Windows XP Re: XP Activations (Re: Closed Thread On This)

[BernieLJ77]

Hello...I had tried the suggestion made and you know what they told me?

I had lost a hard drive or two, plus twice I had purchased a faster computer, plus I had added a larger hard drive to the one that I was using and what happened when I tried to re-activate WIN-XP?

They told me that I had run out of activations and they wanted me to send them another $80.00 - $90.00 for another activation key.

I looked everywhere and found no place where it states that you can only activate the software so many times, but that's what happened to me.


You can only activate WIN-XP, like after doing an install or a re-installation for example, so many times, then Microsoft will tell you that you need to buy another activation key. I think that that's "sneaky" and rotten not to tell me earlier that I could only activate the software so many times.

Well, I didn't send them the money, I just did a network install on Linux from my ISP, then later on I tried a download of Mandriva Linux and I did install that from the DVD, using a software program to burn the ISO of Linux onto a DVD.

So on one computer I use WIN-XP, because I had purchased WIN98SE, with unlimited activations, but then, a couple of years later, I purchased WIN-XP with SP1, or Service Pack 1 on it, then upgraded to SP2 via the Internet, and since I paid money for these, over one hundred dollars each time, I certainly didn't want to send another $80.00 - $90.00 for another activation key, but I use the one with WIN-XP on it because I have around 15.2 days of purchased music files on an external hard drive, or around 500 CD's worth of music, over 5,400 songs, and I have found that when I use Linux, my Roku SoundBridge that I use through my wire-less router to play my music that I have on the hard drive on the living room stereo, won't work with the file formats that Linux uses and I have a very difficult time getting Linux to work with MP3 files, so one computer uses WIN-XP, the other one uses Linux.

I'd like to maybe mention this, for the guy that's having trouble with activating the WIN-XP software, and that is, if he's using the "Home Edition," and not a "Business Edition" of the WIN-XP software, if the WIN-XP software is using the same activation key as his friend is using, that may be why he can't activate the WIN-XP software as I think that it can only be activated on either one computer, or at only one mailing address possibly, so in that case, he'll probably have to either buy an activation key, or buy an operating system in a box in a store, like I had done with WIN-XP.

Finally I'd like to say that I was only allowed to activate or install the software so many times, then I was "blocked" from activating WIN-XP until I purchased another activation key !!!

I have WIN-XP, that I paid over $100.00 for, as it was an "upgrade From WIN98SE" version, which by the way I had also paid around $100.00 for, total of over $200.00, and I can't activate it anymore until or unless I buy another "Activation Key," for around $80.00 - $90.00, and since I never saw anywhere where it would state that I was limited to the number of activations, I'm sort of "upset" with Microsoft.

Have a Great Day,
Bernard

 

[Electronics & Photo Fan]

This is news to me. I don't think that's the way it's supposed to work?

I don't see why Microsoft would be able to tell that you'd added a hard drive, but using a key on a different system shouldn't be a problem - It'd ask you for re-activation, yes, but you do that over the internet free so I don't know why they would ask you for money.

You can only activate WIN-XP, like after doing an install or a re-installation for example, so many times,

I doubt that, as if it's the same system you are activating it should just allow it. No questions asked.

Maybe it's different in the US to England?

 

[Anon_F]

When you activate Windows XP the software takes a snapshot of the components on your pc, if you change more than a certain amount of parts you have to reactivate Windows.

After i think 3 times you have to re-register, hence you may have to pay again.
I think it's in the small print!

 

[muckshifter]

you are wrong ...

Hmmm, I think you are unaware of a few points.


The license for a retail version of Windows XP is in perpetuity. You get to use Windows XP forever, if you choose.

If you get a new computer, you are entitled to remove Windows XP from the one that is being junked, and install the same Windows XP on the new machine ... but you will have to do the reactivation by a voice call and explain.

There are two versions of OEM Windows XP systems. One can be purchased separately, with qualifying subsidiary hardware, and installed with that hardware to an existing machine, to which it becomes bound. The software may be reinstalled and reactivated indefinitely as with a retail system as long as it is still on the original machine. It may not be transferred to a different computer.

In the other OEM form, the system is provided preinstalled by a major supplier. Instead of activation, the system is ‘locked’ to the BIOS on the motherboard. The validity of this lock is checked at boot. As long as this is satisfied, other hardware may be changed freely, but any replacement motherboard must be for a compatible one supplied by the original maker.

If a BIOS-locked system is installed to a board where the lock fails, it enters a normal Activation process at startup. However, beginning 1 March 2005, the Product Key supplied on a label by the computer manufacturer, and used for the initial installation, will not be accepted for activation. A new copy of Windows XP, with a license allowing installation on a different machine, will be needed. This means that any replacement motherboard (or upgrade to its BIOS) must be supplied by the original maker, who will ensure the lock is maintained.

