Do I have a licensed copy and will I have trouble reinstalling?

Is it common for it to reject the internet registration but accept on
the first try a phone registration 5 minutes later?


I need to do maybe a Restore REinstall because, as in another thread,
XP will not fully boot.

I bought my copy of XP at a hamfest about a year ago, for less than
retail (when it was getting hard to get a retail copy at a store), in
the original fancy windows folder, and it had the sticker on the back
with the number on it, and the seller told me it was good and gave he
his business card (in South Carolina, when we were in Baltimore at the
time, but a lot of people come from far away for this big hamfest.**)

When I installed it three months ago, I didn't register it for 3
weeks***, and when I entered the numbers and letters in the webpage,
it rejected it. I verified that I had copyied it correctly and I had,
and the page came back with a phone number. I called the phone number
and did what I was told, and it didn't complain and I've been using
windows xp for a total of 3 months with no complaints by ms.



**And his other webpage is ibuysoftware.com , so he does go looking
for software, although how would he know if the license is good or
not? Someone could lie to him. Or he did look for software, because
both of the webpages are gone. I have a phone number and an address
and a name, but I have no reason to complain yet.

***Which was a mistake in case I woudl have had to go get a license, I
woudl have had to rush and also maybe pay more.

TIA

mm wrote:
> Do I have a licensed copy and will I have trouble reinstalling?

No idea. I cannot see you, your copy of Windows XP, your proof of purchase,
your CoA, etc.

> Is it common for it to reject the internet registration but accept
> on the first try a phone registration 5 minutes later?

Common? No.
Possible? Yep.

> I need to do maybe a Restore REinstall because, as in another
> thread, XP will not fully boot.

A restore reinstall? Wha?

Do not 'refer' to other threads without linking to them. ;-)

> I bought my copy of XP at a hamfest about a year ago, for less than
> retail (when it was getting hard to get a retail copy at a store),
> in the original fancy windows folder, and it had the sticker on the
> back with the number on it, and the seller told me it was good and
> gave he his business card (in South Carolina, when we were in
> Baltimore at the time, but a lot of people come from far away for
> this big hamfest.**)
>
> When I installed it three months ago, I didn't register it for 3
> weeks***, and when I entered the numbers and letters in the webpage,
> it rejected it. I verified that I had copyied it correctly and I
> had, and the page came back with a phone number. I called the
> phone number and did what I was told, and it didn't complain and
> I've been using windows xp for a total of 3 months with no
> complaints by ms.
>
>
>
> **And his other webpage is ibuysoftware.com , so he does go looking
> for software, although how would he know if the license is good or
> not? Someone could lie to him. Or he did look for software, because
> both of the webpages are gone. I have a phone number and an
> address and a name, but I have no reason to complain yet.
>
> ***Which was a mistake in case I woudl have had to go get a
> license, I woudl have had to rush and also maybe pay more.

You likely got taken - but...

http://www.microsoft.com/howtotell/
http://www.microsoft.com/howtotell/windows/

--
Shenan Stanley
MS-MVP
--
How To Ask Questions The Smart Way
http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html

On Sat, 1 Aug 2009 23:46:53 -0500, "Shenan Stanley"
<(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

>mm wrote:
>> Do I have a licensed copy and will I have trouble reinstalling?
>
>No idea. I cannot see you, your copy of Windows XP, your proof of purchase,
>your CoA, etc.
>
>> Is it common for it to reject the internet registration but accept
>> on the first try a phone registration 5 minutes later?
>
>Common? No.
>Possible? Yep.

If it happened, would that imply that the number was good and will
continue to work? Or that's bad and it likely won't work the next
time if it asks for the number during the reinstall.

Is it likely to ask for the number during a repair, not a recovery
reinstall?
http://michaelstevenstech.com/XPrepairinstall.htm
>
>> I need to do maybe a Restore REinstall because, as in another
>> thread, XP will not fully boot.
>
>A restore reinstall? Wha?

Sorry. I meant a repair reinstall, a la the link above.

>Do not 'refer' to other threads without linking to them. ;-)

Sorry, I think all that matters is that I have to do a repair
reinstall.

>You likely got taken - but...
>
>http://www.microsoft.com/howtotell/
>http://www.microsoft.com/howtotell/windows/

After viewing the urls, I'm convinced I have a real CD, but not that
someone else isn't using the numbers already. Is it possible to
check on that without the MS Police coming to get me?

