That smells like a problem - one of these possibilities:
- new PC with crippled OEM disk (or license only)
- new PC with pirated OS
- used PC where user kept your disk(s)
The first is acceptable to MS, but all three shaft you.
Reactivate - not to be confused with (re-)register.
You should normally not be asked personal info (as registration is
voluntary). Expect to be asked to read a code off the screen after
you have installed XP, the process of which may require you to enter a
different code as per your license sheet or sticker.
It is confusing, because you have two separate hurdles; one natural
(getting an installation that assumes one set of hardware to adapt to
another) and one artificial (appeasing MS's Product Activation).
You may have a problem. If you are changing out Motherboards and you have
no actual Windows XP CD, if your motherboard is not almost identical to the
old one, you may be unable to boot without performing a repair installation
in the first place.
I can confirm that. Plug-n-Play is supposed to adapt to what it sees,
but can famously lose the plut when too much changes at once -
especially if "parent" controllers (PCI, PnP BIOS) change, casting all
cards and devices adrift to be re-detected again.
While you are fighting this battle, WPA (Product Activation) is likely
to rear its ugly head and stick the knife in. Repeated restarts to
get the hardware detected and working could use up the "lives" allowed
for Safe Mode startup (and Safe Mode may not detect and configure
hardware properly). At a time when you have enough to worry about,
troubleshooting problems partly caused by PnP's inabilities (and thus
not particularly positive about software vendors) you also have to beg
forgiveness for changing your hardware.. Great customer relations.
You may want to see if the company you bought it from will give you an
actual install CD
I'd phrase that in bold, as: If a new PC, whack the supplier on the
head until they either cough up the CD they owe you, weasel out with
large-OEM legalistics, or stop twitching so further effort is wasted.
If the PC is used, enquirely sweetly where the disks are that you
forgot to take with you (not just the OS CD, but also all the driver
disks that came with each hardware component). If they miss that
chance to acquiesce nicely, gloves off as above.
or you may have to go out and purchase a full version of the OS.
Not quite the "one PC, one license" concept, is it?
At this point, re-activation would be the least of your worries.
This is partly true, and partly not. If WPA locks you out of the
system (hint: Don't force Ctl+Alt+Del to logon, or you may never see a
dialog that lets you activate by phone) then you are just as dead as
if PnP never emerges from its confusion. Same applies if you take too
long to defuse the mess, or restart in Safe Mode too often.
If you have to call to re-activate, your experience will greatly depend
on your attitude towards the whole process.
In other words, beg nicely
------------------ ----- ---- --- -- - - - -
The rights you save may be your own
