Windows Vista Deactivated

[Guest]

I installed a new video card and my Windows Vista Home Premium deactivated
and said it needs to reactivate. I went through the activation process,
however, it tells my my activation key is in use. I know my key is valid but
it doesn't give me the option for help. It just says I can enter a new key or
buy a new key, both of which are unacceptable solutions. I have 2 days til
Vista is locked down. What am I supposed to do?

 

[Bob Knowlden]

Choose to activate by telephone. Don't waste time trying the automated
telephone activation; you'll need to speak with a live MS representative.
Explain what happened, and you'll be given a new activation code. That
should be true even if your license is an OEM one.

It's an annoyance, but it shouldn't take more than about 5 minutes.


Return address scrambled. Replace nkbob with bobkn.

 

[wburchnall]

I installed a new video card and my Windows Vista Home Premium deactivated
and said it needs to reactivate. I went through the activation process,
however, it tells my my activation key is in use. I know my key is valid but
it doesn't give me the option for help. It just says I can enter a new key or
buy a new key, both of which are unacceptable solutions. I have 2 days til
Vista is locked down. What am I supposed to do?

Bob is entirely right. Basically, the reason this occurs is due to
lisencing and anti-piracy issues. Your end user lisence agreement
you've received with your copy of Microsoft Windows Vista states that
one-time you can transfer your copy of Windows Vista from your current
machine to a new machine, however, your copy of Windows Vista may
NEVER be installed on more than one machine at a time.

When you installed your new video card, Windows Vista saw a fairly
major hardware change. It wasn't quite sure, is this still the same
computer? or have I been copied onto a new computer? Is he trying to
run two copies of me or two different machines that are indentical
except different video cards? I better have this 'investigated 'by the
'skillful' activation team. I'm going deactivate myself. :|

Yes, its a bit of a pain but on the good side it helps...prevent...bob
joe from stilling one copy of ultimate on his pc and his in-laws 50
pcs. :| So it prevents...piracy which is always...good? Right? Yes?
Maybe?

So long story short, anytime you have a large hardware change its
going to get you to confirm that your copy of Windows Vista is
legitimate to confirm you haven't tried to install it on more than one
machine or to check and see if you are trying to use your one-time
transfer to a new computer allowed in your end user agreement.

 

[Cal Bear '66]

Use phone activation.

Quick and painless.

 

[Guest]

Vista shouldn't need to re-activate just because you changed you gpu.
Something else is going on with your computer.

 

[cquirke (MVP Windows shell/user)]

Use phone activation.

Quick and painless.

Why should he?

In every description of BIOS-locked and component-monitoring
activation I've read, NONE of them predict a need to activate after
changing the display adapter and nothing else.

It should "lose" a single life at the most.

So, don't you have at least some passing interest in why this is
happening? Is it still acceptable to embed user-hostile code such as
activation's DoS payload, when bugs trigger it out of the blue?

Or is this a "new darkness standard", where we accept that at any
moment for no reason at all, we can be stopped and challenged to "show
our papers", with the threat of DoS if we fail to comply?

Be careful what you wish for...
....but be even more careful with what you complacently tolerate.

------------------ ----- ---- --- -- - - - -

The rights you save may be your own

 

[Cal Bear '66]

Can you spell P A R A N O I A?

Such a useless and whining rant!

 

[M]

Why should he?

In every description of BIOS-locked and component-monitoring
activation I've read, NONE of them predict a need to activate after
changing the display adapter and nothing else.

It should "lose" a single life at the most.

So, don't you have at least some passing interest in why this is
happening? Is it still acceptable to embed user-hostile code such as
activation's DoS payload, when bugs trigger it out of the blue?

Or is this a "new darkness standard", where we accept that at any
moment for no reason at all, we can be stopped and challenged to "show
our papers", with the threat of DoS if we fail to comply?

Be careful what you wish for...
...but be even more careful with what you complacently tolerate.



The rights you save may be your own

I had to reactive Windows XP Professional after changing the Graphics card.
I did this by 'phone and initially they were adamant that I had installed XP
on two PCs which I hadn't. Dealing with them by 'phone was a complete
hassle and I shouldn't have had to be basically called a thief because their
activation system doesn't work properly. I had previously carried out other
upgrades including memory so this may have just been one upgrade too many by
the motherboard and CPU are still the originals so it should be obvious that
there was only one PC involved.

 

[cquirke (MVP Windows shell/user)]

"cquirke (MVP Windows shell/user)" wrote in

Cal Bear '66"'s trying to make me paranoid, but I won't let them ;-)

I had to reactive Windows XP Professional after changing the Graphics card.
I did this by 'phone and initially they were adamant that I had installed XP
on two PCs which I hadn't. Dealing with them by 'phone was a complete
hassle and I shouldn't have had to be basically called a thief because their
activation system doesn't work properly.

Maybe it does; the post you were replying to suggests it doesn't, but
your case may suggest it is at least WAD (Works As Designed).

I had previously carried out other upgrades including memory so this may
have just been one upgrade too many by the motherboard and CPU are
still the originals so it should be obvious that there was only one PC involved.

Mary Jo Foley discovered the following question and answer:

Q. How do hardware changes impact system reactivation requirement?

A. As long as the change is below 25 points you do not need to
re-activate. Here is the table to determine total points. This
applies to both Windows Vista client and Longhorn server for retail
activation, MAK activation and KMS activation.

Component Class Name Default Weight

CD-ROM/CD-RW/DVD-ROM 1
IDE Adaptor 3
Physical OS Hard Drive Serial # 11
Display Adaptor 1
SCSI Adaptor 2
Audio Adaptor 2
Network Adaptor MAC Address 2
Processor 3
RAM Amount Range (i.e. 0-512mb, 512-1GB) 1
BIOS ID ('0' always matches) 9

So you start with 35 points, and depending on how you read the text,
you die if you have < 25 points left )as I first read it), or lose
less than 25 points i.e. have 11 points left.

Changing SVGA alone should leave you with 24 points and a system that
appears to have been unaffected by the change.

Changing VGA, RAM and HD will lose 1 + 1 + 11 = 13 points, leaving you
alive or dead with 24 points, depending on how you read the above. As
I first read it, the HD alone would have killed you; as I now re-read
it, you should be staggering along on your last legs, while appearing
to have been unaffected by the changes.

Retaining motherboard and CPU doesn't make it "obvious" it's the same
PC, as many other PCs will have the same motherboard and CPU
combination. You'd have the same BIOS, and depending on how
components are detected, the same IDE, sound and network device
(assuming these are built into the motherboard and not hidden by CMOS
settings or add-on cards that supplant them).

That would be 9 + 3 + 2 + 2 + 1 = 17 points; enough to be alive if you
read the text one way, dead if you read it another.

So depending on how you read the text, your assertion may be true
(that activation is buggy, and is breaking its own design rules when
it triggers the payload) or true in another way (that although
activation is "working as designed" and therefore not buggy, it is
incorrect in unilaterally assuming it "sees" a different PC).

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If you're happy and you know it, clunk your chains.

 

[Hugh Jass]

Funny, I changed my video card twice and was never asked to reactivate???