Lets say you legitimately buy some MS software and install it on your laptop, then connect to the net and do the activiation thing.

You then decide that the software is better on your desktop so remove it from your laptop, and install it on your desktop.

On activation it then says the software cant be activated as it is "already on another computer".

What would you do? Serious, non piracy question.

if its oem, then your stuck.

I get this trouble at work all the time - we develop PC based security systems, so we're always swapping PC hardware around and XP whinges and moans all the time. It's a massive pain in the arse for developers like ourselves and a good reason to move to a different OS.

What I do is ring the Microsoft helpline and do the activation over the phone instead - I've never been refused an activation code even if the on-line activation fails. You've upgraded your system, and if the information contained in the 'hash' that XP generates is half as non-specific as MS claims it is, there'll be no reason to doubt you. I've never even been asked, though.

I'll concur with my name sake. :D

I've installed my XP Pro on here "a few times now." :rolleyes:
still needs tweaking. ;)

got the dreaded "cannot activate windows" page.

Punching in the "key code" that it gives you, over the phone, is a RIGHT ROYAL PITA.
it's gotta be 30 odd digits long, [img]images/smilies/mad.gif[/img]
then only to be told the number wasn't validated... :rolleyes:

But to be fair I wasn't put on hold for more than 5 seconds and after reeling off the code again to the real bloke on the other end of the line, no questions asked, straight to the point and simple, new code was given, done and dusted.

Andy C

edit : typos

[Edited by Fuzz - 8/21/2003 9:11:26 PM]

Yea just phone the number and say you have had to re-install XP and they will then ask you to read the number out off the screen and they will then give you another one to type in, easy done this lots of times at work and never had a problem.

Thing is, in theory the product activation is a good thing as it's designed to stop piracy. However MS messed up by releasing coporate editions which don't need activating whatever machine they are put on.

Needless to say most pirates use the corporate editions, thus making activation next to useless and a real pain for legit users.

Anything that intrudes on a legitimate user's time and resources is NOT a good thing. My time wasted on the phone to Microsoft has value. Who is paying for it? Who gets the benefit?

Andy

That's what I was saying. Activation is made meaningless by coporate editions so why bother.

Sorry - minor misunderstanding. I disagree with your suggestion that it's even a good idea in theory, never mind how it might have been implemented in practise. I nearly lost a day in a test lab (lab fee >£1000) a few weeks ago because one of our test systems decided that its hardware had changed and Windows was about to expire. Getting it re-activated required someone to make a special trip to the lab, incurring both direct and consequential losses.

Here's a radical suggestion: a 'stranglehold prevention' law which means that copyright protection for any product is rendered null and void for any product which becomes so ubiquitous and essential (say, 80% of its market) that the manufacturer can take advantage of its customers. Either the problems of product activation would go away overnight, or MS would find themselves pouring money into Linux development to ensure it got its 20% market share. A win-win situation for the customer at last :D :D :D

Genius :D