Problems With Activating Windows XP Pro.

[Guest]

It seems that Microsoft may be heading for a class action lawsuit. I am sick
of the treatment you get from their CSRs in India regarding activation codes.
I have been trying for hours to get a new code as I had to reformat and
reinstall XP Pro due to a problem with the Vista Beta. They keep telling me
to call back within an hour as their computers are down. This has been going
on for hours. And the last 2 times I called in and this happened, I asked to
speak to a supervisor and they hung up on me instead of transfering me to a
supervisor.
When is Microsoft going to realize that they NEED customers and they should
be PROACTIVE in preventing this kind of problem. I bought my software and
paid good money for it. I want to be able to install it without problems and
without attitude from people in a FOREIGN country. These people work for
Clientlogic in India and evidently do not give a damn about customer service.
WHAT GIVES MICROSOFT???

 

[Shenan Stanley]

It seems that Microsoft may be heading for a class action lawsuit.
I am sick of the treatment you get from their CSRs in India
regarding activation codes. I have been trying for hours to get a
new code as I had to reformat and reinstall XP Pro due to a problem
with the Vista Beta. They keep telling me to call back within an
hour as their computers are down. This has been going on for hours.
And the last 2 times I called in and this happened, I asked to
speak to a supervisor and they hung up on me instead of transfering
me to a supervisor.
When is Microsoft going to realize that they NEED customers and
they should be PROACTIVE in preventing this kind of problem. I
bought my software and paid good money for it. I want to be able to
install it without problems and without attitude from people in a
FOREIGN country. These people work for Clientlogic in India and
evidently do not give a damn about customer service. WHAT GIVES
MICROSOFT???

Didn't you image your Windows XP installation before installing a beta OS
over the top of it?

 

[Guest]

try calling tech support instead of activation.
I believe they would be able to create a case or soemthing for you and have
a technician to walk you through the activation process.

 

[Mistoffolees]

Didn't you image your Windows XP installation before installing a beta OS
over the top of it?

Why should he? Activation should be automatic and seamless
for a situation like this. The problem is Microsoft's. The
user's action is within his/her rights as a purchaser of
Windows XP, and he can re-install to the [original] computer
any number of times. If Microsoft cannot maintain a reliable
methodology to meet its own requirements, then it should cease
the methodology and not re-initiate it until perfected.

 

[Shenan Stanley]

It seems that Microsoft may be heading for a class action lawsuit.
I am sick of the treatment you get from their CSRs in India
regarding activation codes. I have been trying for hours to get a
new code as I had to reformat and reinstall XP Pro due to a
problem with the Vista Beta. They keep telling me to call back
within an hour as their computers are down. This has been going
on for hours. And the last 2 times I called in and this happened,
I asked to speak to a supervisor and they hung up on me instead
of transfering me to a supervisor.
When is Microsoft going to realize that they NEED customers and
they should be PROACTIVE in preventing this kind of problem. I
bought my software and paid good money for it. I want to be able
to install it without problems and without attitude from people
in a FOREIGN country. These people work for Clientlogic in India
and evidently do not give a damn about customer service. WHAT
GIVES MICROSOFT???

Didn't you image your Windows XP installation before installing a
beta OS over the top of it?

Why should he? Activation should be automatic and seamless
for a situation like this. The problem is Microsoft's. The
user's action is within his/her rights as a purchaser of
Windows XP, and he can re-install to the [original] computer
any number of times. If Microsoft cannot maintain a reliable
methodology to meet its own requirements, then it should cease
the methodology and not re-initiate it until perfected.

Why should they?
Common Sense.
Preparedness.

You are about to change everything and you know that at some point you want
to return to the state you were in before. In the computer world - you have
an option or 1/2 dozen options to help guarantee this can happen. You can
choose whether or not to prepare for possible adverse conditions or not.

Should they *have* to do it?
Not if their copy of the software is legitimate and they have all
documentation for it (or at least the product key, etc.)

