from each point that references the data. This involves data movement and therefore not recommended for workloads that are changing it's data often, but best for more static data like documents and picture/videos. ReFS is a file system that uses links natively for all the objects so leaving the data in place and managing the links is much more efficient and doesn't involve the data copy and managing a repository. Effectively it's built into the file system. As the blog notes, there are some situations not recommended for this version of dedupe, but generally it's lower performance and storage I/O impact. Why upgrade to Windows Server 2025 Improved version of ReFS Filesystem Improved ReFS in-line deduplication + optional L1Z compression: Server 2025 includes enhancements to ReFS dedup performance, scalability, and integration with modern storage features. Support and fixes: Windows Server 2016 and 2019 are past mainstream support, increasing the likelihood of costly support cases and delayed fixes; upgrading reduces operational risk and ensures access to ongoing improvements. Future compatibility: Newer OS releases receive optimizations and bug fixes for ReFS and dedup scenarios that older releases will not. SMB compression: for reasonably faster data transfer at minimal CPU when transferring data through the networks. Feature and security related improvements refer to availabile Microsoft Windows Server 2025 Summit content on techcommunity.microsoft.com Scenarios where ReFS is not recommended ReFS on SAN in clustered CSV environments: Avoid placing ReFS dedup on top of SAN‑backed Cluster Shared Volumes (CSVFS) in production clusters; clustered SAN/CSV scenarios causing severe performance issues in practice. Please refer to the ReFS documentation. (personal opinion and experience, not endorsed by Microsoft): Many small, fast‑changing files: Workloads with frequent small writes, such as user profiles, folder redirection of AppData folders, or applications that churn small config files (for example, Lotus Notes config files) can cause locks, performance degradation, or unexpected behavior on ReFS. Exclude these disks from dedup or keep them on NTFS. Note: Restrictions on high churn rate, like lockups or high RAM consumption, deadlocks / BSOD might have been addressed in Windows Server 2025 and the ReFS Dedup, see comment of Steven Ekren. Improving reliability and performance is a top goal for ReFS, to improve the adoption and feature parity with NTFS. For information about feature parity please refer to the ReFS documentation. Migration guidance The following instructions describe a high level and supported migration path from Windows deduplication using the NTFS file system to native ReFS Deduplication. Note: Step #3, data migration is not required when already using ReFS with Data Deduplication. In this case it's enough to execute step #1 and #2. Note: Validate on non‑production data first. Plan for rehydration time and network/storage throughput. Ensure backups are current before starting. Make sure to have a full backup before upgrading Server OS or making changes. 1. Disable classic dedup on the NTFS source: Disable-DedupVolume -Volume YourDriveLetter: 2. Rehydrate (un‑deduplicate) the data: Start-DedupJob -Volume YourDriveLetter: -Type Unoptimization 3. Copy or move data to a ReFS volume (new target): For straightforward NTFS→ReFS copies, robocopy is recommended. A GUI and job based alternative to this is the File Server Migration Feature (uses robocopy) in Windows Admin Center. For complex scenarios, open files long path names very large datasets (< 5 TB) or many small files restructuring, GUI (including Windows Server Core) automation, improved logging cloud/hybrid migrations I recommend the usage of GS RichCopy Enterprise by GuruSquad for higher speed (up to 40%) and reliability, compared to robocopy. 