Activation, Hardware, and OEM version.

[Gary Tait]

Correct me if I am wrong:

I can make so many changes without re-activating (something like the
4th,
according to the hardware voting system), which I will have to
re-activate by phone, or if at least 120 days since the last (or is it
just the first) activation, I can re-activate on the internet.

With he OEM version, I cannot change the MoBo (it is a generic OEM
version I bought, not one that came with my PC).

Also, I read that with OEM version, it can be tied to the system BIOS,
and one can change most of the other hardware without reactivation.
How do I tie my install of XP Home to my PC's BIOS? (I don't intend on
changing Mobos anytime soon, the next system I may just buy pre-built
anyway)

Short of creating a clone of the install, is there any way to keep the
activation, should I have to re-install the OS?

 

[Willit]

Just change it !!!!!!!!. No one knows what a PC is anyway.

BIOS locking is no more than a way to let it be installed
even if the hardware does and the BIOS doesn't. Why would
they talk about changing the MOBO on a OEM if they didn't
envision you doing it.

From:
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/treeview/default.asp?
url=/technet/prodtechnol/winxppro/evaluate/xpactiv.asp

"Every single piece of hardware could be changed on a PC
with SLP and no reactivation would be required - even the
motherboard could be replaced as long as the replacement
motherboard was original equipment manufactured by the OEM
and retained the proper BIOS. In the unlikely scenario
that the BIOS information does not match, the PC would
need to be activated within 30 days by contacting the
Microsoft activation center via the Internet or telephone
call - just as in a retail scenario."

 

[The Unknown P]

I guess you missed my post yesterday about keeping the WPA
so that you don't have to go on line after reinstalling
the XP OS. Find the WPA.DBL file in your windows\system32
folder and copy it to a floppy disk or a CD of your
choice. It's small so a floppy is the most economical.
Once you reinstall XP just place the wpa.dbl back into the
windows\system32 folder and you are activated. Keep
smiling.

 

[purplehaz]

Note: if you change any hardware this may not work. It's technique is
usually used for reinstalling the os when no changes to the computer
hardware configuration have been made.

 

[kurttrail]

Correct me if I am wrong:

I can make so many changes without re-activating (something like the
4th,
according to the hardware voting system), which I will have to
re-activate by phone, or if at least 120 days since the last (or is it
just the first) activation, I can re-activate on the internet.

With he OEM version, I cannot change the MoBo (it is a generic OEM
version I bought, not one that came with my PC).

Also, I read that with OEM version, it can be tied to the system BIOS,
and one can change most of the other hardware without reactivation.
How do I tie my install of XP Home to my PC's BIOS? (I don't intend on
changing Mobos anytime soon, the next system I may just buy pre-built
anyway)

Short of creating a clone of the install, is there any way to keep the
activation, should I have to re-install the OS?

MS has no way to know what actual hardware you changed unless you tell
them, so they have to rely on the info you tell them. Just reactivate
when neccessary.

--
Peace!
Kurt
Self-anointed Moderator
microscum.pubic.windowsexp.gonorrhea
http://microscum.com
"Trustworthy Computing" is only another example of an Oxymoron!
"Produkt-Aktivierung macht frei!"

 

[Gary Tait]

I guess you missed my post yesterday about keeping the WPA
so that you don't have to go on line after reinstalling
the XP OS. Find the WPA.DBL file in your windows\system32
folder and copy it to a floppy disk or a CD of your
choice. It's small so a floppy is the most economical.
Once you reinstall XP just place the wpa.dbl back into the
windows\system32 folder and you are activated. Keep
smiling.

I seen that, but have no conclusive evidence backing up and restoring
that file will retain activation. Are you saing that it is definate?

 

[purplehaz]

I seen that, but have no conclusive evidence backing up and restoring
that file will retain activation. Are you saing that it is definate?

No it is not definite. It is a limited solution.

