Member Avatar for jime0726

my question is how can I revoke a terminal server license from someone who already has one because they're using win2000? i have a co-worker who is trying to access the terminal server via his machine at home(running winME) and his license has expired. i have numerous co-workers who have terminal server licenses but also have win2000 which has a terminal server license by default. how can i revoke one of those licenses and give it to the person with winME? any help would be appreciated. thanks.

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Short clarification and practical steps (addresses points from and ). In Windows 2000-era Terminal Services the server issues per-device license tokens that are stored on the client (HKLM\Software\Microsoft\MSLicensing) and on the license server; the first connection usually gets a temporary token (90 days) which the server later attempts to upgrade to a permanent token. The client-side token can be cleared so the client requests a fresh token on next connect — official steps are in Microsoft’s KB article. (learn.microsoft.com)
Remove Terminal Server licenses from an RDP client (Microsoft).

Why “taking” a CAL from a Win2K machine isn’t simple: older TSCALs issued before the Terminal Services licensing enhancements (SP3 / hotfix) were effectively permanent and could not be reclaimed via the GUI — the hotfix introduced an expiration/auto-return window (about 52–89 days) so unused tokens are returned automatically. If licenses were issued prior to that change, the Microsoft Clearinghouse must be contacted to re‑issue/move them; Microsoft’s article on moving CALs shows the process and Clearinghouse contact details. (support.microsoft.com)
Terminal Services Licensing Enhancements (KB287687) — and see How to move Terminal Services CALs. (learn.microsoft.com)

Quick troubleshooting checklist (ordered by least-to-most disruptive):

  • Inspect the License Server’s Terminal Services Licensing snap-in → view “Installed” and “Issued” licenses and note issuance dates (to tell whether the hotfix behavior applies).
  • If immediate reclaim is required and the CAL was issued pre‑hotfix, contact the Microsoft Clearinghouse to have the pack reissued (procedure/phone in Microsoft docs). (learn.microsoft.com)
  • For a quick test on the home (WinME) client, clear the client’s licensing cache as described in KB187614 so it requests a new (temporary) token on next connect; this can reveal whether the license server will hand out a token. (learn.microsoft.com)
  • Note that “Deactivate Server” in the Licensing console deactivates the entire license server (not a per‑client revoke). (learn.microsoft.com)

A final note: later Windows Server versions added limited GUI revocation for per‑device CALs (with constraints), but that capability wasn’t available on older Win2K license servers; for many admins the practical immediate fix remains acquiring additional CALs while cleaning up/modernizing the licensing server and applying the licensing enhancements so tokens can be reclaimed automatically. ()

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Member Avatar for feigned

Uh, you can't since it's inherent to the OS.

You'd have to buy a CAL for T.S. to legally enable him to connect using WinME.

Member Avatar for jime0726

The reason I ask is because I know win2000 has an automatic license embeded in the OS, yet one person with a win2000 machine was given another license, so there in fact that person has 2 licenses, one embeded, and one we gave him. Is there possibly a registry hack that can delete the license that was given to him so we can give that to the guy with ME? or is that still not possible? thanks for the help.

Member Avatar for feigned

The reason I ask is because I know win2000 has an automatic license embeded in the OS, yet one person with a win2000 machine was given another license, so there in fact that person has 2 licenses, one embeded, and one we gave him. Is there possibly a registry hack that can delete the license that was given to him so we can give that to the guy with ME? or is that still not possible? thanks for the help.

Use License Manager to do that.

Member Avatar for jime0726

i've looked in license manager to see what options it gives me to revoke a license and the only thing i can find is "deactivate server". that i do not want to do because that will revoke all licenses, not just one.

Member Avatar for jime0726

thanks for your help guys, i just ordered more licenses and they work. :cheesy:

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