De-activation problem

[Nick L]

Please can anyone explain what happened here.

I have a PC running Windows XP Home (full retail licence) which is now about
4 years old.
I decided I wanted a higher performance PC so I built a new one.
With the exception of a dial-up modem card all the component parts were
brand new.
I also bought a new Windows XP Home OEM licence.

When I came to test the new machine I set it up with a keyboard and mouse
from my junk box and the Samsung SyncMaster 930BF monitor from my old PC.
All went smoothly so I installed WinXP. I was surprised when the
installation got to the point of asking for date/time format preferences
that it already knew the current date and time. I thought no more about it
and shut down the PC when the installation was complete.

I reconnected the monitor to my old PC and booted it up. I got a splash
screen informing me that there had been a major hardware change, Windows had
been de-activated and that I had three days in which to re-activate it.

The only conclusion I can come to is that the monitor stores some system
information.

Puzzled!
Nick.

 

[Shenan Stanley]

Please can anyone explain what happened here.

I have a PC running Windows XP Home (full retail licence) which is
now about 4 years old. I decided I wanted a higher performance
PC so I built a new one. With the exception of a dial-up modem
card all the component parts were brand new. I also bought a
new Windows XP Home OEM licence.

If you owned a full retail licensed version of Windows XP Home Edition - why
did you buy a copy of Windows XP Home OEM? Did it come with the new
computer as a package deal?

When I came to test the new machine I set it up with a keyboard and
mouse from my junk box and the Samsung SyncMaster 930BF monitor
from my old PC. All went smoothly so I installed WinXP. I was
surprised when the installation got to the point of asking for
date/time format preferences that it already knew the current date
and time. I thought no more about it and shut down the PC when the
installation was complete.

Why would you be surprised? Motherboards have a BIOS installed on them that
has a clock built in. That clock is kept up to date automatically and this
has been in place for 2+ decades. Your computer motherboard should have
some sort of battery built onto it (that looks like a large watch battery)
that helps keep the system BIOS settings for you.

I reconnected the monitor to my old PC and booted it up. I got a
splash screen informing me that there had been a major hardware
change, Windows had been de-activated and that I had three days in
which to re-activate it.

This seems to be unrelated. Even though it is a large coincidence - I
believe that is all this is.

The only conclusion I can come to is that the monitor stores some
system information.

No - your monitor stores *no* system information.

You left out a few details - I think.

You installed what - the Windows XP OEM you purchased onto the new machine?
You used the new OEM license Product Key when installing?
You did nothing with your Windows XP Retail license product key or CD?

 

[Nick L]

If you owned a full retail licensed version of Windows XP Home Edition -
why did you buy a copy of Windows XP Home OEM? Did it come with the new
computer as a package deal?

I'm giving the old PC to my daughter so she needs her own licence.
My new purchase wasn't a package deal. I bought the individual components
(mobo, processor, memory, HDD etc.) to suite my own requirements.

Why would you be surprised? Motherboards have a BIOS installed on them
that has a clock built in. That clock is kept up to date automatically
and this has been in place for 2+ decades. Your computer motherboard
should have some sort of battery built onto it (that looks like a large
watch battery) that helps keep the system BIOS settings for you.

I know that the BIOS has a clock. I was just a bit surprised that it had
been set. The board came without any processor or memory. The last time I
built a PC the initial time came up as something like 00:00 1st January
1900.

This seems to be unrelated. Even though it is a large coincidence - I
believe that is all this is.


No - your monitor stores *no* system information.

You left out a few details - I think.

Only one detail. I installed a LAN controller card onto the old PC a day or
two previously. But I'd rebooted it after that several times without
problem.

You installed what - the Windows XP OEM you purchased onto the new
machine?
Yes.

You used the new OEM license Product Key when installing?
Yes

You did nothing with your Windows XP Retail license product key or CD?

Correct. I did nothing.

 

[peter]

And the BIOS time matches the time shown in XP??
You adjusted the BIOS time before or after you loaded XP??
peter

If you owned a full retail licensed version of Windows XP Home Edition -
why did you buy a copy of Windows XP Home OEM? Did it come with the new
computer as a package deal?

I'm giving the old PC to my daughter so she needs her own licence.
My new purchase wasn't a package deal. I bought the individual components
(mobo, processor, memory, HDD etc.) to suite my own requirements.

Why would you be surprised? Motherboards have a BIOS installed on them
that has a clock built in. That clock is kept up to date automatically
and this has been in place for 2+ decades. Your computer motherboard
should have some sort of battery built onto it (that looks like a large
watch battery) that helps keep the system BIOS settings for you.

I know that the BIOS has a clock. I was just a bit surprised that it had
been set. The board came without any processor or memory. The last time
I built a PC the initial time came up as something like 00:00 1st January
1900.

This seems to be unrelated. Even though it is a large coincidence - I
believe that is all this is.


No - your monitor stores *no* system information.

You left out a few details - I think.

Only one detail. I installed a LAN controller card onto the old PC a day
or two previously. But I'd rebooted it after that several times without
problem.

You installed what - the Windows XP OEM you purchased onto the new
machine?
Yes.

You used the new OEM license Product Key when installing?
Yes

You did nothing with your Windows XP Retail license product key or CD?

Correct. I did nothing.

 

[Nick L]

And the BIOS time matches the time shown in XP??
You adjusted the BIOS time before or after you loaded XP??
peter

I didn't adjust it at all. It had already got the time from somewhere.

Still puzzled,
Nick.

snipped....