>--
>Shenan Stanley
> MS-MVP

On Aug 2, 4:24*am, mm <NOPSAMmm2...@bigfoot.com> wrote:
> Do I have a licensed copy and will I have trouble reinstalling?
>
> Is it common for it to reject the internet registration but accept on
> the first try a phone registration 5 minutes later?
>
> I need to do maybe a Restore REinstall because, as in another thread,
> XP will not fully boot.
>
> I bought my copy of XP at a hamfest about a year ago, for less than
> retail (when it was getting hard to get a retail copy at a store), in
> the original fancy windows folder, and it had the sticker on the back
> with the number on it, and the seller told me it was good and gave he
> his business card (in South Carolina, when we were in Baltimore at the
> time, but a lot of people come from far away for this big hamfest.**)
>
> When I installed it three months ago, I didn't register it for 3
> weeks***, and when I entered the numbers and letters in the webpage,
> it rejected it. I verified that I had copyied it correctly and I had,
> and the page came back with a phone number. *I called the phone number
> and did what I was told, and it didn't complain and I've been using
> windows xp for a total of 3 months with no complaints by ms.
>
> **And his other webpage is ibuysoftware.com , so he does go looking
> for software, although how would he know if the license is good or
> not? Someone could lie to him. *Or he did look for software, because
> both of the webpages are gone. * I have a phone number and an address
> and a name, but I have no reason to complain yet.
>
> ***Which was a mistake in case I woudl have had to go get a license, I
> woudl have had to rush and also maybe pay more.
>
> TIA

> Is it common for it to reject the internet registration but accept on
> the first try a phone registration 5 minutes later?
Yes. Regularly. Some people boast about never having to re-install
Windows or format their hard drive. They must live sheltered 'net
lives.

sandy58 <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

>On Aug 2, 4:24*am, mm <NOPSAMmm2...@bigfoot.com> wrote:
>> Do I have a licensed copy and will I have trouble reinstalling?
>>
>> Is it common for it to reject the internet registration but accept on
>> the first try a phone registration 5 minutes later?
>>
>> I need to do maybe a Restore REinstall because, as in another thread,
>> XP will not fully boot.
>>
>> I bought my copy of XP at a hamfest about a year ago, for less than
>> retail (when it was getting hard to get a retail copy at a store), in
>> the original fancy windows folder, and it had the sticker on the back
>> with the number on it, and the seller told me it was good and gave he
>> his business card (in South Carolina, when we were in Baltimore at the
>> time, but a lot of people come from far away for this big hamfest.**)
>>
>> When I installed it three months ago, I didn't register it for 3
>> weeks***, and when I entered the numbers and letters in the webpage,
>> it rejected it. I verified that I had copyied it correctly and I had,
>> and the page came back with a phone number. *I called the phone number
>> and did what I was told, and it didn't complain and I've been using
>> windows xp for a total of 3 months with no complaints by ms.
>>
>> **And his other webpage is ibuysoftware.com , so he does go looking
>> for software, although how would he know if the license is good or
>> not? Someone could lie to him. *Or he did look for software, because
>> both of the webpages are gone. * I have a phone number and an address
>> and a name, but I have no reason to complain yet.
>>
>> ***Which was a mistake in case I woudl have had to go get a license, I
>> woudl have had to rush and also maybe pay more.
>>
>> TIA
>
>> Is it common for it to reject the internet registration but accept on
>> the first try a phone registration 5 minutes later?
>
>Yes. Regularly. Some people boast about never having to re-install
>Windows or format their hard drive. They must live sheltered 'net
>lives.

No... they know how to maintain their computers, and they don't play
around with P2P file sharing or warez downloading.

mm wrote:
> On Sat, 1 Aug 2009 23:46:53 -0500, "Shenan Stanley"
> <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
>
>> mm wrote:
>>> Do I have a licensed copy and will I have trouble reinstalling?
>>
>> No idea. I cannot see you, your copy of Windows XP, your proof of
>> purchase, your CoA, etc.
>>
>>> Is it common for it to reject the internet registration but accept
>>> on the first try a phone registration 5 minutes later?
>>
>> Common? No.
>> Possible? Yep.
>
> If it happened, would that imply that the number was good and will
> continue to work? Or that's bad and it likely won't work the next
> time if it asks for the number during the reinstall.
>
> Is it likely to ask for the number during a repair, not a recovery
> reinstall?
> http://michaelstevenstech.com/XPrepairinstall.htm
>>
>>> I need to do maybe a Restore REinstall because, as in another
>>> thread, XP will not fully boot.
>>
>> A restore reinstall? Wha?
>
> Sorry. I meant a repair reinstall, a la the link above.
>
>> Do not 'refer' to other threads without linking to them. ;-)
>
> Sorry, I think all that matters is that I have to do a repair
> reinstall.
>
>> You likely got taken - but...
>>
>> http://www.microsoft.com/howtotell/
>> http://www.microsoft.com/howtotell/windows/
>
> After viewing the urls, I'm convinced I have a real CD, but not that
> someone else isn't using the numbers already. Is it possible to
> check on that without the MS Police coming to get me?