As I see it, you have a proprietary manufactured PC, such as a Dell, HP or some other crap system, with a locked BIOS, and have just learned a valuable lesson.

 

[Electronics & Photo Fan]

Well this has, if nothing else, been a personal lesson to me.

There are two versions of OEM Windows XP systems. One can be purchased separately, with qualifying subsidiary hardware, and installed with that hardware to an existing machine, to which it becomes bound. The software may be reinstalled and reactivated indefinitely as with a retail system as long as it is still on the original machine. It may not be transferred to a different computer.

Well...that's me not ever buying an OEM version, then! Can't use it with your next PC, and the next? Waste of money, then.

In the other OEM form, the system is provided preinstalled by a major supplier. Instead of activation, the system is ‘locked’ to the BIOS on the motherboard. The validity of this lock is checked at boot. As long as this is satisfied, other hardware may be changed freely, but any replacement motherboard must be for a compatible one supplied by the original maker.

If a BIOS-locked system is installed to a board where the lock fails, it enters a normal Activation process at startup. However, beginning 1 March 2005, the Product Key supplied on a label by the computer manufacturer, and used for the initial installation, will not be accepted for activation. A new copy of Windows XP, with a license allowing installation on a different machine, will be needed. This means that any replacement motherboard (or upgrade to its BIOS) must be supplied by the original maker, who will ensure the lock is maintained.

So why is it possible to take a licence key for XP from the back of an old machine, or the bottom of a laptop, that is being chucked away, and put it into another machine then activate it, to save buying XP? Does that mean this is illegal to do then?

 

[muckshifter]

Well this has, if nothing else, been a personal lesson to me.

Well...that's me not ever buying an OEM version, then! Can't use it with your next PC, and the next? Waste of money, then.

I have never bought a retail version of XP ... all mine are OEM and I have had no problem.

So why is it possible to take a licence key for XP from the back of an old machine, or the bottom of a laptop, that is being chucked away, and put it into another machine then activate it, to save buying XP? Does that mean this is illegal to do then?

Simple ... they ain't BIOS locked, and yes, it is illegal.


Be careful what you say here.

 

[BernieLJ77]

Well I could have quite a bit to say, I'll try not to make it too long, but it will have some length to it, so I'll have to say sorry for the length of this message.

Yes, when I got ahold of a used computer system, the system didn't have WIN-XP on it, and usually had WIN98 or WIN-ME or something like that, and I had problems with WIN98, and I had purchased WIN98SE just to get the manuals with it, so I could learn more about Windows since I had been using DOS-based systems with 286 computers, and wanted to access the Internet, so I needed to get a newer system, faster computer anyway, so I could "upgrade" myself to Windows, but I had problems with WIN98SE, like the system would get stuck on the "Windows is shutting down" screen for example, but I had downloaded a fix from the Internet to fix that problem, but I also could not access my external drive with WIN98SE either, and I had a 60 Gb external hard drive with my music on it, and WIN98SE would see the drive as an external storage device, but wouldn't recognize the unit as a hard drive, so "Windows 98 Second Edition" would not assign a drive letter to it, so I could not access the music.

So I purchased WIN-XP Home Edition, an "upgrade from WIN98SE," 2002 edition, which has Service Pack 1 on it, so later on I downloaded SP2 from the Internet.

I don't remember all of the computers I have had but I know one was a 300 Mhz IBM, one was a 350 Mhz Gateway, one was a 700 Mhz Compaq and the one that I have borrowed from my brother is a 700 Mhz "E*Machine" it says on it.

The E*Machine, that I have borrowed from my brother, is a spare computer that he uses when he is on the road, as he fixes vending machines and computer systems and it has WIN-XP Professional Edition on it.

My Gateway is using the Mandriva Linux operating system and Super Breakout for Linux is a great version, the only thing though is that when you lose a "ball," he uses a "cuss" word, but he does have a "child" setting so you don't hear him say the "D" word.

It's the same word you use when you talk about a "dam" on a river, but it's spelled differently, in case you don't know what word I was talking about.

The version of WIN-XP, that I think I purchased at Target, is in my attachments.

I do see where it says that you can only use it on one computer at a time, but that was all I was using it on, one computer at a time.

I was trying to use the Gateway as more or less my spare computer, as my main computer, a 2.1 Ghz HP, had broke down with many major problems, but that had WIN-XP Media Center Edition on it.

