Activation query

[David B]

My installation of XP HE SP1 crashed recently. After attempting a repair
install, upon rebooting, the welcome screen is shown, then a message is
displayed informing me that I must activate my copy of Windows before I can
even log on - there is no desktop, and therefore no icons to do this over an
internet connection, although I'm aware that I can do this over the phone.

When I select 'activate by phone' I'm given a number to quote to Microsoft.
My question is, will my license key be changed from this point on? If not,
what will happen? I have already installed XP on another hard drive in
readiness for my computer, will that now be rendered invalid? I was hoping
to access the old hard drive (containing the crashed version) to access my
emails - I can't perform the OE backup as described in this article
http://www.oehelp.com/backup.aspx as I cannot get to the registry on the
crashed version.

Could the reason it needs re-activation be because of hardware changes since
the first installation back in 2003? I've only changed the graphics card.
How does one keep MS informed of the changes to a machine?

Thank you very much,
David

 

[John Barnett MVP]

The number generated takes into account what ahrdware you currently have on
your pc. Your licence number doesn't change. You will still be able to use
the same licence number regardless of how many times you activate.

Just remember that, when you phone microsoft, you will need to have your pc
running and you will need to type into your phone keypad the number that
appear on screen. If the automated activation goes ok the automated service
will issue you with a new set of numbers. These need to be typed into the
spaces on the next line down to the code numbers you see on your screen.
Once the code numbers have been correctly typed in the system should
activate.

If a problem occurs then you will be transferred to a 'real' person rather
than a machine who will go throught he procedure with you again. On average
the whole procedure takes around 5 to 10 minutes for automated activation.
You can add an extra 5 minutes or so if yuou have to be transferred to the
activation centre.

As to you changing the hard drive. Have you considered installing the New
hard drive as Master and the Old one as slave. Activate the New drive and,
as the olde drive is connected as a slave, you should be able to access the
old drive from the new one. If you activate the Old drive now, then you will
have to activate the New one when you install that.

As for keeping microsoft up to speed on hardware upgrades you don't have to.
If anything major changes on your machine then you will be asked to
re-activate your copy of XP. Activation is simply there to prevent you
installing the same copy on loads of other machines. You are only licenced
to install one copy of XP on a single machine. Incidentally don't forget to
remove the copy of XP from your Old drive after your system has been set up
properly.

--
John Barnett MVP
Associate Expert
http://xphelpandsupport.mvps.org

The information in this mail is supplied "as is". No warranty of any
kind, either expressed or implied, is made in relation to the
accuracy, reliability or content of this mail. The Author shall not be
liable for any direct, indirect, incidental or consequential damages
arising out of the use of, or inability to use, information or
opinions expressed in this mail..

 

[David B]

Hello John,

Thank you most sincerely for taking the time in explaining this to me. I
successfully re-activated my copy of XP a few moments ago, and it was very
easy to accomplish. Thanks for giving me the confidence to do it.

After losing two hard drives in the past, I'm a little paranoid about
keeping my data safe... could you recommend a program or utility which I
could use to back up my C drive on a daily basis? Would a separate drive in
say, a USB enclosure be suitable, or does it have to be installed on the
system? Sorry this is off topic, but I'd appreciate your advice.

Sincere regards,
David

 

[John Barnett MVP]

Hi David,

I have two fixed hard drives in my PC. The first drive runs 3 operating
systems Xp Home, XP Pro, Vista. the second hard drive contains another copy
of Vista on one partition and then i have two other partitions on the same
dirve. The first is a backup partition. This is where i store any important
files/documents etc. The third partition hold an Image of my Windows XP Pro
partition (this is the main operating system i use when i am not testing
Vista. Windows XP Home is used by the rest of the family so that i don't
have to bother with anyone tampering with my setting and i don't have to set
up alternative profiles.

The backup data is periodically backed up to a DVD, as is the Image of XP
Pro. I also Image Vista after each new beta build hads been installed,
activated and is working reasonably well. If major problems occur it is
simple to re-image the operating system back to the main drive using imaging
software.

So basically either a USB hard drive or a fixed hard drive would suffice in
this case. If you are going to backup your drive on a daily basis, and that
includes applications as well as data/documents etc then i would certainly
think about imaging the drive. Currently i use Powerquest's Drive Image, but
this has now been taken over by Norton and has been added to Norton Ghost. I
haven't tried Norton Ghost so i can't express an opinion. I'm also currently
looking at Paragon Hard Disk Manager and a review of this software will
appear on my website as soon as i have it completed. Paragon hard Drive
manager not only images the drive, but it will also allow you to create,
delete, re-size partitions on the drive. You can also securely wipe a drive,
in case you sell the pc. While Paragon hard drive manager is a suite of
applications they are available seperately.


--
John Barnett MVP
Associate Expert
http://xphelpandsupport.mvps.org

The information in this mail is supplied "as is". No warranty of any
kind, either expressed or implied, is made in relation to the
accuracy, reliability or content of this mail. The Author shall not be
liable for any direct, indirect, incidental or consequential damages
arising out of the use of, or inability to use, information or
opinions expressed in this mail..

 

[David B]

Hello John,

Partitions are a little beyond me as yet, but I'm hoping to get a second,
cheap computer that I can experiment with

I think I'll invest in the software you mentioned, and I'll visit your
website frequently to check out your future reviews and comments.

Thank you very much for your help and time, I greatly appreciate it.

Kind regards,
David

 

[John Barnett MVP]

You're welcome

--
John Barnett MVP
Associate Expert
http://xphelpandsupport.mvps.org

The information in this mail is supplied "as is". No warranty of any
kind, either expressed or implied, is made in relation to the
accuracy, reliability or content of this mail. The Author shall not be
liable for any direct, indirect, incidental or consequential damages
arising out of the use of, or inability to use, information or
opinions expressed in this mail..