Activation HELP PLEASE HELP

[Anatoliy]

HELP
i don't know how to fix allot of problems with Windows XP
home, so i just
reinstall it.
And every time have to activate.
Right now i cant activate it, because it says

According to our records, the number of times you can
activate Windows with
this product key has been EXCEEDED. Please enter a
different Product key,
and than -------
Product key can be found on the label attached to your
Windows
documentation--------

I tryed to get help Online but they ask me for
Microsoft Registered Software Product Identification (PID)

This number doesn't work to

There is no other KEY or number
Only one that used to work before
What does that mean?
So, NO MORE ?
200$ cash for nothing ?

 

[Chris Lanier]

Please call the number given in the activation wizard. Microsoft can
support you over the phone.

 

[David A. Spicer]

Choose the telephone activation method and it will give you a number to
call. Explain to them what you did and they will help you activate.

 

[Cary]

Anatoliy, you are not out $200. However, you may have to rely on the
kindness of strangers, namely, your software vendor. You need to trade in
that copy of XP for another one, as it has to take an "activation vacation"
for a while.

I have to ask, Why did you activate so many times? That was crazy. You
should have come here first. I hope you were not trying to clone your
software. Microsoft thought you might have been, and that's why you are in
trouble.

Go back to your vendor and explain the problem. They should be able to trade
it for a new one. Please seek advice here before reinstalling XP. There are
better solutions than that one, as I am sure you now realize.

 

[kurttrail]

HELP
i don't know how to fix allot of problems with Windows XP
home, so i just
reinstall it.
And every time have to activate.
Right now i cant activate it, because it says

According to our records, the number of times you can
activate Windows with
this product key has been EXCEEDED. Please enter a
different Product key,
and than -------
Product key can be found on the label attached to your
Windows
documentation--------

I tryed to get help Online but they ask me for
Microsoft Registered Software Product Identification (PID)

This number doesn't work to

There is no other KEY or number
Only one that used to work before
What does that mean?
So, NO MORE ?
200$ cash for nothing ?

You paid $200 dollars to be treated like a criminal, and for MS to try
to cheat you out of even more money. MS purposely mis-words this error,
to try to scam the unsuspecting consumer out of even more money, because
there is no limit to how many times you reinstall XP on the same
computer. As other people responded, you need to activate by phone.
Try activating again, and when you get to that fraudulent message, there
should be an option to activate by phone. If you have to speak to a
phone rep, they will probably ask you something like, "Why are you
activating your software?" Now they aren't supposed to be asking you
that, but if you try to tell them that, all they will do is hassle you
the whole way. All they really want to hear is that it's XP is that XP
is installed on one computer, so tell them you don't know why you have
to reactivate, and tell them what they want to hear.

Remember all this hassle when MS wants you to plunk down more of your
hard earned money for their PA-Disabled Software.

For More Info On PA:

http://aumha.org/win5/a/wpa.htm

http://www.microsoft.com/piracy/basics/activation/mpafaq.asp

http://microscum.com/mmpafaq/

--
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!"

 

[kurttrail]

Anatoliy, you are not out $200. However, you may have to rely on the
kindness of strangers, namely, your software vendor. You need to
trade in that copy of XP for another one, as it has to take an
"activation vacation" for a while.

I have to ask, Why did you activate so many times? That was crazy. You
should have come here first. I hope you were not trying to clone your
software. Microsoft thought you might have been, and that's why you
are in trouble.

Go back to your vendor and explain the problem. They should be able
to trade it for a new one. Please seek advice here before
reinstalling XP. There are better solutions than that one, as I am
sure you now realize.

FUD! Are you sure your first name ain't Elmer?

--
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!"

 

[Knoj]

Anatoliy, you are not out $200. However, you may have to rely on the
kindness of strangers, namely, your software vendor. You need to trade
in that copy of XP for another one, as it has to take an "activation
vacation" for a while.

I have to ask, Why did you activate so many times? That was crazy. You
should have come here first. I hope you were not trying to clone your
software. Microsoft thought you might have been, and that's why you
are in trouble.

