False 'Activation' message in XP home

[Philip Andrews]

Hi,

I get a message on an old installation of XP Home that 'Windows needs to
be activated'. This follows a major crash, where the power-supply and
motherboard bundle had to be replaced because the machine wouldn't boot at
all. When I click 'OK', the machine things for a few seconds and then tells
me that Windows is already activated ... pressing 'OK' takes me back to the
log-in screen. I can get into Windows OK through Safe Mode, where the
message doesn't appear - but not through Nomal Mode. Any help or advice
would be appreciated - the installation is about 4 years old, and appears to
have run perfectly up until this disaster occurred.

Cheers,

Philip

 

[Guest]

Hi Philip,

See if the information in this MSKB article helps you resolve the problem:

You are prompted to activate Windows XP or Windows Server 2003 every time
that you start the computer
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/312295

Note that you need either the install CD for XP Home (that does not include
a Recovery or Restore CD supplied by OEM manufacturer, as that CD is usually
a "factory settings" image) or a folder on hard drive that contains the files
from the i386 folder of the install CD.



Regards,

 

[Rock]

Hi,
I get a message on an old installation of XP Home that 'Windows needs to
be activated'. This follows a major crash, where the power-supply and
motherboard bundle had to be replaced because the machine wouldn't boot at
all. When I click 'OK', the machine things for a few seconds and then
tells me that Windows is already activated ... pressing 'OK' takes me back
to the log-in screen. I can get into Windows OK through Safe Mode, where
the message doesn't appear - but not through Nomal Mode. Any help or
advice would be appreciated - the installation is about 4 years old, and
appears to have run perfectly up until this disaster occurred.

Activation trouble:
http://rickrogers.org/fixes.htm

 

[Guest]

I read that when there is a factory install of Windows and there is a need
for a replacement of the MB that unless the MB is the same as the original
that there will be a need to purchase another license. The OS is tied to the
MB. If you replaced the MB with the same as original then there is another
issue. I have never had this issue as I have always purchased the OS
separately.

 

[Gary S. Terhune]

Not quite... *Some* major OEMs do that, keyed to a string in BIOS, but
generic OEM version can be transferred to another machine. And there are
plenty of system builders out there who use the generic OEM CD. IOW,
"factory installed" is too loose a term to be accurate.

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

I read that when there is a factory install of Windows and there is a need
for a replacement of the MB that unless the MB is the same as the original
that there will be a need to purchase another license. The OS is tied to the
MB. If you replaced the MB with the same as original then there is another
issue. I have never had this issue as I have always purchased the OS
separately.

This is not accurate. First, the issue is with OEM versions, whether
or not they are factory-installed. Second, the operating system is
*not* tied to the motherboard, but (by the EULA) to the first
*computer* it is installed on.

The problem is that the Microsoft OEM EULA does not precisely define
exactly what constitutes the "computer." Some people claim that the
motherboard constitutes the computer. However logical that might seem,
the EULA does not state that, and the EULA is the document that
defines the rights of both parties to the agreement.

Some of those people point to a web site for System Builders, where
Microsoft defines the computer as the motherboard. However it's not
what it says on some web site that defines the customer's rights, it's
the EULA; besides, that web site is not even available to the general
public. I'm not a lawyer, but my guess is that if it ever came to a
court case and someone cited that web site, he'd be laughed out of
court.

So, can you replace a motherboard, consider the result the same
computer, and reuse your OEM copy of Windows? Regardless of what I
think, you think, or anyone else thinks, or even what a court might
rule if it came to that, the real issue is whether Microsoft will
permit you to reactivate if you do. Unfortunately the answer is again
not clear-cut, and we have heard here from people who have had both
experiences--some were reactivated and others were not. If they refuse
to reactivate you and you take them to court, you might win, but who
of us would be willing to undergo that trouble and expense to find
out?

So the answer, with an OEM version, is that there is no real answer.

 

[Gary S. Terhune]

Huh... I was under the impression that OEMs like Dell, HP, etc., key the CD
to the mobo via the BIOS. Not true? Understand that I'm not talking about a
one-to-one relationship, just that the CD can only be used on specific
model(s) of mobo. Not true?

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

Huh... I was under the impression that OEMs like Dell, HP, etc., key the CD
to the mobo via the BIOS. Not true? Understand that I'm not talking about a
one-to-one relationship, just that the CD can only be used on specific
model(s) of mobo. Not true?

Yes, depending on the OEM, that's often true. But it's not true of all
preinstalled versions.

I read JustUs's message as referring to the licensing issue, not
BIOS-locking to the motherboard, but it's possible that I might be
wrong, and your interpretation is correct. Still, as I said, that's
true only of some OEMs.

 

[Gary S. Terhune]

That's a relief. I thought maybe I had it wrong all this time, <s>.

--
Gary S. Terhune
MS-MVP Shell/User
www.grystmill.com

Huh... I was under the impression that OEMs like Dell, HP, etc., key the
CD
to the mobo via the BIOS. Not true? Understand that I'm not talking about
a
one-to-one relationship, just that the CD can only be used on specific
model(s) of mobo. Not true?

Yes, depending on the OEM, that's often true. But it's not true of all
preinstalled versions.

I read JustUs's message as referring to the licensing issue, not
BIOS-locking to the motherboard, but it's possible that I might be
wrong, and your interpretation is correct. Still, as I said, that's
true only of some OEMs.

 

[Philip Andrews]

Thanks for that tip - I followed it but still get the same problem. Looks
like 'reload time'.

Philip