Learned a hard lesson a few days ago

[Fred Smith]

Just built a new PC:
p43.2EGhz
p4c800-E Deluxe
1GB DDR 400 ram
Enermax 430watt PSU
FDD
Sony DVD-RW
etc...

I built it and everything went fairly well. In my old PC I had a Western
Digital 80GB HDD w/8MB cache as the master and a WD160GB HDD as slave/data
storage.

I built the new PC, added the old master drive, reformatted, installed
Windows XP Pro OS, and all the software. Then, after I was all done, I
decided to put my 160GB storage drive in. I had updated XP Pro to SP1, so
it supported it, as it did on the old PC.

When I put it in the new PC I also did a reformat from the WD boot disk and
continued to boot up the os. Windows XP recognized the drive and assigned a
letter, BUT it could not open the drive. SMART diagnostics from within
Windows said there was a failure. Ok, not the first HDD I've had fail. So
I removed it and rebooted. On the new boot I get an error message saying
Windows can not authenticate this version. This message appears at the
login screen. I click ok (that's the only option). NOTHING HAPPENS....

ok...so I try to rebooot in safe mode and see what's the problem, and if
necessary do a system restore. In safe mode I get the same message. I
can't get into Windows at all.

Call Microsoft...after about two hours on the phone the guy finally tells me
it can't be fixed. I told him I HAD to have the data on the good master
drive. So he tells me how to copy some files from the XP CD into my
c:\windows\system32 drive from the DOS prompt on the XP CD. Then I'm
finally able to get Windows to boot. He gives me a new activation code
since it recognizes this as a new install. Then I can get to my data to
transfer it to another drive, but all my programs are zapped, and I didn't
have a registry backup.

So I transfer the data to another old HDD and then have to reinstall
everything.

The problem was that since the new drive I was installing failed, Windows
hardware manager did not get a chance to recognize it, and thought basically
that the HDD had been moved to a new PC.

Long story short....Windows activation system sucks. Keep this in mind if
you think you'll try to install ANY hardware that MIGHT be bad. Windows
monitors hardware through its activation system to prevent a licensed copy
from being run on multiple PC's. If your hardware fails and you try to
install it, Windows may very well fail as well.

 

[Nic.F]

"and I didn't have a registry backup."

Forgive a newby's probably stupid question, but how do you backup the
registry?
I'm migrating from a p3v4x to p4c800 deluxe and this might, well will, come
in handy.

 

[Fred Smith]

run
regedit
click on my computer (IN REGEDIT program) - hiughlight it
file/export
name it something...backup.reg....and save it somewhere

I've nevver had the opportunity to restore from this file, but I'm pretty
sure it works.

Someone speak up if there is a beter way...

 

[Bubba Sort]

I built the new PC, added the old master drive, reformatted, installed
Windows XP Pro OS, and all the software.

and:

Windows
monitors hardware through its activation system to prevent a licensed copy
from being run on multiple PC's.

Correct me if I am wrong, and I could be since I was told this by a
flunkie at MicroCenter, but if you have the full version of XP you
should be allowed to install it on two different PCs. I was told that
the full version allows two installs. I was asking because I am going to
be building a new PC soon and I also have been wanting to upgrade my
existing PC to XP Pro. I was concerned that I would have to buy two
copies of XP which would be ridiculously expensive. I asked the
salesperson if you could buy one copy and then get two site licenses.
That's when they told me that you could install the full version on two
different PCs but no more. So is this true or not?

Bubba Sort

 

[JTS]

Don't know. But you can install any version on more than 1 pc provided you
wait 120 days.

 

[RonK]

Not true - The "Flunkie" didn't know what he was talking about.

 

[Egil Solberg]

"and I didn't have a registry backup."

Forgive a newby's probably stupid question, but how do you backup the
registry?
I'm migrating from a p3v4x to p4c800 deluxe and this might, well
will, come in handy.

I cannot see why you would benefit from a registry backup for that one. A
fresh reinstall is recommended, and activation at MS thereafter.

 

[Bubba Sort]

Thanks. I was afraid of that.

Not true - The "Flunkie" didn't know what he was talking about.

 

[Ken Oaf]

Long story short....Windows activation system sucks. Keep this in mind if
you think you'll try to install ANY hardware that MIGHT be bad. Windows
monitors hardware through its activation system to prevent a licensed copy
from being run on multiple PC's. If your hardware fails and you try to
install it, Windows may very well fail as well.

Exactly. That's the reason so many people are running pirated copies of XP with
the activation system disabled, even though they own legitimate copies.

 

[JohnM]

Do I understand you correctly?

If I install XP on PC1, activate it, then wait 121 days, I can install the
same copy of XP Home on PC2 and activate it with the same number I used for
PC1? With the same activation code running on two PCs, can I still use
Windows Update to keep both installations current? And, if I wait another
121 days, I can install the same copy and use the same activation code all
over again?