Is it unheard of?
No.

Since it is not unheard of and thus could happen, should they prepare for
it?
Yes.

Prepare for the worst, hope for the best.

 

[HeyBub]

Didn't you image your Windows XP installation before installing a
beta OS over the top of it?

Why should he? Activation should be automatic and seamless
for a situation like this. The problem is Microsoft's. The
user's action is within his/her rights as a purchaser of
Windows XP, and he can re-install to the [original] computer
any number of times. If Microsoft cannot maintain a reliable
methodology to meet its own requirements, then it should cease
the methodology and not re-initiate it until perfected.

And that's exactly what Micros~1 did. The original activation was
(evidently) flawless. Further, Micros~1 informed the end user that
subsequent activations would (probably) require human intervention. Common
sense indicates that re-activation is subject to problems, such as a
language barrier, computer malfunction, or phase of the moon.

To obviate these potential problems, it is incumbent on the end-user to take
steps. In this case, the end user had the last clear chance to avoid the
accident. He didn't. Blaming his extra wait time on Micros~1 is clearly
improper.

 

[Ghostrider]

It seems that Microsoft may be heading for a class action lawsuit.
I am sick of the treatment you get from their CSRs in India
regarding activation codes. I have been trying for hours to get a
new code as I had to reformat and reinstall XP Pro due to a
problem with the Vista Beta. They keep telling me to call back
within an hour as their computers are down. This has been going
on for hours. And the last 2 times I called in and this happened,
I asked to speak to a supervisor and they hung up on me instead
of transfering me to a supervisor.
When is Microsoft going to realize that they NEED customers and
they should be PROACTIVE in preventing this kind of problem. I
bought my software and paid good money for it. I want to be able
to install it without problems and without attitude from people
in a FOREIGN country. These people work for Clientlogic in India
and evidently do not give a damn about customer service. WHAT
GIVES MICROSOFT???

Didn't you image your Windows XP installation before installing a
beta OS over the top of it?

Why should he? Activation should be automatic and seamless
for a situation like this. The problem is Microsoft's. The
user's action is within his/her rights as a purchaser of
Windows XP, and he can re-install to the [original] computer
any number of times. If Microsoft cannot maintain a reliable
methodology to meet its own requirements, then it should cease
the methodology and not re-initiate it until perfected.

Why should they?
Common Sense.
Preparedness.

You are about to change everything and you know that at some point you want
to return to the state you were in before. In the computer world - you have
an option or 1/2 dozen options to help guarantee this can happen. You can
choose whether or not to prepare for possible adverse conditions or not.

Should they *have* to do it?
Not if their copy of the software is legitimate and they have all
documentation for it (or at least the product key, etc.)

Is it unheard of?
No.

Since it is not unheard of and thus could happen, should they prepare for
it?
Yes.

Prepare for the worst, hope for the best.

That is no consolation for the majority of users who do not
make or know how to make or are even prepared to make a disc
image of their systems. I think the on-topic issue is that
activation is a feature of Windows XP, to make it functional,
and, therefore, needs to work all the time, whether or not a
false positive or a false negative is involved. There is no
excuse for the activation computer system to be "down" at all.
Moreover, it is a contraventino of the terms of a bona fide
sale. and purchase.

 

[Ghostrider]

Didn't you image your Windows XP installation before installing a
beta OS over the top of it?

Why should he? Activation should be automatic and seamless
for a situation like this. The problem is Microsoft's. The
user's action is within his/her rights as a purchaser of
Windows XP, and he can re-install to the [original] computer
any number of times. If Microsoft cannot maintain a reliable
methodology to meet its own requirements, then it should cease
the methodology and not re-initiate it until perfected.

And that's exactly what Micros~1 did. The original activation was
(evidently) flawless. Further, Micros~1 informed the end user that
subsequent activations would (probably) require human intervention. Common
sense indicates that re-activation is subject to problems, such as a
language barrier, computer malfunction, or phase of the moon.

