Reset Terminal Server Grace Period

This article was posted more than 1 year ago. Please keep in mind that the information on this page may be outdated, insecure, or just plain wrong today.

Client Machines
Delete the following key which will force client to obtain new license from server.

HKLM\Software\Microsoft\MSLicensing

Server 2000/2003
To reset the 90 day grace period on the Terminal Server Licensing Server perform the following steps:

net stop TermServLicensing
%windir%\system32\LServer to %windir%\system32\LServer.old

Make a new empty directory in %windir%\System32 named LServer

net start TermServLicensing

Additional Info…
Each CAL is valid for between 52 and 89 days, the number of days is determined randomly when the CAL is issued. When a CAL is due to expire in 7 days the TS server will attempt to renew it, again, for between 52 and 89 days. If it cannot connect to the license server it will attempt to renew the CAL each time the client logs on. When a CAL expires it is returned to the pool of available licenses. This helps the license server to automatically recover Per Device CALs that are lost when the device is no longer in use or when its operating system is reinstalled. If the license server itself is lost then you should try to recover it using the most recent backup. If no backup is available then you must reinstall the server, reactivate it, and contact the license clearinghouse to have them issue replacement CALs.