Activation by Phone to a "Real" Person at Microsoft

[Alan]

Hi all,

I had to do a clean XP Home installation today on an old Compaq Presario
2500 laptop for a client of mine.

Because he had none of the Recovery or XP Installation CDs that came with
the machine, I called H-P to request a replacement set. However, because the
laptop is so old by their standards they had no installation media that I
could buy.

I told the H-P/Compaq rep that I have a Dell OEM Windows XP Home CD that
came with my own machine. He said that XP should install okay using that --
which it did.

I'm now trying to register Windows XP using the 25 Character XP Code on the
bottom of the Compaq laptop. While I thought it MIGHT just work over the
Internet, it was flagged as being incorrect.

I then called the phone number listed and all I can get is an automated
voice response which tells me -- after I read the 54 character message
code -- that the code is wrong and "I won't be able to validate my
installation right now."

Is there a phone number with a real person at Microsoft, who I can call and
activate this installation?

Thanks very much.

Alan

 

[Volunteer J]

Hi all,

I had to do a clean XP Home installation today on an old Compaq
Presario 2500 laptop for a client of mine.

Because he had none of the Recovery or XP Installation CDs that came
with the machine, I called H-P to request a replacement set. However,
because the laptop is so old by their standards they had no
installation media that I could buy.

I told the H-P/Compaq rep that I have a Dell OEM Windows XP Home CD
that came with my own machine. He said that XP should install okay
using that -- which it did.

I'm now trying to register Windows XP using the 25 Character XP Code
on the bottom of the Compaq laptop. While I thought it MIGHT just
work over the Internet, it was flagged as being incorrect.

I then called the phone number listed and all I can get is an
automated voice response which tells me -- after I read the 54
character message code -- that the code is wrong and "I won't be able to
validate my
installation right now."

Is there a phone number with a real person at Microsoft, who I can
call and activate this installation?

Thanks very much.

Alan

=====================================
Maybe the following links would be worth a look:

(307890) How to activate Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/307890/en-us

(295539) How and When to Contact Microsoft
Customer Service
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=295539

--

Volunteer J - MS-MVP
Digital Media Experience

Notice
This is not tech support
I am a volunteer

Solutions that work for
me may not work for you

Proceed at your own risk

 

[Daave]

Hi all,

I had to do a clean XP Home installation today on an old Compaq
Presario 2500 laptop for a client of mine.

Because he had none of the Recovery or XP Installation CDs that came
with the machine, I called H-P to request a replacement set. However,
because the laptop is so old by their standards they had no
installation media that I could buy.

I told the H-P/Compaq rep that I have a Dell OEM Windows XP Home CD
that came with my own machine. He said that XP should install okay
using that -- which it did.

You should *not* have used a Dell-branded XP installation CD, and the
HP/Compaq rep should not have told you this would work! The Dell-branded
XP installation CD is locked to Dell motherboards.

I'm now trying to register Windows XP using the 25 Character XP Code
on the bottom of the Compaq laptop. While I thought it MIGHT just
work over the Internet, it was flagged as being incorrect.

This can happen when you use a branded OEM installation CD!

I then called the phone number listed and all I can get is an
automated voice response which tells me -- after I read the 54
character message code -- that the code is wrong and "I won't be able
to validate my
installation right now."

Is there a phone number with a real person at Microsoft, who I can
call and activate this installation?

I doubt it. You are not permitted to use the Dell CD on an HP product. I
agree it sucks since your customer obviously has a license to run XP
Home on that PC.

Here are some ideas:

1. Search online for the generic HP product key for XP Home. This might
help:

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&...fai=CBDggzkL3S6u1KZy2yATNhvGqDwAAAKoEBU_QC2B1

Maybe if you use that Product Key, Activation will work (not
Registration, that's something else!).

2. Obtain the correct restoration media from a site like this:

http://www.restoredisks.com/

3. Obtain a *generic* OEM XP Home installation CD. Also, it is possible
to create your own, using the Dell-branded one as a base:

http://www.howtohaven.com/system/createwindowssetupdisk.shtml

FWIW, I had issues performing a Clean Install of XP Pro onto an HP
laptop once, using a generic OEM XP Pro installation CD. What worked for
me was to enter the generic product key first, during the installation.
Later I needed to enter the Product Key on the COA sticker when it was
time to activate:

http://groups.google.com/group/micr...pport/msg/35e37f9b9b54654f?hl=en&dmode=source

Good luck and let us know how you make out!

 

[Andrew E.]

That xp cd will not work with another pc..The 25 letters/numbers was
not issued by microsoft,it is thru the pc mfg with a volume
license...Microsoft
keys are always seperate from the pc,usually in or with its packaging.

 

[Daniel]

Just to confirm that you used the CD Key numbers on the HP during install ,
then
tried to activate, the CD key numbers are not the activation numbers,
automatic activation over the net should work fine, and so should manual
activation
if you follow the correct procedures including using the activation codes
generated,
you may be asked to confirm that the software is not installed elsewhere,
but I doubt it.

I only carry one XP install disk with me (and it happens to be a Dell) and
use it on many different
machines I repair and I have never had any problem with activation.

cheers

Daniel

 

[Daniel]

Clarification: The CD Key used in install must be the CD key that belongs to
the machine
being installed on, not the key on the install disk being used.

