unattended answer file error

[SOL_2]

Hi
I am trying to install w2k8r2 64 bit on a DL380 G7 using a usb key. After the server is imaged and the OS starts to load i get the error message "The unattended answer file contains an invalid product key. Either remove the invalid product key or provide availd product key in the unattended answer file to proceed with the windows installation"

How do i modify this answerfile ?

Thanks
Shane

[sls]

I encountered this problem when first installing Win2008 R2. In my case, it was because I was using a Volume License Multiple Activation Key (MAK) and had incorrectly specified the key in two locations of the unattend.xml file. This TechNet blog entry helped me:

http://blogs.technet.com/b/deploymentguys/archive/2009/03/30/deploying-windows-7-vl-with-mak-multiple-access-keys-using-mdt-2010.aspx

I believe I went with Option 1 (I wasn't able to get automated activation working).

Hope this helps.
Shane

[Tom Keck]

I've also had this problem when using HP SmartStart v8.60 to install 2008 R2 from a USB with saved configuration files. I placed a support call to HP but got nothing helpful. Their response was that using SmartStart saved configuration files was not supported. (Then why is it an availble feature if it's not supported???)