Activation-How do I stop the insanity?

M

Mark Smith

About three days ago I posted a message here or in the hardware group
defending MS Activation because it took me less than 3 clicks; it was fast
and easy. Well guess what.

I hooked up a USB camera last night. I got a popup saying that before the
effects could take place I had to reboot. When I rebooted, I got the
Activation popup saying I my hardware configuration had changed.

Before that I switched HDD's around and put in a new cd drive. I don't know
how I could have exceeded anything. Anyway, I let the activation
automatically dial me into their 800 number. I am on dial-up by the way.

Then I got disconnected saying I had exceeded my activations. I then
realized I was going to have to enter a 60 digit number, so I said screw it
and opted out to talk directly to a rep. I was on hold for 4 minutes. When
she came on, I told her all I did was connect a usb camera. She explained
that everytime my hardware changed I would have to reactivate.

I told her I had a new video card coming and a new DVD writer coming, so I
had better wait before reactivating now because I don't want to have to go
through this again when my new hardware arrives from newegg.

She said I could not wait and that I was going to have to call out my 60
digit number and then she would reissue me a new number that I had to enter
to reactivate.

This whole process took exactly 10 minutes. And I am going to have to go
through this every time I connect a USB camera? Are you kidding me?

The camera is a cybershot and when I plug it into my USB hub it says found
new hardware but you must reboot before changes can take effect.

Will MS pay for me to get a card reader so I don't have to keep
disconnecting my camera? I can't believe I am going to have to go through
this again when my video card gets here. I am going to make damn sure I do
the DVD writer at the same time.

How much money is MS saving by doing this activation? I am telling you that
I am actually thinking about getting an illegal copy of XP now!!!!!

When I bought this XP from Circuit City, you guys should have had this
disclaimer on it:

WARNING: Microsoft now makes it very inconvenient for you to use XP if you
are going to build your own computer.
 
C

Carey Frisch [MVP]

Product Activation Facts
http://www.microsoft.com/piracy/activation_faq.mspx

Windows XP Product Activation
http://aumha.org/win5/a/wpa.php

--
Carey Frisch
Microsoft MVP
Windows - Shell/User
Microsoft Community Newsgroups
news://msnews.microsoft.com/

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

:

| About three days ago I posted a message here or in the hardware group
| defending MS Activation because it took me less than 3 clicks; it was fast
| and easy. Well guess what.
|
| I hooked up a USB camera last night. I got a popup saying that before the
| effects could take place I had to reboot. When I rebooted, I got the
| Activation popup saying I my hardware configuration had changed.
|
| Before that I switched HDD's around and put in a new cd drive. I don't know
| how I could have exceeded anything. Anyway, I let the activation
| automatically dial me into their 800 number. I am on dial-up by the way.
|
| Then I got disconnected saying I had exceeded my activations. I then
| realized I was going to have to enter a 60 digit number, so I said screw it
| and opted out to talk directly to a rep. I was on hold for 4 minutes. When
| she came on, I told her all I did was connect a usb camera. She explained
| that everytime my hardware changed I would have to reactivate.
|
| I told her I had a new video card coming and a new DVD writer coming, so I
| had better wait before reactivating now because I don't want to have to go
| through this again when my new hardware arrives from newegg.
|
| She said I could not wait and that I was going to have to call out my 60
| digit number and then she would reissue me a new number that I had to enter
| to reactivate.
|
| This whole process took exactly 10 minutes. And I am going to have to go
| through this every time I connect a USB camera? Are you kidding me?
|
| The camera is a cybershot and when I plug it into my USB hub it says found
| new hardware but you must reboot before changes can take effect.
|
| Will MS pay for me to get a card reader so I don't have to keep
| disconnecting my camera? I can't believe I am going to have to go through
| this again when my video card gets here. I am going to make damn sure I do
| the DVD writer at the same time.
|
| How much money is MS saving by doing this activation? I am telling you that
| I am actually thinking about getting an illegal copy of XP now!!!!!
|
| When I bought this XP from Circuit City, you guys should have had this
| disclaimer on it:
|
| WARNING: Microsoft now makes it very inconvenient for you to use XP if you
| are going to build your own computer.
 
M

Mark Smith

Oh I just remembered. I got 1gig of ram coming too. I am sure that will
cause a red flag regarding activation.
 
M

Mark Smith

----- Original Message -----
From: "BigJIm" <[email protected]>
Sent: Wednesday, December 07, 2005 11:01 AM
Subject: Re: Activation-How do I stop the insanity?

Bull Shit
Click to expand...


All my phone calls are taped. I will soon be putting a copy of the phone
call online. Stay tuned.

BTW, thank you for your professionalism and intellectual response.
 