I had bought that at BestBuy and some of what went wrong with that one was that I could no longer read the hard drive, I lost the use of the 250 Gb hard drive in other words, The Sound Card went bad, so did the video card, one of the two 512 Mb RAM cards went bad, but 1 Gb of RAM was nice while it worked, you couldn't turn the computer on at times, sometimes it took 10 or 15 presses of the power button to get the computer to come on, and if I clicked on the Shutdown button, the computer would appear to shut off, then it would come back on, it was a little different then a reboot, etc...and the computer's 1-year warranty just ran out 4 months earlier. I told BestBuy and HP about this and told them that either they replace this system for free, or send me the purchase price so I could buy another one, but they refused to do either one and only offered fixes, but at my expense, so I told them that I won't buy HP ever again and also told them that I think their product is junk...When I also told my brother that I thought that HP was junk, he told me that he thought that HP was nice and that that's all they have down at work, at the main office in other words, and in case you're wondering, even though I suspected all of these problems, he tried the RAM in another computer and one RAM stick worked fine, the other RAM stick did not, and he tried all of the other parts also to confirm what I had told him.

Just about everything was shot in the HP and it was only 1 year and 4 months old last year and I've used my brother's spare since then.

I had installed, activated, re-installed when I had some sort of problem where all other routes had been tried, and re-installed as a last resort, I had installed WIN-XP when getting another computer, and had activated the software, and had installed WIN-XP and had activated it when replacing a hard drive, etc...I seemed able to activate at least 8 to 10 times, maybe more, but then, the last time I tried activating via the Internet, it gave me a message stating that I had ran out of activations, and then the link showed the prices of "activation Keys," and I then tried calling them and told them the situation, and they also told me that I'd need to buy another activation key.


Well, after spending over $200.00 on the two operating systems, I didn't feel like sending them another $80.00 - $90.00 for another key...That was almost what I had paid for the operating system when it was new.

My best friend has never bought operating system software and has only used the one that came with the computer, but I didn't want to leave what was in the used computer I got, because it came out of a business, so it had WIN2000 Professional in it, but it was mainly that the computer was "logged in" as a certain employee, and I didn't know what his password was, only his user name, which was an employee number, so I decided to install WIN-XP on it...it came out of a credit union.

I had installed the WIN-XP earlier in the same machine, and had activated the software, but since it had too small of a hard drive, only 16 Gb, and I've been using an 80 Gb and a 250 Gb drive, internally, and a 60 Gb external drive, I replaced the drive with a new one. I suppose that maybe I should have uninstalled WIN-XP before replacing the drive...and maybe it thinks that I was trying to activate it on a second computer since the 16 Gb drive was replaced with a 80 Gb Western Digital one.


I bet that's what happened...I installed WIN-XP 2002 Edition on the 16 Gb drive, then needing a larger drive, I took the 16 Gb drive out and had replaced it with an 80 Gb one and tried installing again, and I suppose that even though the rest of the computer's parts were the same, maybe it thinks that the system is a different one because of the different hard drive.

I no longer have that 16 Gb hard drive and that one "might" be installed into a different used system by now or it may have been thrown away, I just don't know as I got rid of it myself...

Oh well, I'm still not going to send money to them for another key, I'll just destroy this one as they wouldn't help me out without me sending them more money, so I'll wait a while, until another operating system comes out and maybe I'll buy new again, unless I just use what I have, then when I get another computer to replace the HP "junk" I had, I'll use whatever is on it.

I heard from people though that Windows Vista "sucks" so I'm not so sure that I'd want to get a new computer that has Vista on it.

Oh yes, I'll edit this into my message, I have never seen License keys on used equipment, and I also have never removed the sticker from the folder that's inside of the box that I had bought either, and the folder also contains some other software, Windows Movie Maker I think, but yes, that wouldn't be too smart of someone to put their key on their equipment, especially when they replace their equipment, then they'd lose their key...but I suppose that some people do that, put the license key sticker on their computer system, especially if they have more than one or two computers so they could keep the license keys straight, or so they'd know which key went with what computer.

Have a Great Day,
Bernard

 

[floppybootstomp]

Phew......

I think the failings you experienced with Win98 were more hardware than software related. I'm running Win98SE on: DFI Infinity Ultra B II motherboard; AMD Socket A XP3200 2.2Ghz CPU; 1Gb PC3200 Memory; Nvidia 128Mb 6800 AGP Vid card; and it runs flawlessly.

It's an original legit copy and of course it needs no activation. Microsoft no longer support this OS so they don't officially supply downloads but they're out there if you search.

I'm not saying you should go back to Win 98, imo XP Pro is much better, all I'm saying is Win 98 will run ok on a half decent machine.

btw, you can say Damn here, we don't really consider that a cuss word. You can say poo poo too if you like

 

[muckshifter]

me is gettin confused ...

ah, I see now, you have the "upgrade" of XP ... well, sorry to tell you, but;

This product may be transferred to another user or PC ... providing the EULA of the qualifying upgrade product allows it.

Guess what, MS wins again.


I think you should buy a Mac.