*You* cannot tell if someone else is using the product keys. It is also
highly unlikely that Microsoft can tell - especially if things are done with
a certain timing.

In any case - all it means (having to call instead of activating over the
internet) is that the product key was used for installation in a given
number of days before you tried to activate it. If you had waited long
enough - you could have activated over the Internet (since the phone
activation worked in the end.) If you wait more than 1/2 a year before
re-installing (although I have machine I have not done a clean install on in
8+ years) - you could probably activate over the internet again.


--
Shenan Stanley
MS-MVP
--
How To Ask Questions The Smart Way
http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html

<snip>

sandy58 wrote:
> Yes. Regularly. Some people boast about never having to re-install
> Windows or format their hard drive. They must live sheltered 'net
> lives.

Bennett Marco wrote:
> No... they know how to maintain their computers, and they don't play
> around with P2P file sharing or warez downloading.

I agree with Bennett Marco here, except I would go a step further...

"They know how to maintain their computers" is all that needs to be said.
Beyond that - everything else can be handled.

--
Shenan Stanley
MS-MVP
--
How To Ask Questions The Smart Way
http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html

mm wrote:
> On Sat, 1 Aug 2009 23:46:53 -0500, "Shenan Stanley"
> <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
>
>> mm wrote:
>>> Do I have a licensed copy and will I have trouble reinstalling?
>>
>> No idea. I cannot see you, your copy of Windows XP, your proof of
>> purchase, your CoA, etc.

I would like to echo Shenan's remark. The *only* person in this
newsgroup that would know whether or not you have a license to run XP on
your PC is *you*! What is the make and model of your PC? Does it have a
COA sticker on it? If so, what is it for? You may already have an OEM
license. And if that's the case, it would have made more sense to
purchase an OEM installation CD, rather than a Retail one!

Did you in fact purchase a Retail CD? (If your PC doesn't have a licnese
to run XP, at least the Retail CD provides you with such a license.)
Keep in mind if it wasn't shrink-wrapped, at least one other person
knows the Product Key! You very well may have made a big mistake buying
that. :-(

>>> Is it common for it to reject the internet registration but accept
>>> on the first try a phone registration 5 minutes later?
>>
>> Common? No.
>> Possible? Yep.

Typically, if it has been less than 120 days since the last activation
or if you made a certain combination of hardware changes, automatic
Internet activation doesn't occur. Of course, the telephone method
should work in this case. Then again, if someone else is using your
Product Key, you will eventually run into problems!

> If it happened, would that imply that the number was good and will
> continue to work? Or that's bad and it likely won't work the next
> time if it asks for the number during the reinstall.
>
> Is it likely to ask for the number during a repair, not a recovery
> reinstall?
> http://michaelstevenstech.com/XPrepairinstall.htm
>>
>>> I need to do maybe a Restore REinstall because, as in another
>>> thread, XP will not fully boot.
>>
>> A restore reinstall? Wha?
>
> Sorry. I meant a repair reinstall, a la the link above.
>
>> Do not 'refer' to other threads without linking to them. ;-)
>
> Sorry, I think all that matters is that I have to do a repair
> reinstall.
>
>> You likely got taken - but...
>>
>> http://www.microsoft.com/howtotell/
>> http://www.microsoft.com/howtotell/windows/
>
> After viewing the urls, I'm convinced I have a real CD, but not that
> someone else isn't using the numbers already. Is it possible to
> check on that without the MS Police coming to get me?

Not that I know of.

In the future, only purchase something shrink-wrapped by a reputable
retailer! If that means you can only get a generic OEM CD (rather than a
Retail CD), that's what you should do (provided you have absolutely no
plans to transfer the license to another CD).

