activation

[Guest]

Due to upgrades and other issues I have had to reinstall xp several times.
Sometimes due to mistakes made by me and some due to other factors. If I now
reinstall xp and go to activate it I get the message that I have activated it
too many times. I can understand the reason behind this restriction due to
the possibility that that license might have been used illegally on several
computers, but this is certainly not the case with me. I have tried to
explain this to Microsoft and asked if there is any way the restriction can
be removed but to no avail. Does anyone think that there should be a way to
prove you are genuine in your activations and not be restricted? Is
Microsoft using this as an excuse to generate more money by making people buy
additional licenses? I would be interested to hear what people think about
this.

 

[David B.]

This has been discussed at length on these forums, I doubt the procedure is
going to change any time soon, and it's no surprise at all they declined to
remove the activation "feature" from your copy, as it's not possible for the
people you talk to on the phone to do that. They are not using it to get
more sales, as all you have to do is call to get it reactivated. There are
plenty who agree with you, but it's not going to happen, at least while it
is still a supported OS.

 

[Shenan Stanley]

Due to upgrades and other issues I have had to reinstall xp several
times. Sometimes due to mistakes made by me and some due to other
factors. If I now reinstall xp and go to activate it I get the
message that I have activated it too many times. I can understand
the reason behind this restriction due to the possibility that that
license might have been used illegally on several computers, but
this is certainly not the case with me. I have tried to explain
this to Microsoft and asked if there is any way the restriction can
be removed but to no avail. Does anyone think that there should be
a way to prove you are genuine in your activations and not be
restricted? Is Microsoft using this as an excuse to generate more
money by making people buy additional licenses? I would be
interested to hear what people think about this.

The message you get is badly phrased. It's not that you have actually
activated it too many times - it is that you are attempting to activate it
within 180 days of last activating it. What that does - in most cases - is
require you to choose telephone activation (usually painless.)

However - your problem is not actually the activation - but poor planning it
seems to me. I believe it would be MUCH easier for you to use an imaging
application and once you have Windows installed, patched and other software
you want installed and patched. That way - when you have to 'reinstall' -
all you need to do is re-image. It should already be activated as long as
you haven't changed hardware.

It's faster.
It's easier.
You start out at a much more advanced stage than 'new install'.
It's better for you.

If you have actually bought more licenses in the past because of this
message (and there was not more information than what you have given) - that
was a mistake.

 

[sandy58]

The message you get is badly phrased. It's not that you have actually
activated it too many times - it is that you are attempting to activate it
within 180 days of last activating it. What that does - in most cases - is
require you to choose telephone activation (usually painless.)

However - your problem is not actually the activation - but poor planning it
seems to me. I believe it would be MUCH easier for you to use an imaging
application and once you have Windows installed, patched and other software
you want installed and patched. That way - when you have to 'reinstall' -
all you need to do is re-image. It should already be activated as long as
you haven't changed hardware.

It's faster.
It's easier.
You start out at a much more advanced stage than 'new install'.
It's better for you.

If you have actually bought more licenses in the past because of this
message (and there was not more information than what you have given) - that
was a mistake.

Shenan, I don't think there are too many who activate as much as I do,
but I have never had any problem at all. I choose the telephone
activation way (UK) & usually speak to and (live) Asian lady/gentleman
who asks me a couple of questions, talks me thro' the new activation
number.
You mentioned an "imaging" application. Would you be meaning using
something like Acronis True Image software? If so, could you possible
steer me to a link with a "tuition" or similar? Not for ATI but for
exactly what I would require to image. As you say, it WOULD save me a
lot of hassle.
Thanks in advance, Shenan.

 

[Mario Schmidt]

You mentioned an "imaging" application. Would you be meaning using
something like Acronis True Image software? If so, could you possible
steer me to a link with a "tuition" or similar? Not for ATI but for
exactly what I would require to image. As you say, it WOULD save me a
lot of hassle.

Yes, I think Acronis True Image is what you really should look for. It's
a great piece of software.

"Imaging" means packing the whole partition and all data in it into one
(or more) file(s) for backup. You may want to "image" your fresh
installation, so that you can easily return to that state in the future
without all the hassle with updates, drivers and activation.

True Image is also very advanced, with many options how and where to
save your data. You can save on network, FTP, a hidden partition (You
can even boot from that partition to restore, called "Acronis Secure
Zone") or on filesystem. You can schedule task when and how your imaging
shall take place.

But beware: Any data that has changed since last image process, will be
lost when restoring that image. So it's wise to save all your user data
(like documents, pictures, music etc. but not programs) on a seperate
partition that you may back up regularly and seperately on DVD-RAM or
something. You may also want to save your images on that partition. Your
"my files" folder can be redirected to that partition for easier
handling. Just google for how to do that.

Howtos for True Image can be found on products homepage, there are some
video tutorials as well.