For argument's sake, if the original activation was flawless,
then the re-activation after a clean install should also be
flawless. And this was what the OP had evidently done. Then
why should the re-activation be subject to problems secondary
to systems (including human) failure?

Moreover, there is nothing in the acivation methodology that
allows the excuse of language barrier, computer malfunction or
anything else. It is a process that is supposed to work...all
of the time (or, at least, within reason). And it is supposed
to be an automated process for the legitimate, bona fide product.

To obviate these potential problems, it is incumbent on the end-user to take
steps. In this case, the end user had the last clear chance to avoid the
accident. He didn't. Blaming his extra wait time on Micros~1 is clearly
improper.

Having been in computers since the pioneering days of the
1970's, I leave nothing to chance and have not only backups
but also secondary and tertiary backups for almost everything.
If you follow your own philosophy of caution, then good for
you. That puts you in a very small minority.

 

[Guest]

Didn't you image your Windows XP installation before installing a
beta OS over the top of it?


Why should he? Activation should be automatic and seamless
for a situation like this. The problem is Microsoft's. The
user's action is within his/her rights as a purchaser of
Windows XP, and he can re-install to the [original] computer
any number of times. If Microsoft cannot maintain a reliable
methodology to meet its own requirements, then it should cease
the methodology and not re-initiate it until perfected.

And that's exactly what Micros~1 did. The original activation was
(evidently) flawless. Further, Micros~1 informed the end user that
subsequent activations would (probably) require human intervention. Common
sense indicates that re-activation is subject to problems, such as a
language barrier, computer malfunction, or phase of the moon.

For argument's sake, if the original activation was flawless,
then the re-activation after a clean install should also be
flawless. And this was what the OP had evidently done. Then
why should the re-activation be subject to problems secondary
to systems (including human) failure?

Moreover, there is nothing in the acivation methodology that
allows the excuse of language barrier, computer malfunction or
anything else. It is a process that is supposed to work...all
of the time (or, at least, within reason). And it is supposed
to be an automated process for the legitimate, bona fide product.

To obviate these potential problems, it is incumbent on the end-user to take
steps. In this case, the end user had the last clear chance to avoid the
accident. He didn't. Blaming his extra wait time on Micros~1 is clearly
improper.

Having been in computers since the pioneering days of the
1970's, I leave nothing to chance and have not only backups
but also secondary and tertiary backups for almost everything.
If you follow your own philosophy of caution, then good for
you. That puts you in a very small minority.

Well, since this has seemed to generate a lot of discussion, I will respond.
I am pissed at Microsoft for having people such as I dealt with that hang up
on their customers when asked to speak to a supervisor. I fully expect
problems can happen sometimes, but after being told over and over to call
back within an hour and the same problem still exists, I have a right to know
what the REAL timeframe will be. There is NEVER any excuse for POOR customer
service.
And as far as making a ghost of my system, I do not have to. I keep all my
data seperate and backed up numerous ways. My C drive always contains
programs only that I can reinstall anytime I need or want to. I prefer to do
a CLEAN install when reinstalling to remove traces of programs I may have
removed. When I BUY software, I expect to be able to use it, install it
whenever I want. I do not have to have "ghosts" of my installation to prevent
my having to reinstall an OS and software. I get to choose whatever I want to
do, NOT what anyone else thinks. I paid for the software, and if Microsoft
wants us to activate it when we reinstall it, then it is THEIR responsibility
to do it correctly, NOT MINE.
That is part of the COST of DOING BUSINESS. And Microsoft is certainly not
hurting for money.
But the bottom line is this, CRAPPY CUSTOMER SERVICE IS NEVER ACCEPTABLE.
Nobody can ever justify that to me.
And I FINALLY got it activated, 13 hours later. Seems like there is a
problem with THEIR system. And it is THEIR problem since they never asked me
what type of system they should set up. I had no input in setting up their
system, so I take no responsibility or blame for its failure.