D
DboyJake
But then says "Windows already activated" and then reboots. To infinity.
I replaced the hard drive on my laptop recently and did a completely clean
install of XP SP2. The XP disk is the one that came from the manufacturer,
has the key already imbedded so you don't have to enter it manually, I guess
making it harder to mess up the entry, and this is the only computer that
key is used on. Obviously, it has been activated before, the first time it
was installed on this laptop. Has not been activated since. Well, until
now.
I couldn't get it to activate via the internet. And I have been way busy
with traveling for work, so it wasn't until the 30 day grace period was over
and it forced me to address the issue that I did anything.
Tried again to activate via the internet, with no success.
I generated an installation ID, and used the phone method. The tech support
guy couldn't get the installation ID to verify, so he had me generate a new
one. The new one worked, he read me the activation code, I entered it, I hit
next, and everything was great.
But. (There is ALWAYS a "but" when it comes to Microsoft), the next time I
booted up the laptop, it threw a screen sating Windows needed to be
activated. If I hit the OK button (which normally leads you to the choices
of how to activate), it shows my desktop wallpaper, but then throws a message
that says Windows has already been activated. When I hit OK on that, it
forces a reboot.
Naturally, when it reboots, it throws up the "Windows needs to be activated"
message again. Click OK, and the cycle continues.
Short of wiping everything and doing a full re-install, any tips?
I read about the trick with the wpa.dbl and wpa.bak files, but since I did
not back these up prior to the install, so I'm guessing they're useless now
since they're part of the OS that is having issues?
I replaced the hard drive on my laptop recently and did a completely clean
install of XP SP2. The XP disk is the one that came from the manufacturer,
has the key already imbedded so you don't have to enter it manually, I guess
making it harder to mess up the entry, and this is the only computer that
key is used on. Obviously, it has been activated before, the first time it
was installed on this laptop. Has not been activated since. Well, until
now.
I couldn't get it to activate via the internet. And I have been way busy
with traveling for work, so it wasn't until the 30 day grace period was over
and it forced me to address the issue that I did anything.
Tried again to activate via the internet, with no success.
I generated an installation ID, and used the phone method. The tech support
guy couldn't get the installation ID to verify, so he had me generate a new
one. The new one worked, he read me the activation code, I entered it, I hit
next, and everything was great.
But. (There is ALWAYS a "but" when it comes to Microsoft), the next time I
booted up the laptop, it threw a screen sating Windows needed to be
activated. If I hit the OK button (which normally leads you to the choices
of how to activate), it shows my desktop wallpaper, but then throws a message
that says Windows has already been activated. When I hit OK on that, it
forces a reboot.
Naturally, when it reboots, it throws up the "Windows needs to be activated"
message again. Click OK, and the cycle continues.
Short of wiping everything and doing a full re-install, any tips?
I read about the trick with the wpa.dbl and wpa.bak files, but since I did
not back these up prior to the install, so I'm guessing they're useless now
since they're part of the OS that is having issues?