Product ID

[William B. Lurie]

As a matter of curiosity (and justice), I'd like to ask a
question. My PC comes with XP on it. I register the ID.
A few months later, some glitch causes me to be forced
to reformat the hard drive. Now I reload the XP but can I
reregister/revalidate the ID? I realize that the documentation
I have should provide the Product Code, but what if I don't,
is there a way for Microsoft, wherever the validation is recorded,
to find my original validation and help me get back in business?

William B. Lurie

 

[Wislu PLethora]

-----Original Message-----
Hi, Bill.

Don't confuse "registration" with "activation".

Registration is purely voluntary. If you choose to register, you will
provide your name, address and other information to Microsoft to make it
easier for them to support your Windows if you need their help.

Activation (more specifically, Windows Product Activation, or WPA) is the
method by which MS enforces the EULA (End User License Agreement) by which
each purchaser agrees to install Windows on just a single computer.

The specific use of WPA varies, depending on HOW you acquire WinXP. If
WinXP was pre-installed on a computer you bought, then it probably was
activated at the computer factory (Dell?) and is locked forever to that
specific computer. If you bought WinXP at retail and installed it on your
computer, then you must activate it within the first month or so; activation
locks that WinXP license to that computer, but you can remove it from there
and activate it on a different computer if you choose.

What is "the same computer"? Or "a different computer"? Does simply
reformatting the hard drive make this a different computer? How about
swapping the mainboard, or the CPU, or adding more RAM...etc.? MS has some
specific rules as to how much of a hardware change will require
re-activation. Usually, changing a single component won't trigger the need
to reactivate. Even a complete change, though, requires only a 5-minute
phone call to MS. And after 120 days from the prior activation, even that
is not necessary.

These rules are not a secret, Bill. Read them in detail for yourself at:
Description of Microsoft Product Activation
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=302806

RC
--
R. C. White, CPA
San Marcos, TX
(e-mail address removed)
Microsoft Windows MVP

Good job. You wrote "War and Peace" without answering the
OP's question. If you have reformatted your HD and have
no access to the product ID, and no proof of purchase,
you're screwed. If, on the other hand, you have not yet
reformatted the drive the information can be retrieved,
and I believe that if you have proof of purchase MS will
give you a new number.

 

[R. C. White]

OK, Wislu.

My PC comes with XP on it.

The short answer is: Ask the vendor who sold you the PC with WinXP
pre-installed.

RC