Go back to your vendor and explain the problem. They should be able to
trade it for a new one. Please seek advice here before reinstalling
XP. There are better solutions than that one, as I am sure you now
realize.

This is horrible and ignorant advice. Please ignore. Good grief!

The software vendor won't replace the software. Why would they? It's not
defective. That's what is supposed to happen. To remedy all you have to
do is call the toll free number and spend a few moments with a MS tech.
They will give you a new set of numbers to allow activation.

 

[Bob Knowlden]

Ordinarily, the number of times you can activate with a single copy of XP is
*once* (that is, you can activate on only one PC).

You ought to be able to re-activate if the hardware is identical to the last
time that it was activated. (However, I once crossed the threshold needed
for activation by uninstalling the Intel Application Accelerator, so it
seems that the "hardware hash" code isn't a pure hardware thing. Maybe
that's false, and the uninstall just damaged the activation files somehow.)

Supposedly, the activation resets after 120 days, but I won't suggest that
you wait until early 2004 to activate.

I suggest that you use the telephone method. (It ought to be an option on
the activation screen.) In the US, it's done through a toll-free number.
There's an automated telephone activation process that will probably fail,
at which point you'll be switched over to a Microsoft rep. Explain to him
(or her) exactly what you're doing, and emphasize that XP will be installed
on a single machine. You should be given an activation code. The whole
process ought to take about five minutes. I'm unsure as to how often you'd
have to do this to make Microsoft suspicious, but I have had to re-activate
XP (Home) several times in the past year. The only problem I ever had was
that once the activation database was unavailable, and I had to wait a few
hours for it to come back up. (When it did, I could activate via the Net.) I
expect that the XP activation servers are more robust now than then.

The product ID that Microsoft wants for support isn't the 25 digit product
key; it's the 20 digit code generated in an XP installation, of the form
xxxxx-xxx-xxxxxxx-xxxxx. It's displayed under System Properties. I don't
know whether you can display it for a copy of XP that isn't activated. You
should not need to seek MS Support help, though, to fix your immediate
problem.

One thing that I'm a bit shaky on: OEM licenses. An OEM license is not
transferable between machines, but there must be provision for upgrade an
repair of a PC: a new graphics card, larger hard drive, etc. From your
remark about $200, I assume that you have a retail license, so you'll be OK.

I'm no fan of product activation, but as long as you stay within Microsoft's
EULA (end user license agreement), there should be no problem, other than
some mild (I hope) annoyance.

Good luck.

Bob Knowlden

Address may be altered to avoid spam. Replace nkbob with bobkn.

 

[Orlando Gondar]

I had clean-up and clean-install my XP Pro with no problems at all.

Just last time I had to let windows re-dial like Bob saids, because
the activation database was unavailable.

 

[Gordon Burgess-Parker]

Ordinarily, the number of times you can activate with a single copy
of XP is *once* (that is, you can activate on only one PC).

Utter garbage! I've re-formatted at LEAST three times, re-installed and
activated over the internet without any problem!

 

[Alex Nichol]

i don't know how to fix allot of problems with Windows XP
home, so i just
reinstall it.
And every time have to activate.
Right now i cant activate it, because it says

According to our records, the number of times you can
activate Windows with
this product key has been EXCEEDED. Please enter a
different Product key,

In that case you have to take the alternative method of activation (once
the system is installed - not during installation). Run
Start - All Programs - Accessories - System Tools - Activate Windows
and take the Activate by Phone choice. You will be given a toll free
number to call, and then will have to explain circumstances - any
reasonable explanation accepted, and swap one long number for another
to type in.

In general, a full reinstall should be a very last resort. You should
not need major hospitalisation for a cut finger, and you can get a lot
of good advice here. Before getting to a format and reinstall, do a
repair one - Set the BIOS to boot CD before Hard disk, then boot the XP
CD, start Setup (do not take 'Repair' at this stage), then after the
license agreement take 'Repair Installation'. This will retain your
existing software installations and most settings. But Updates will
have to be run again, especially SP1;
It is important to activate the basic XP Firewall before you ever
connect to the net to get the patches, so as to be protected against
things like the BLAST worm.

This should retain your activation status, though if you have never
registered you may have the setup suggest it now (don't bother).