 

[Paul Taylor]

Exactly. That's the reason so many people are running pirated copies of
XP with the activation system disabled, even though they own legitimate
copies.

I know what you mean, but it's more an annoyance than a problem.

I had to reinstall XP on my new system after upgrading, and it told me
that it was already installed on another computer (i.e. too many
hardware changes.) It was abot 10:30pm, but I tried calling the MS
hotline anyway - it appears to be 24 hours. After quoting a ridiculously
long number to the person on the other end and getting another ridiculously
long number, XP was activated again.

 

[Lil' Dave]

See you're using WD drives. Are you using CS jumper settings? Or, master
alone. Then master w/slave when you added the slave drive?

 

[Ed]

Do I understand you correctly?

If I install XP on PC1, activate it, then wait 121 days, I can install the
same copy of XP Home on PC2 and activate it with the same number I used for
PC1? With the same activation code running on two PCs, can I still use
Windows Update to keep both installations current? And, if I wait another
121 days, I can install the same copy and use the same activation code all
over again?

? I thought, when XP first came out you could buy one copy and install
it on 2 PCs, you still had to call/pay MS to activate PC#2 but they gave
you a $10 discount (and a new CD-key for PC2).

Ed

 

[Art Simpson]

Fred Smith wrote in message

Just built a new PC:
p43.2EGhz
p4c800-E Deluxe
1GB DDR 400 ram
Enermax 430watt PSU
FDD
Sony DVD-RW
etc... (SNIP)

Long story short....Windows activation system sucks. Keep this in mind if
you think you'll try to install ANY hardware that MIGHT be bad. Windows
monitors hardware through its activation system to prevent a licensed copy
from being run on multiple PC's. If your hardware fails and you try to
install it, Windows may very well fail as well.

Honestly Fred... I think you are MORE than ready for Linux...
Try Linux Mandrake friend.. Thank me later !
ftp://ftp.linuxforum.net/ISO/Mandrake10-Official/

<Insert picture of me p*ssing on Mr Megalomaniac BG.>
I use OLD original Win98 and 2K, for backward compat;
.......NEVER XP....EVER !
Regards

 

[Leythos]

Long story short....Windows activation system sucks. Keep this in mind if
you think you'll try to install ANY hardware that MIGHT be bad. Windows
monitors hardware through its activation system to prevent a licensed copy
from being run on multiple PC's. If your hardware fails and you try to
install it, Windows may very well fail as well.

Your experience is a unique one, at least from my experiences with
hundreds of installs of Win XP and Office XP/2003 on machines.

If you have activated a product and want to wipe that same system, or
wipe it and reinstall everything on another system - such that you don't
have two active installs, you can easily manually activate the product
via phone - I've never been on hold longer than a couple minutes.

Activation does indeed finger-print the system to make sure that it's
got a good idea of what's installed so that you can't easily pirate it.
In most cases, you can change a couple parts without having to re-
activate it. I changed my system from 1 x 80gb drive and ATI video to 2
x 160GB and changed to a dual-monitor video card, didn't even blink
twice.

 

[Noozer]

Fred Smith wrote in message
Honestly Fred... I think you are MORE than ready for Linux...
Try Linux Mandrake friend.. Thank me later !
ftp://ftp.linuxforum.net/ISO/Mandrake10-Official/

Why do all the Linux nuts push Windows users into trying Linux, and then
when the newbies show up in the Linux groups asking for help they just get
pissed on?

When I can get a stock version of Linux to properly support my ATI Radeon
card (with full acceleration) on my P4C800E I might try it again. Damned if
I'm going to try and ask for help updating the kernel/drivers.

 

[Milleron]

Why do all the Linux nuts push Windows users into trying Linux, and then
when the newbies show up in the Linux groups asking for help they just get
pissed on?

When I can get a stock version of Linux to properly support my ATI Radeon
card (with full acceleration) on my P4C800E I might try it again. Damned if
I'm going to try and ask for help updating the kernel/drivers.

I haven't been "pissed on" in the Linux forums, but I share your
disdain for the proselytizing. I installed the free Open Circulation
Edition of Xandros. It's great for a free OS, but, as a newbie, I can
install programs only through the Xandros Network. I went through a
lot of hassle getting my sound to work even though I use the single
most common sound card in N. America (SB Audigy). Windows set up
network printers effortlessly whereas it took me a week and about a
dozen forum posts to be able to print from Linux. There is no
existing GUI backup utility for my DAT tape drive whereas Windows XP's
built-in backup utility supports it perfectly.
In other words, Linux is great for the enthusiast and for Web servers,
but I don't think Microsoft is losing ANY sleep about it sweeping
Windows off the desktop. It's not even close to being able to pose a
threat.
Ron