As a matter of curiosity (and justice), I'd like to ask a
question. My PC comes with XP on it. I register the ID.
A few months later, some glitch causes me to be forced
to reformat the hard drive. Now I reload the XP but can I
reregister/revalidate the ID? I realize that the documentation
I have should provide the Product Code, but what if I don't,
is there a way for Microsoft, wherever the validation is recorded,
to find my original validation and help me get back in business?

William B. Lurie

>-----Original Message-----
>Hi, Bill.
>
>Don't confuse "registration" with "activation".
>
>Registration is purely voluntary. If you choose to
register, you will
>provide your name, address and other information to
Microsoft to make it
>easier for them to support your Windows if you need their
help.
>
>Activation (more specifically, Windows Product
Activation, or WPA) is the
>method by which MS enforces the EULA (End User License
Agreement) by which
>each purchaser agrees to install Windows on just a single
computer.
>
>The specific use of WPA varies, depending on HOW you
acquire WinXP. If
>WinXP was pre-installed on a computer you bought, then it
probably was
>activated at the computer factory (Dell?) and is locked
forever to that
>specific computer. If you bought WinXP at retail and
installed it on your
>computer, then you must activate it within the first
month or so; activation
>locks that WinXP license to that computer, but you can
remove it from there
>and activate it on a different computer if you choose.
>
>What is "the same computer"? Or "a different computer"?
Does simply
>reformatting the hard drive make this a different
computer? How about
>swapping the mainboard, or the CPU, or adding more
RAM...etc.? MS has some
>specific rules as to how much of a hardware change will
require
>re-activation. Usually, changing a single component
won't trigger the need
>to reactivate. Even a complete change, though, requires
only a 5-minute
>phone call to MS. And after 120 days from the prior
activation, even that
>is not necessary.
>
>These rules are not a secret, Bill. Read them in detail
for yourself at:
>Description of Microsoft Product Activation
>http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=302806
>
>RC
>--
>R. C. White, CPA
>San Marcos, TX
>(E-Mail Removed)
>Microsoft Windows MVP
>

Good job. You wrote "War and Peace" without answering the
OP's question. If you have reformatted your HD and have
no access to the product ID, and no proof of purchase,
you're screwed. If, on the other hand, you have not yet
reformatted the drive the information can be retrieved,
and I believe that if you have proof of purchase MS will
give you a new number.

OK, Wislu.

> My PC comes with XP on it.

The short answer is: Ask the vendor who sold you the PC with WinXP
pre-installed.

RC
--
R. C. White, CPA
San Marcos, TX
(E-Mail Removed)
Microsoft Windows MVP

"Wislu PLethora" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:08ed01c35d12$f09e0c30$(E-Mail Removed)...
>
> >-----Original Message-----
> >Hi, Bill.
> >
> >Don't confuse "registration" with "activation".
> >
> >Registration is purely voluntary. If you choose to
> register, you will
> >provide your name, address and other information to
> Microsoft to make it
> >easier for them to support your Windows if you need their
> help.
> >
> >Activation (more specifically, Windows Product
> Activation, or WPA) is the
> >method by which MS enforces the EULA (End User License
> Agreement) by which
> >each purchaser agrees to install Windows on just a single
> computer.
> >
> >The specific use of WPA varies, depending on HOW you
> acquire WinXP. If
> >WinXP was pre-installed on a computer you bought, then it
> probably was
> >activated at the computer factory (Dell?) and is locked
> forever to that
> >specific computer. If you bought WinXP at retail and
> installed it on your
> >computer, then you must activate it within the first
> month or so; activation
> >locks that WinXP license to that computer, but you can
> remove it from there
> >and activate it on a different computer if you choose.
> >
> >What is "the same computer"? Or "a different computer"?
> Does simply
> >reformatting the hard drive make this a different
> computer? How about
> >swapping the mainboard, or the CPU, or adding more
> RAM...etc.? MS has some
> >specific rules as to how much of a hardware change will
> require
> >re-activation. Usually, changing a single component
> won't trigger the need
> >to reactivate. Even a complete change, though, requires
> only a 5-minute
> >phone call to MS. And after 120 days from the prior
> activation, even that
> >is not necessary.
> >
> >These rules are not a secret, Bill. Read them in detail
> for yourself at:
> >Description of Microsoft Product Activation
> >http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=302806
> >
> >RC
>
> Good job. You wrote "War and Peace" without answering the
> OP's question. If you have reformatted your HD and have
> no access to the product ID, and no proof of purchase,
> you're screwed. If, on the other hand, you have not yet
> reformatted the drive the information can be retrieved,
> and I believe that if you have proof of purchase MS will
> give you a new number.