Help! XP Needs to be activated?!

[peat moss]

Wow thought this was an old thread for a minute ! We must be getting ready for Vista ? I'm kidding as its getting harder to use a Volume license key for crying out loud !

[tesco]

Thats a bit shit, if someone owns the disc they should be entitled to install it on as many pcs as they like and if ms dont like it it should be down to them to prove its not your pc, tut no wonder theres so much filesharing going on

I've read somewhere that if you replace more then X hardware parts you need to buy a new windows key.

You don't have to buy it again you just need to call MS activation number and prove to them that you have just upgraded the same computer and they will reactivate you.

[Chip Monk]

I've read somewhere that if you replace more then X hardware parts you need to buy a new windows key.

You don't have to buy it again you just need to call MS activation number and prove to them that you have just upgraded the same computer and they will reactivate you.

That's certainly what I thought. I remember there were some stories that if you changed a cedrtain number of parts then it was a new machine and you had to buy new Windows. MS said that wasn't true and as long as you had it on just one machine then it was up to you.

That of course is different for pre-installed oem versions. They buy the licences for a specific machine, get them cheaper and the recovery software is for that machine. They are not full licences as such.

[clocker]

Originally Posted by {I}{K}{E}
I've read somewhere that if you replace more then X hardware parts you need to buy a new windows key.

Replacing the Motherboard will do it.

The OEM license is keyed to the motherboard.
Replace the board (and in an increasing number of cases original boards are either no longer available or absurdly priced) and you must reactivate over the phone. So far, our success rate at the shop has been 100%- the only concern from MS is "has this been installed on more than one machine?"

Retail versions of XP seem to be governed by a more complex algorithm...you're allowed "x" number of hardware changes before activation kicks back in. Again, the "only one PC" question is the deciding factor.

This is only from personal experience however...who really knows how MS thinks?

[muchspl3]

Replacing the Motherboard will do it.

The OEM license is keyed to the motherboard.
Replace the board (and in an increasing number of cases original boards are either no longer available or absurdly priced) and you must reactivate over the phone. So far, our success rate at the shop has been 100%- the only concern from MS is "has this been installed on more than one machine?"

Retail versions of XP seem to be governed by a more complex algorithm...you're allowed "x" number of hardware changes before activation kicks back in. Again, the "only one PC" question is the deciding factor.

This is only from personal experience however...who really knows how MS thinks?

http://www.aviransplace.com/index.ph...d-new-licence/

[Mïcrösöül°V³]

I have activated my copy many times on several different pcs. All you have to do is call on the phone and make up some stupid low number of times that you've reinstalled it, and they just give you a code to enter. The people who answer the phones dont seem to care anymore than what they read on their screens when you call. When they ask me "how many times has this copy been installed?", I always say 5 But again, I own this copy and I help out freinds who dont own one, so I dont feel wrong about it As far as I know, you can activate 3 times before you have to call, and the whole thing gets reset after 3 months of no activity (no new activations on the same copy), so you can do it all over again