Error Code 0x8007232B (Code 0x8007232B) – What is it?
Error code 0x8007232B (Code 0x8007232B) is an error that occurs when you attempt to activate Windows Server 2008 or Windows Vista.
Common symptoms include:
- Attempting to activate Windows 7, Windows 8, or Windows Server 2012 and you receive an error message.
- The error message says: “Windows could not be activated. Key management services host could not be located in domain name system, please have your system administrator verify that a KMS is published correctly in DNS”
- The error message says “The directory name, file name, or volume label syntax is incorrect”.
Error Causes
- Error Code 0x8007232B occurs when you attempt to use media that is volume licensed to install: Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows Vista Enterprise, Windows Vista Business, Windows Server 2012, Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2008 R2.
- This error code also occurs when the activation wizard is unable to connect to a Key Management Service host computer.
Further Information and Manual Repair
Error code 0x8007232B can be seen when you are trying to activate windows, on several different operating systems. This problem can usually be easily corrected, but in the event that it can't, please contact a computer repair technician. When you try to install any of the previously mentioned Windows products, they use a generic product key to install the volume-based license software. If you do have a KMS host computer configuration and see these error codes, that means the correct DNS entries are not being seen on the computer. If there is not a KMS host computer setup, you need to do this setup, otherwise switch to a MAK product key method, and activate the volume license installation that way.
Method One:
Using a Multiple Activation Key as opposed to KMS activation
- Click the Start icon, click on All Programs, click on Accessories, right-click on Command prompt.
- Click on “Run as administrator”. Type in the password or provide confirmation if prompted for administrator password or confirmation.
- When asked for the command prompt, enter in the following and then hit the Enter buuton: slmgr -ipk xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx Note: this placeholder represents the MAK product key.
Method Two:
Configure a KMS host server for the clients to activate against.
A KMS host server needs to be configured for the clients to activate against. When there are no KMS host servers configured near you, install and activate a KMS server key. After this, configure a computer on the network to host this KMS software and publish the Domain Name System (DNS) settings.
Method Three:
When the client cannot locate a KMS host on the network for activation:
1. Verify that your computer has the KMS host installed and activated by using a KMS key that is registered in DNS. You will follow these steps to do that:
- Click the Start button, click on All Programs, click Accessories, and then right-click on Command Prompt.
- Click on Run as Administrator. Type the password or provide confirmation if you are asked for an administrator password or for confirmation.
- In the command prompt box, type the following command and press ENTER: nslookup -type=all _vlmcs.tcp>kms.txt
- Then open the KMS.txt file generated by this command. The file will contain at least one entry that relays the SRV service location.
2. A KMS host server registers a DNS SRV record once every 24 hours by default. You should check the registry to see if the KMS host server is registering with the DNS. Follow these steps to do so:
- Click on Start, type in regedit, and then press Enter.
- Locate HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftWindowsNTCurrentVersionSL and then click on it.
- The KMS server does not register in DNS if the DisableDnsPublishing subkey is existing and has a value of 1. If this subkey is missing altogether, create a DWORD value called the DisableDnsPublishing. If the dynamic registration is suitable, the subkey value should be changed to 0. Right-click DisableDnsPublishing, click on Modify, enter 0 into the Value data box, and click OK.