A

Alias

Mark said:
About three days ago I posted a message here or in the hardware group
defending MS Activation because it took me less than 3 clicks; it was fast
and easy. Well guess what.

I hooked up a USB camera last night. I got a popup saying that before the
effects could take place I had to reboot. When I rebooted, I got the
Activation popup saying I my hardware configuration had changed.

Before that I switched HDD's around and put in a new cd drive. I don't know
how I could have exceeded anything. Anyway, I let the activation
automatically dial me into their 800 number. I am on dial-up by the way.

Then I got disconnected saying I had exceeded my activations. I then
realized I was going to have to enter a 60 digit number, so I said screw it
and opted out to talk directly to a rep. I was on hold for 4 minutes. When
she came on, I told her all I did was connect a usb camera. She explained
that everytime my hardware changed I would have to reactivate.

I told her I had a new video card coming and a new DVD writer coming, so I
had better wait before reactivating now because I don't want to have to go
through this again when my new hardware arrives from newegg.

She said I could not wait and that I was going to have to call out my 60
digit number and then she would reissue me a new number that I had to enter
to reactivate.

This whole process took exactly 10 minutes. And I am going to have to go
through this every time I connect a USB camera? Are you kidding me?

The camera is a cybershot and when I plug it into my USB hub it says found
new hardware but you must reboot before changes can take effect.

Will MS pay for me to get a card reader so I don't have to keep
disconnecting my camera? I can't believe I am going to have to go through
this again when my video card gets here. I am going to make damn sure I do
the DVD writer at the same time.

How much money is MS saving by doing this activation? I am telling you that
I am actually thinking about getting an illegal copy of XP now!!!!!

When I bought this XP from Circuit City, you guys should have had this
disclaimer on it:

WARNING: Microsoft now makes it very inconvenient for you to use XP if you
are going to build your own computer.
Click to expand...

It wouldn't activate online?

Weird.

Just goes to show, once again, that activation only inconveniences the
paying customers whilst the crackers just go about their cracking and
laughing the whole time.

Alias
 
M

Mark Smith

Alias said:
Mark Smith wrote:
It wouldn't activate online?
Weird.
Click to expand...

No, no. I am sure it would have activated online had I typed in those long
digits. I was so frustrated and new I had new hardware coming that I decided
to call instead. Obiviously typing would have been faster, and next time
that is what I will do.
 
G

Ghostrider

Mark said:
No, no. I am sure it would have activated online had I typed in those long
digits. I was so frustrated and new I had new hardware coming that I decided
to call instead. Obiviously typing would have been faster, and next time
that is what I will do.
Click to expand...

Since you are not paying for the telephone call (to an 800
number), then make it as often as you like. Microsoft has to
pay for these calls. It is your privilege to do so.
 
P

Peter

How to get around the activation problems:
How to format/reinstall Windows without having to Register or Activate.

Keep your activation status intact when reinstalling XP

Have you ever wanted to reformat the hard disk and reinstall Windows XP on a
system but you did not want to mess around with Microsoft's Product
Activation after the reinstall? Fortunately, you do not have to. As long as
you are not making any hardware alterations, you can back up the activation
status files before you reformat the hard drive and then restore them after
you reinstall the operating system.

To perform the backup, follow these steps:

1. Use Windows Explorer to open the C:\Windows\System32 folder.
2. Copy the Wpa.dbl and Wpa.bak files to a floppy disk or CD.

To perform the restore, follow these steps:

1. Decline the activation request at the end of the installation procedure,
and restart Windows XP.
2. During boot up, press F8 to access the Windows Advanced Options menu.
3. Choose the Safe Mode (SAFEBOOT_OPTION=Minimal) option.
4. Use Windows Explorer to open the C:\Windows\System32 folder.
5. If they exist, rename the new Wpa.dbl and Wpa.bak files to Wpadbl.new and
Wpabak.new.
6. Copy the original Wpa.dbl and Wpa.bak files from the floppy disk or CD to
the C:\Windows\System32 folder.
7. Restart the system.
 
M

Mark Smith

Thank you for replying, but I have to be honest. This process below will
take just as long as doing activation online.
 
D

DevilsPGD

In message <e94W350#[email protected]> "Mark Smith"
Then I got disconnected saying I had exceeded my activations. I then
realized I was going to have to enter a 60 digit number, so I said screw it
and opted out to talk directly to a rep. I was on hold for 4 minutes.
Click to expand...

That was rather stupid of you. You could have completed activation
within that 4 minute window you were on hold.
 
M

Mark Smith

I had questions to ask the tech....if you had read the rest of my post. And
how would I know how long it would take seeing as how this was the first
time the process took place?

Keep up the good work with your witty and scholarly replies, okay?
 
R

Ron Martell

Mark Smith said:
About three days ago I posted a message here or in the hardware group
defending MS Activation because it took me less than 3 clicks; it was fast
and easy. Well guess what.

