Full format and activation

[Guest]

Need a bit of help on this one...

I'm a developer and ive just got Visual Studio 2005 and installed it,
however, I forgot to remove the CTP version of Sql Server 2005 and now I
cannot remove it. Tried all the tools etc... however, it's not worked out
well at all.

So, If i were to reformat the HDD (not the 1/2 arsed attempt) but the full
format and reinstall windows, what will happen with activation? Would I need
to buy a new license or will it activate without a problem?

Any ideas?

 

[Unk]

Need a bit of help on this one...

I'm a developer and ive just got Visual Studio 2005 and installed it,
however, I forgot to remove the CTP version of Sql Server 2005 and now I
cannot remove it. Tried all the tools etc... however, it's not worked out
well at all.

So, If i were to reformat the HDD (not the 1/2 arsed attempt) but the full
format and reinstall windows, what will happen with activation? Would I need
to buy a new license or will it activate without a problem?

Any ideas?

Avoid reactivating XP after a reinstall.
http://www.mikeshardware.com/howtos/tips_xp/#anchor12876

When you activate Windows XP, Microsoft stores the data in the Windows Product Activation
database files wpa.dbl and Wpa.bak in the folder %systemroot%system32. If you change the
motherboard or make significant hardware changes, XP will require you to reactive. But if you
plan to reinstall XP on the same hardware, you can back up the activation status and then
restore it after you reinstall and avoid the activation process. You can backup the Windows
Product Activation database files to diskette. They are very small. Less then 13k each.

After you reinstall XP, to restore the Windows Product Activation database files:
Start XP to Minimal Safe mode
Change directory to the %systemroot%system32 folder.
Rename the newly created wpa.dbl to wpa.nonactivated and wpa.bak, if it exists, to
wpabak.nonactivated.
Copy your backed up wpa.dbl and wpb.bak files to the system32 folder. Reboot


CHANGES THAT CAUSE REACTIVATION
http://www.compphix.com/reactivationchanges.html

 

[Rock]

Need a bit of help on this one...

I'm a developer and ive just got Visual Studio 2005 and installed it,
however, I forgot to remove the CTP version of Sql Server 2005 and now I
cannot remove it. Tried all the tools etc... however, it's not worked out
well at all.

So, If i were to reformat the HDD (not the 1/2 arsed attempt) but the full
format and reinstall windows, what will happen with activation? Would I need
to buy a new license or will it activate without a problem?

Any ideas?

You can activate XP as many times as you want on the same system (and if
retail move it to a different system). If more than 120 days since the
last activation it should go through on the net. Otherwise it would
require a phone call.