ok first microsoft in order to stop havkers from using illegally obtained versions of the windows xp operating system decided to make product verafacation a priority on all windows xp computers now all though this sounds good untill you realize how this process affects you when you use it here is what it does you download the verification application from microsoft.com when wanting to download a program then you run the program and it gives you a key and you type in the key into the confirmation window and select yes then you can download your update sounds good right. wrong let me tell you what happened to me recently i purchased a new computer and a new copy of microsoft windows xp home edition i installed it ran the service pack 2 update and two weeks later the system comes up with this error system32/config/system cannot be located please reintall or repair windows so i reinstalled windows it came time to activate my copy of windows and when i tried it told me my serial number has exceeded the number of times it can be activated i only activated windows xp home edition once on one pc my new pc so i contacted microsofts customer support center and they told me to go out and purchase a new copy of windows xp i tried to explain to them and this is what i got back they told me that windows xp product verifacation on microsoft.com keeps a record of who the software is legally registered to so if you try to reinstall it on the same machine with a hard drive differrence or a new processor it won't activate so i told them kiss my **** im going to a mac or linux
If you bought a computer with XP home on or you bought it separately, you can activate it as many times as you want (on the same computer), what if you need to reinstall 20 or 100 times! Microsoft should not have said you HAVE to buy a new one because you have changed hardware inside you system?? The person that told you that on the phone was probably wanting to go home ; ) If activation needs you to call a FREE PHONE number to verify activation then simply do it, it will be a recorded computer talking to you and you just use touch tone to type in numbers... If that doesn't work then it will forward you onto a real person, who just asks you the same as the computerized voice ("what are the numbers on your screen?") That is all.... Now you put SP2 on and "TWO" weeks Later it gets an error??? This i can tell you is down to something else that caused that problem, pop in your XP disc and do a repair : ) As ddp said you can steer round the activation check when you update from Microsoft's website... But why you have a "LEGAL" copy right?
Ok, le'me get this straight. Johnodd4 didn't mention any hardware changes sooooo......why exactly did the tech support person bring that up. I must be missing something here. I know that the license code limits the amount of terminals that you can load the OS on, but I had no idea that there was a limit as to the amount of times the OS can be activated on the same computer. Johnodd4 if you have the warranty agreement or any literature that can with your purchase please check to see if that's stated in the fine print. This just doesn't add up. This is way out there, but the only thing I can think of is maybe somehow, someway, someone got a hold of his license code and used it with say another copy of Win XP Home edition. Did anyone ever borrow your CD Johnodd4 or had access to it.
hey guys i am kinda new to pc's but last march i bought a copy of xp corporate thinking i could put it on all three of my pc's so i did and all went well they all activated fine i was able to get all updates and anything else thats available as a free download. a buddy called me looking for a favor he needed his os updated so i figered what the heck (thinking i had unlimited activations with the corporate version) so i loaded it . the valadation went ok then i went to windows update and realized they implemented another windows verification that is where i got stuck it wouldnt let me update because it failed the validation. i called microsoft told them what i did and how many computers i put that key into and the rep on the other end guided me through a process to turn of the genuine windows validation and problem solved . i was and still am able to get whatever updates and xtras i want or need. the only thing the man told me was that i am suposed to get a seperate key for each system but then guided me through the disabling process and acted like it was no big deal . after that i was having some trouble removing some malicious code and they spent over 2hrs helping me rid my system of the virus. my hats off to microsoft i couldnt believe how helpfull and freindly they were.
one more thing to add i no a man who is a beta tester for microsoft and they pretty much give him whatever he wants he has got some kind of ftp server through microsoft and they supply those testers with free software. and i have had the same problem with the xphome and the limited activations thats what made me buy the corporate edition .then shortly after i met the guy who is a beta tester and he told me all i had to do is call microsoft and they will unlock that key for u . i never did because i loaded the corporate version on my computers and havnt had the need . but i am sure in the future i will be calling . anyway i am sure u guys have there number if not i can give it to u . like i said in my previous post microsoft tech support gets a 10 in my book . give it a try