Daniel

 

[PA Bear [MS MVP]]

I told the H-P/Compaq rep that I have a Dell OEM Windows XP Home CD that

came with my own machine. He said that XP should install okay using
that --
which it did.

But did he say you'd be able to Activate the install?

And what about the Compaq-specific drivers?

I think you're SOL here. That being said...

<canned>
Please visit http://www.microsoft.com/genuine/ and click on the Validate
Windows button then restart your computer.

If you weren't able to Validate, proceed as follows:

1. Download this diagnostic tool, saving it to your desktop:
http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=56062

=> WinXP: Double-click on the executable to run the tool.

=> Vista & Win7: Right-click on the executable and select Run as
Administrator to run the tool.

2. After running the tool, click on the Windows and/or Office tab as
appropriate and then click on Copy (to clipboard).

NB: You may want to open a new Notepad file, paste the contents of your
clipboard into it & save for future reference.

3. Begin a new thread in the following Microsoft Genuine Advantage forum and
paste the results from the WGA and/or OGA Diagnostic Data tool in a detailed
post: http://social.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/genuinewindowsxp/threads

4. A troubleshooting specialist will analyze the data and recommend an
appropriate solution.
</canned>

 

[Alan]

Thanks to everyone for your replies, since I first posted this message last
night.

I managed to get a "real person" at Microsoft by calling the phone number
listed in http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=295539. (Fortunately, for me it
was before 9:00 PM Pacific time.)

I explained the situation to the first person, who checked the 25 character
Product Key affixed to the Compaq machine. He then escalated me to an
Windows XP Activation support rep.

This rep asked me for both the 25 character Product Key on the Compaq
machine as well as the number shown in the Registered To field -- the one
that displays in Properties after right-clicking on the My Computer icon.
This number was the same as that which shows on my own Dell E520:
76477-OEM-x x x x x x x - x x x x x.

Either the numbers verified my story -- or I just had an honest voice --
but he believed me. :->

He had me go to the following page via Internet Explorer to bring up the The
Windows Product Key Update Tool:
http://www.microsoft.com/genuine/se...en&sGuid=0549415e-e9b3-465a-bd03-f178df022063.

I agreed to the I understand this tool will send the above information to
Microsoft message and then clicked on the Download radio button. In the File
Download dialog box, I clicked Run and the application started.

It was a simple process: I inserted the 25 character Product Key from the
sticker on the Compaq machine and was instructed to re-boot. After
re-booting, the Microsoft tech had me click on Start | Run and type in
"oobe/msoobe /a" (without the quotation marks) to bring up the Windows
Activation screen. I clicked on the "Validate by Internet" choice and
received a message stating that Windows had been validated.

As the last step, the rep had me go to the
http://www.microsoft.com/genuine/default.aspx?displaylang=en where I clicked
on the
Validate Windows radio button.

Everything is now kosher!

Alan



He then had me click on Start | Run. In the command window I typed
"oobe/msoobe /a" to bring up the Windows activation screen. In the space
where it says Enter Product Key if instructed

As expected

 

[Alan]

PA Bear,

The Compaq drivers were not a problem. I went to the H-P website using my
Dell PC, and downloaded whatever I needed.

Then, using a thumb drive, I transferred whatever drivers I had downloaded
to the Compaq laptop and installed.

Alan

 

[Volunteer J]

You're welcome.

Thanks for the update.

--

Volunteer J - MS-MVP
Digital Media Experience

Notice
This is not tech support
I am a volunteer

Solutions that work for
me may not work for you

Proceed at your own risk

=====================

 

[Doum]

Clarification: The CD Key used in install must be the CD key that
belongs to the machine
being installed on, not the key on the install disk being used.

Daniel

<snip>

And the version on the CD must match the version on the COA sticker on the
PC, ie : Home CD for Home sticker, Pro CD for Pro COA sticker, language
must be the same.

 

[Daniel]

<snip>

And the version on the CD must match the version on the COA sticker on the
PC, ie : Home CD for Home sticker, Pro CD for Pro COA sticker, language
must be the same.

Yep, that's right.

 

[Twayne]

In

....

You should *not* have used a Dell-branded XP installation
CD, and the HP/Compaq rep should not have told you this
would work! The Dell-branded XP installation CD is locked
to Dell motherboards.

Not so. My Dell T3400 workstation came with a complete, unlocked XP system
disk and at the SP3 level along with a win7 install disc, but it was older,
sans the SP for it. It's a win7 machine but I asked for XP Pro to be
preinstalled, so they did that. First thing I did was wipe/reinstall XP Pro
to my likings & partitions. So far, as long as I had their code, I've used
it (a copy of course) to install two other XP machines; one an Acer and the
other an HP. Dell gives the discs on certain, not all models. You have to
read to see which is which, or ask.

HTH,

Twayne`
....

 

[Twayne]

In

But did he say you'd be able to Activate the install?

That would be a silly omission and a silly comment, no offense.

And what about the Compaq-specific drivers?

Assuming the disc isn't locked to the Dell, which many are not: Any non-XP
Compaq specific drivers are on the Drivers disc and a Programs Disk maybe
with a different name anyway. If the only recovery ware is on-disk in a
hidden partition, then what you say may be true. Dell is still a Quality
outfit and provides the legit XP disc on many of its models.

I think you're SOL here. That being said...

Depends; chances are good he's OK.
Good links below, BTW.

HTH,

Twayne`