I hooked up a USB camera last night. I got a popup saying that before the
effects could take place I had to reboot. When I rebooted, I got the
Activation popup saying I my hardware configuration had changed.

Before that I switched HDD's around and put in a new cd drive. I don't know
how I could have exceeded anything. Anyway, I let the activation
automatically dial me into their 800 number. I am on dial-up by the way.

Then I got disconnected saying I had exceeded my activations. I then
realized I was going to have to enter a 60 digit number, so I said screw it
and opted out to talk directly to a rep. I was on hold for 4 minutes. When
she came on, I told her all I did was connect a usb camera. She explained
that everytime my hardware changed I would have to reactivate.

I told her I had a new video card coming and a new DVD writer coming, so I
had better wait before reactivating now because I don't want to have to go
through this again when my new hardware arrives from newegg.

She said I could not wait and that I was going to have to call out my 60
digit number and then she would reissue me a new number that I had to enter
to reactivate.
Click to expand...

Have you read the article on activation by the late Alex Nichol MVP at
http://aumha.org/win5/a/wpa.htm ?

That explains how the activation process works, and indicates which
specific hardware components are monitored for changes.

It is important to realize that the hardware changes are cumulative
since the last actual activation, so that it can be a single,
seemingly quite trivial, hardware change such as adding more RAM or
replacing the CDROM drive that can trigger the need to reactivate.

Good luck
Ron Martell Duncan B.C. Canada
 
K

kurttrail

Mark said:
About three days ago I posted a message here or in the hardware group
defending MS Activation because it took me less than 3 clicks; it was
fast and easy. Well guess what.

I hooked up a USB camera last night. I got a popup saying that before
the effects could take place I had to reboot. When I rebooted, I got
the Activation popup saying I my hardware configuration had changed.

Before that I switched HDD's around and put in a new cd drive. I
don't know how I could have exceeded anything. Anyway, I let the
activation automatically dial me into their 800 number. I am on
dial-up by the way.
Then I got disconnected saying I had exceeded my activations. I then
realized I was going to have to enter a 60 digit number, so I said
screw it and opted out to talk directly to a rep. I was on hold for 4
minutes. When she came on, I told her all I did was connect a usb
camera. She explained that everytime my hardware changed I would have
to reactivate.
Click to expand...

She lied. Activation isn't supposed to work that way, but Activation
doesn't always work the way it is supposed to.
I told her I had a new video card coming and a new DVD writer coming,
so I had better wait before reactivating now because I don't want to
have to go through this again when my new hardware arrives from
newegg.
She said I could not wait and that I was going to have to call out my
60 digit number and then she would reissue me a new number that I had
to enter to reactivate.

This whole process took exactly 10 minutes. And I am going to have to
go through this every time I connect a USB camera? Are you kidding me?

The camera is a cybershot and when I plug it into my USB hub it says
found new hardware but you must reboot before changes can take effect.

Will MS pay for me to get a card reader so I don't have to keep
disconnecting my camera? I can't believe I am going to have to go
through this again when my video card gets here. I am going to make
damn sure I do the DVD writer at the same time.

How much money is MS saving by doing this activation?
Click to expand...

I would guess that it costs MS and its stockholders more than it saves
from piracy.
I am telling
you that I am actually thinking about getting an illegal copy of XP
now!!!!!
Click to expand...

Many people use the "Corp Edition" to bypass PA problems, even though
they own a legit copy.
When I bought this XP from Circuit City, you guys should have had this
disclaimer on it:

WARNING: Microsoft now makes it very inconvenient for you to use XP
if you are going to build your own computer.
Click to expand...

And actually have the truth on the box?! ROFL!

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

kurttrail

Mark said:
Thank you for replying, but I have to be honest. This process below
will take just as long as doing activation online.
Click to expand...

And it only works if the hardware stays exactly the same!

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

kurttrail

Ron said:
Have you read the article on activation by the late Alex Nichol MVP at
http://aumha.org/win5/a/wpa.htm ?

That explains how the activation process works, and indicates which
specific hardware components are monitored for changes.

It is important to realize that the hardware changes are cumulative
since the last actual activation, so that it can be a single,
seemingly quite trivial, hardware change such as adding more RAM or
replacing the CDROM drive that can trigger the need to reactivate.

Good luck
Ron Martell Duncan B.C. Canada
Click to expand...

And the one thing that is missing in that article is the acknowlegement
that PA doesn't always work the way it is supposed to.

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

Mark Smith

kurttrail said:
Mark Smith wrote:

Many people use the "Corp Edition" to bypass PA problems, even though they
own a legit copy.
Click to expand...

Wait a minute. You telling me if I have XP Pro I don't have to fool with
this activation?
 

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