4. Optionally remove the Windows Server feature When there is no old deduplication in use consider to remove the feature. Your advantages of doing so: removes an unneccessary service. removes the file system filter driver for dedup, which causes performance impacts, even when not in use. removes the PowerShell commandlets for the old dedup, so they cannot mistakenly used by existing scripts, unaware admins etc. When migrating files over network: SMB compression: consider both source and target run Windows Server 2025 and leverage SMB compression. SMB Compression is available in Microsoft xcopy, Microsoft robocopy and Gurusquad GScopy Enterprise. Balancing and Teaming with SMB: SMB does not require LFBO or SET Teaming. It automagically detects network links and actively balances on its own on Windows Server 2016 and later. Using teaming, depending the configuration, can negatively affect transfer speed. Quick detection and diagnostic commands Check file systems: Get-Volume | Select DriveLetter, FileSystem Check classic dedup feature: Get-WindowsFeature -Name FS-Data-Deduplication Get-DedupVolume Get-DedupStatus Check ReFS dedup: Get-Command -Module Microsoft.ReFsDedup.Commands Get-ReFSDedupStatus -Volume YourDriveLetter: Diagnostic script to detect both: <# .SYNOPSIS Detects classic NTFS Data Deduplication and ReFS Deduplication across local volumes. .DESCRIPTION - Reports NTFS volumes with classic Data Dedup enabled. - Lists ReFS volumes present on the host. - If the ReFS dedup cmdlet exists AND OS build >= 26100, checks ReFS dedup status per ReFS volume. - Color coding: * Classic dedup enabled → Yellow * Classic dedup not enabled → Cyan * ReFS dedup enabled → Green * ReFS dedup not enabled → Cyan .NOTES Version: 1.7 Author: Karl Wester-Ebbinghaus + Copilot Requirements: Elevated PowerShell session, PowerShell 5.1 or newer Supported OS: Windows Server 2025, Azure Stack HCI 24H2 or newer Unsupported OS: Windows 10, Windows 11 (script terminates) #> #region Initialization Write-Verbose "Initializing variables and environment..." $Volumes = $null $Volume = $null $DedupVolumesList = $null $DedupReFSVolumesList = $null $DedupReFSVolumesListLetters = $null $DedupReFSStatus = $null $refsCmd = $null $OSBuild = $null $runReFSDedupChecks = $null #endregion Initialization #region Volume Discovery Clear-Host Write-Verbose "Querying NTFS and ReFS volumes..." $Volumes = Get-Volume | Where-Object FileSystem -in 'NTFS','ReFS' #endregion Volume Discovery #region ReFS Dedup Cmdlet, OS Build and OS SKU Detection Write-Verbose "Checking for ReFS deduplication cmdlet..." $refsCmd = Get-Command -Name Get-ReFSDedupStatus -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue Write-Verbose "Reading OS build number..." try { $OSBuild = [int](Get-ItemProperty -Path 'HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion' -Name CurrentBuildNumber).CurrentBuildNumber } catch { Write-Verbose "Registry read for OS build failed. Falling back to Environment OSVersion." $OSBuild = [int][Environment]::OSVersion.Version.Build } # end try/catch for OS build detection Write-Verbose "Checking OS InstallationType and EditionID..." $CurrentVersionKey = Get-ItemProperty -Path 'HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion' $InstallationType = $CurrentVersionKey.InstallationType # "Client" or "Server" $EditionID = $CurrentVersionKey.EditionID # e.g. "AzureStackHCI", "ServerStandard", etc. Write-Verbose "Detected InstallationType: $InstallationType" Write-Verbose "Detected EditionID: $EditionID" Write-Verbose "Detected OSBuild: $OSBuild" # Block Windows 10/11 (Client OS) if ($InstallationType -eq 'Client') { Write-Error "Unsupported OS detected: Windows Client (Windows 10/11). Only Windows Server or Azure Stack HCI are supported. Script will terminate." exit } # Allow Azure Stack HCI explicitly if ($EditionID -eq 'AzureStackHCI') { Write-Verbose "Azure Stack HCI detected. Supported platform." } else { # Must be Windows Server if ($InstallationType -ne 'Server') { Write-Error "Unsupported OS detected. Only Windows Server or Azure Stack HCI are supported. Script will terminate." exit } Write-Verbose "Windows Server detected (EditionID: $EditionID). Supported platform." } Write-Verbose "Evaluating ReFS dedup eligibility based on cmdlet presence and build >= 26100..." $runReFSDedupChecks = $false if ($refsCmd -and ($OSBuild -ge 26100)) { $runReFSDedupChecks = $true Write-Verbose "ReFS dedup checks ENABLED (cmdlet present and OS build >= 26100)." } else { Write-Verbose "ReFS dedup checks DISABLED (cmdlet missing or OS build < 26100)." } #endregion