"It is valuable to back up the two files WPA.DBL and
WPA.BAK from the Windows\System32 folder.Then, should they
get damaged, or should you do a 'Repair' reinstallation of
Win XP, these files can be copied back to restore the
prior activation status. However, this only works in those
limited circumstances. The contents of these two files is
matched to the specific Windows setup; therefore, contrary
to what many journalists and members of the user community
have written in recent months, restoring these files will
not restore your activation status following a reformat
and clean install."

 

[Steve Nielsen]

Would deleting or renaming the WPA.DBL file cause Windows to no longer
be activated?

Steve

 

[mrtee]

Try it, you'll find out. Keep a copy of it before you do.

--
Just my 2¢ worth
Jeff
__________in response to__________
| Would deleting or renaming the WPA.DBL file cause Windows to no longer
| be activated?
|
| Steve

 

[Bruce Chambers]

Greetings --

There's no limit to the number of times you can reinstall and
activate the same WinXP license on the same PC. If it's been more
than 120 days since you last activated that specific Product Key,
you'll most likely be able to activate via the Internet without
problem. If it's been less, you might have to make a 5 minute phone
call.

Here are the facts pertaining to activation:

Piracy Basics - Microsoft Product Activation
http://www.microsoft.com/piracy/basics/activation/

Windows Product Activation (WPA)
http://www.aumha.org/a/wpa.htm

According to the EULA, an OEM license may not be transferred from
one distinct PC to another distinct PC.

However, Microsoft has, to date, been very careful _not_ to define
when an incrementally upgraded computer ceases to be the original
computer. The closest I've seen a Microsoft employee come to this
definition is to tell the person making the inquiry to consult the
PC's manufacturer. As the OEM license's support is solely the
responsibility of said manufacturer, they should determine what sort
of hardware changes to allow before the warranty and support
agreements are voided. An incrementally upgraded computer ceases to
be the original computer, as pertains to the OEM EULA, only when the
*OEM* says it's a different computer.

If you've built the PC yourself, and used a generic OEM WinXP CD,
*you* are the OEM, and *you* get to decide when you're going to stop
supporting the system and its OS.


Bruce Chambers

--
Help us help you:



You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don't ever count on
having both at once. -- RAH

 

[Bruce Chambers]

Greetings --

It takes much less time and effort to activate via the Internet or
the telephone than it does to follow your "tip," which will work in
only a very few cases, anyway.


Bruce Chambers

--
Help us help you:



You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don't ever count on
having both at once. -- RAH

 

[Alex Nichol]

I can make so many changes without re-activating (something like the
4th,
according to the hardware voting system), which I will have to
re-activate by phone, or if at least 120 days since the last (or is it
just the first) activation, I can re-activate on the internet.

If you do a format and new setup, then if the hardware is not
substantially the same, you can reactivate on the net; or if it is too
much changed and it is also over 120 days since last activated you can
also activate on the net. Major change at less delay means a phone-in
to explain and swap one long number for another. See
www.aumha.org/win5/a/wpa.htm

With he OEM version, I cannot change the MoBo (it is a generic OEM
version I bought, not one that came with my PC).

Just where the machine is seen as no longer the same and therefore no
longer qualifying for the license under the OEM EULA is a grey area -
and the EULA itself does not appear to me actually to bear the
interpretation MS representatives here put on it. But *technically* the
position would be the same - if the hardware was within those tolerances
it would be accepted by the over the net activation. I see nothing that
is specific about such a license being tided to a motherboard - the EULA
strictly ties it to whatever item of hardware it was bought with.
However, changing a motherboard almost always means a change of CPU and
amount of RAM, so is starting to push things

Also, I read that with OEM version, it can be tied to the system BIOS,
and one can change most of the other hardware without reactivation.
How do I tie my install of XP Home to my PC's BIOS? (I don't intend on
changing Mobos anytime soon, the next system I may just buy pre-built
anyway)

That is not your OEM version, but one provided with new machines by one
of the major makers, which have some different code that checks the BIOS
on the motherboard to be the original one. While that remains, you can
do what you like with *other* hardware. But you can't convert a
different variant of the system to this method