Also, you should always post before making such a purchase. For
instance, you might even have a hidden recovery partition on your
mystery PC, and we would be able to help you determine this and how to
perform the procedure.

On Sun, 2 Aug 2009 00:47:54 -0700 (PDT), sandy58
<(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

> Some people boast about never having to re-install
> Windows or format their hard drive. They must live sheltered 'net
> lives.


I have often stated here that I have run almost every version of
Windows since 3.0, usually on two or three machines here (at the
moment, there are four), and I have *never* needed to reformat or
reinstall Windows

And no, I don't live anything at all like a sheltered net life.

I don't boast about it at all, and even calling attention to myself is
not my point; my point is a matter of advice not to reformat and
reinstall unless all other attempts to fix a problem fail. Anyone who
is reasonably careful about what he does should be able to do the same
thing as I do.

--
Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP - Windows Desktop Experience
Please Reply to the Newsgroup

On Aug 1, 11:24*pm, mm <NOPSAMmm2...@bigfoot.com> wrote:
> Do I have a licensed copy and will I have trouble reinstalling?
>
> Is it common for it to reject the internet registration but accept on
> the first try a phone registration 5 minutes later?
>
> I need to do maybe a Restore REinstall because, as in another thread,
> XP will not fully boot.
>
> I bought my copy of XP at a hamfest about a year ago, for less than
> retail (when it was getting hard to get a retail copy at a store), in
> the original fancy windows folder, and it had the sticker on the back
> with the number on it, and the seller told me it was good and gave he
> his business card (in South Carolina, when we were in Baltimore at the
> time, but a lot of people come from far away for this big hamfest.**)
>
> When I installed it three months ago, I didn't register it for 3
> weeks***, and when I entered the numbers and letters in the webpage,
> it rejected it. I verified that I had copyied it correctly and I had,
> and the page came back with a phone number. *I called the phone number
> and did what I was told, and it didn't complain and I've been using
> windows xp for a total of 3 months with no complaints by ms.
>
> **And his other webpage is ibuysoftware.com , so he does go looking
> for software, although how would he know if the license is good or
> not? Someone could lie to him. *Or he did look for software, because
> both of the webpages are gone. * I have a phone number and an address
> and a name, but I have no reason to complain yet.
>
> ***Which was a mistake in case I woudl have had to go get a license, I
> woudl have had to rush and also maybe pay more.
>
> TIA

Think of it this way:

One single generic copy of an XP installation CD could serve the
world.

It is the license part that you pay for - not the CD.

The End User License Agreement (EULA) in or on your box of stuff is
between the person that paid for the license and Microsoft. The
understanding is you will be honest and not use that same license to
install another copy of XP on some other hardware.

You certainly can do so if you want.

When you activate/authenticate after installing, MS collects and
stores a little about your computer hardware and your license
information and stores it away as a set. If a second attempt to
activate the same license comes along later, the MS process will
decide if it looks enough like the same hardware or not and you get a
thumbs up or a thumbs down on your activation.

If you did some big hardware upgrade or just bought all new hardware,
MS would still have the old info from the original activation and may
complain that this license does not match the hardware info stored and
refuse to activate even though you are not trying to be a software
pirate. You are prompted to call and explain yourself. Convince them
of your legitimate situation (your word against their suspicion) and
you are all set.

This is why you can reinstall XP on the same hardware with no problem
- things still match. Put in a new motherboard though and use your
old CD, it really doesn't match anymore - and could be an issue
assuming Microsoft accumulates and really checks. Do they check
periodically even when you are not installing and just surfing just to
be sure to try and catch you? Opinions vary.

One person could pay for one CD and one license and then make 100
copies of the CD and 100 copies (on a piece of paper) of the license
and sell 100 CDs with the same license. What a smart guy! Things
will look fine, maybe, until activation time or (heaven forbid) you
need to talk to a real person at Microsoft. You can install all 100
copies on 100 different machines if you want, it is the activation
part that you have to get past (or get nagged about on your monitor).

It might work just fine - or, if the check and balance matching thing
of hardware to first license activation really does work (does it???)
the activation may get flagged it and prevent any activation until you
get help/explain with Microsoft, or you can say uh-oh...I'm rally
caught now and I better really pay for this if I want it to work. A
lot depends on trust, ethics, naivety of the buyer, skills of the
seller and consciences.

If you buy from a hamfest (I'm KQU7917) you may never see that person
again. Could be legit, maybe not. Things may be just fine.