ReFS Dedup Cmdlet, OS Build and OS SKU Detection #region Main Loop foreach ($Volume in $Volumes) { # begin foreach volume loop Write-Host "Volume $($Volume.DriveLetter): ($($Volume.FileSystem))" Write-Verbose "Processing volume $($Volume.DriveLetter)..." #region Classic Dedup + ReFS Volume Listing if ($Volume.FileSystem -eq 'NTFS' -or $Volume.FileSystem -eq 'ReFS') { Write-Verbose "Checking classic deduplication status for volume $($Volume.DriveLetter)..." $DedupVolumesList = Get-DedupVolume -Volume $Volume.DriveLetter -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue if ($DedupVolumesList) { Write-Host " → Classic Data Dedup ENABLED on $($Volume.DriveLetter), $($Volume.FileSystem)" -ForegroundColor Yellow } else { Write-Host " → Classic Data Dedup NOT enabled on $($Volume.DriveLetter),$($Volume.FileSystem)" -ForegroundColor Cyan } # end if classic dedup enabled Write-Verbose "Listing ReFS volumes on host..." $DedupReFSVolumesList = Get-Volume | Where-Object FileSystem -eq 'ReFS' if ($DedupReFSVolumesList) { $DedupReFSVolumesListLetters = ($DedupReFSVolumesList | ForEach-Object { $_.DriveLetter }) -join ',' Write-Host " → ReFS volumes present on host: $DedupReFSVolumesListLetters" } else { Write-Host " → No ReFS volumes detected on host" } # end if ReFS volumes present } # end NTFS/ReFS block #endregion Classic Dedup + ReFS Volume Listing #region ReFS Dedup Status if ($Volume.FileSystem -eq 'ReFS') { if ($runReFSDedupChecks) { Write-Verbose "Checking ReFS deduplication status for volume $($Volume.DriveLetter)..." $DedupReFSStatus = Get-ReFSDedupStatus -Volume $Volume.DriveLetter -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue if ($DedupReFSStatus) { Write-Host " → ReFS Dedup ENABLED on $($Volume.DriveLetter), $($Volume.FileSystem)" -ForegroundColor Green } else { Write-Host " → ReFS Dedup NOT enabled on $($Volume.DriveLetter), $($Volume.FileSystem)" -ForegroundColor Cyan } # end if ReFS dedup enabled } else { if (-not $refsCmd) { Write-Error " → Skipping ReFS dedup check: Get-ReFSDedupStatus cmdlet not present" -ForegroundColor Cyan } else { Write-Error " → Skipping ReFS dedup check: OS build $OSBuild < required 26100" -ForegroundColor Cyan } # end reason for skipping ReFS dedup check } # end if runReFSDedupChecks } # end if ReFS filesystem block #endregion ReFS Dedup Status Write-Host "" } # end foreach volume loop #endregion Main Loop #region End Write-Verbose "Script completed." #endregion End Recommendations and next steps Inventory: Identify volumes using NTFS dedup and ReFS dedup, and map workloads that create many small or rapidly changing files. Plan: Schedule rehydration and migration windows; test ReFS dedup on representative datasets. Upgrade: Prioritize upgrading servers still on 2016/2019 (End of Mainstream Support) to reduce support risk and gain the latest ReFS dedup improvements. Kindly consider reading my Windows Server Installation Guidance and Windows Server Upgrade Guidance Exclude: Keep user profiles, AppData, and other high‑churn small‑file paths off ReFS dedup or on NTFS. Consider ReFS Dedup with Compression: Enable compression optionally. Mind ReFS dedup compression is not the same as compress files integration in File Explorer or File Explorer properties (Windows 9x). It's transparent to the application Make smart decisions: Avoid using dedup when the dataset is changing fast or your dedup + compression rate is below 20%. Usually you can expect 40% or more savings, and up to 80% in specific use cases like VDI VHDX with ReFS Dedup + Compression. Plan your dedup jobs: Ensure of making use of the planning features for dedup jobs through PowerShell or Windows Admin Center (WAC) when using ReFS dedup on more than one volume per Server. Otherwise they might all run at the same time and impact your storage performance (esp. spinning rust) and consumption of RAM and CPU. Share and Educate: Inform your infrastructure team about the changes so they avoid using the traditional dedup on ReFS. Related blogposts: https://splitbrain.com/windows-data-deduplication-vs-refs-deduplication/ , Thanks Darryl van der Peijl and team. https://www.veeam.com/kb2023 Veeam best practices about Windows Deduplication and ReFS Deduplication.
