Is activation of XP still tracked by Microsoft.

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Reds

I would like to know if Microsft still tracks activation of copies of
Windows XP. Do they still care if more than one computer is using the
same copy. I'm assuming that since Vista is now available, they may
relax the rules for using XP.
 
Windows XP licensing will always remain the same:
One (1) license on one (1) computer only!

--
Carey Frisch
Microsoft MVP
Windows Shell/User

---------------------------------------------------------------

:

I would like to know if Microsft still tracks activation of copies of
Windows XP. Do they still care if more than one computer is using the
same copy. I'm assuming that since Vista is now available, they may
relax the rules for using XP.
 
Yes, MS continues to support XP activation as they have in the past. Read
the XP End User License Agreement for your copy of XP and continue to comply
with it. This will not change even after XP is out of extended support six
years from now.

Of course they care if XP is installed on more than one computer at a time.
Doing so requires additional licensing considerations.
 
One (1) license on one (1) computer only!

I totally agree, but about a month ago, I finally got fed up with a
misbehaving 5-yr old motherboard, so I installed a new one and
also replaced the HDD (320 vs 120 GB) while I was changing
things. I then re-installed XP Pro (orig -slipstreamed to SP2) and
fully expected to have to phone in the activation which completed
in a millisecond ... the preferred way.

So I must suspect MS made a change in the way the h/w hash is
determined. And with all the other post SP2 updates and Office
XP updates, the licenses have been re-validated a dozen or more
times since. Go figure.

Regards,

Ed
 
Changing a mobo does not always require reactivation. It depends on what
devices are on the mobo versus which add-ins that you are carrying over,
like the NIC. Don't worry about it.
 
Ed said:
I totally agree, but about a month ago, I finally got fed up with a
misbehaving 5-yr old motherboard, so I installed a new one and
also replaced the HDD (320 vs 120 GB) while I was changing
things. I then re-installed XP Pro (orig -slipstreamed to SP2) and
fully expected to have to phone in the activation which completed
in a millisecond ... the preferred way.

So I must suspect MS made a change in the way the h/w hash is
determined. And with all the other post SP2 updates and Office
XP updates, the licenses have been re-validated a dozen or more
times since. Go figure.

Regards,

Ed
Click to expand...

No change to the overall scheme of things for WPA. The requirements
are still the same. The WPA database still allows a discrete number
of activations for any given Product Key within a 120-day period. A
no-nonsense activation of a properly installed Windows XP product
just means that this number of activations for this particular Product
Key has not been exceeded within the current 120-day period. And this
result can be probably expected for an ancient but still valid Product
Key.
 
The people who really know the answer to this won't tell,
and those who tell don't really know. Just use your common
sense, taking into account the price of Vista, the price of XP,
the number of people wanting to re-install their old XP after
"experiencingi: Vista, and your own experiience (which does
NOT involve risking death or imprisonment or fines).

*TimDaniels*
 
Reds said:
I would like to know if Microsft still tracks activation of copies of
Windows XP.
Click to expand...


Yes, of course.

Do they still care if more than one computer is using the
same copy.
Click to expand...


Yes, of course they're still opposed to theft.

I'm assuming that since Vista is now available, they may
relax the rules for using XP.
Click to expand...


Why would you ever assume such a silly thing? Microsoft still hasn't
"relaxed" the licensing terms for MS-DOS.


--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:


http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/555375

They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. ~Benjamin Franklin

Many people would rather die than think; in fact, most do. ~Bertrand Russell

The philosopher has never killed any priests, whereas the priest has
killed a great many philosophers.
~ Denis Diderot
 
Yes, MS continues to support XP activation as they have in the past. Read
Click to expand...

The more interesting question may be whether they will at some point
choose to no longer provide the activation service for XP, and force
a true "end of life" to the product.
 
hard to say, i had to change pc's often, cuz they kept crashing on me,
crashing meaning dying on me, and i am at my last desktop, and i also
expected issues with the activation, but what i did was i registered my copy
of xp again and i had no issues. :S weird thing, but i think if you
re-register, they probably look up your account and they figured you had
issues and they don't ask you for phone, at least not when i did it
 
No.

I asked that question of someone high enough in MS to give a definitive
answer and the answer was that if XP activation is ever taken offline an
alternative means of satisfying the activation software will be provided.
It would be years from now before any decision would be taken as to just how
that would work, however.
 
Registration does not matter. Microsoft stopped linking activation and
registration several years ago due to privacy considerations. There is no
way to look up activation data that way.
 
Reds said:
I would like to know if Microsft still tracks activation of copies of
Windows XP. Do they still care if more than one computer is using the
same copy. I'm assuming that since Vista is now available, they may
relax the rules for using XP.
Click to expand...

Reputedly, Microsoft only store the activation information on their systems
for 120 days. This makes sense otherwise they would have to store
activation information for every copy of Windows ever sold (and every other
product that requires activation).
 
well i don't know. all i know is i had to do activation by phone before and
when i clicked register i expected to give me issues again and it didn't.
 
You can register as many times as you want. You are just registering
yourself as a user anyway. Registration has nothing to do with activation.
Nothing.
 
in that case, i have no idea why it didn't give me any issues about
activation, because i remember before the system crashed it had given me the
hardest of times, to do it. ended up calling microsft and talking to a
employee to get it working.

i am just confused as to why i didn't get any issues this time. :S
 
That wasn't registration. That was activation. You would never register
over the phone.
 
that's what i said, i said it was a pain to activate it because i had
changed motherboards, and i expected the same issue when i had to re-install
but i didn't any issues
 
Ed Covney said:
I totally agree, but about a month ago, I finally got fed up with a
misbehaving 5-yr old motherboard, so I installed a new one and
also replaced the HDD (320 vs 120 GB) while I was changing
things. I then re-installed XP Pro (orig -slipstreamed to SP2) and
fully expected to have to phone in the activation which completed
in a millisecond ... the preferred way.

So I must suspect MS made a change in the way the h/w hash is
determined. And with all the other post SP2 updates and Office
XP updates, the licenses have been re-validated a dozen or more
times since. Go figure.
Click to expand...

If you reinstalled XP and then reactivated afresh, it will almost certainly
have gone through without problem. With all the Windows installations on
the planet, Microsoft just cannot store the hardware hash that goes with
each and every product key for ever. As a result, they only store the
information for a limited period of time (reputed to be 120 days). This
means that if you do a complete reinstall after this period, it will
activate over the internet. This does not affect hardware *changes* on an
existing installation tripping reactivation because that hardware hash is
stored locally as well.

Although this might indicate that you could illicitly make 2 installations
if you do them more than 120 days (or whatever) apart, in practice one will
fail if any attempt is made to perform an update.
 
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