Posted by dude_se
i have just proformed a clean install of windows xp on my computer and it is asking me to activate it and enter the product key. if i activate it then i wont be able to use the product key again which is a problem because i might need the cd again if my computer crashes again. is there any way around this? if not is there a good place to get new product keys (cheap). ive looked on ebay and microsoft xp is only about £10 with a product key (some are more expensive). i just dont know if i should activate it.
Posted by Cycovision
XP allows you to activate it several times before it gets blocked. If you've got a legitimate copy of XP and it's only been activated once or twice in the past then you should be absolutely fine.
Problems only occur if you have a copy of somebody else's disk, or even a legit disk that has been lent out and activated several times, particularly if it's been activated lots of times over a relatively short timescale.
Even Microsoft accept that you sometimes have to reinstall your operating system a few times during the lifespan of your computer
Posted by dude_se
yep its a bought disk. ive read that people have installed it about 3 times. thats great news thanks!
can i activate it then?
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[ This Message was edited by: dude_se on 2005-04-08 20:35 ]
Posted by Cycovision
Yeah, go ahead and activate it. If it does refuse to activate, you can go back to the first part of the activation wizard, select to activate the product over the phone, and then talk to a real person (for a change!) over the phone.
If you give them a sob story along the lines of 'my PC kept crashing and I had to reinstall loads of times to get it working again' and make it sound really long, technical and boring then 9 times out of 10 they'll grant you at least one other activation simply to get you off the phone
They try to tell you that you'll have to buy a new copy of XP first. Don't accept that. Start moaning about how expensive XP is and how it's your right to install YOUR copy of windows, that YOU paid for, as many times as YOU like on YOUR computer. They soon get sick of you and give in
Posted by dude_se
ok im gonna risk it and activate it. as long as i can install it at least one more time im happy
Posted by dude_se
done. worked like a treat
Posted by blayv
I have a question- how does a key get blocked if you format drive before installing? How does it know it's used several times? They can't mark it on cd and if drive is formated also can't write it in registry?
Posted by Jim
Why you need an internet connection when you activate windows xp you think ?
Posted by blayv
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? i didn't need it.
Posted by fatreg
neither did i!
it looks for one but if you dont have one, it still works!
fatreg
Posted by Cycovision
If you don't activate it over the internet, you have to activate it over the phone. If you don't activate it within 31 days, XP will no longer let you log on (ie work at all).
Some of the major pc suppliers like Dell, Hewlett Packard, emachines and Packard Bell come with customised versions of XP that do not need activating at all. This is because the customisation also makes it so that they will only install onto the PC with which they were supplied (or occasionally a few other PCs from the same batch), hence removing or at least reducing the risk of piracy and therefore the need to activate XP.
Posted by blayv
Now I'm totally confused. When I installed windows it was like this- it prepares the installation i type the cd-key and the installation continues. I reinstalled it couple of hundreds of times but never had any problem.
Posted by Cycovision
Activation happens AFTER windows has been totally installed, not when it asks you to put the CD key in
CD Key validation and product activation are two totally different things.
Activation is the process of telling Microsoft that you have succesfully installed your copy of XP onto a PC. They use this info to keep track of how many times it's been installed. If it's been activated loads and loads of times, then it suggests to them that the copy of XP has been pirated and used on loads of different computers.
You've got one of the versions of XP that I mentioned in my previous post, it doesn't need activating. This is probably because if you tried to install it on a different PC, it wouldn't work. It's rather like how mobile networks lock phones to ensure that you don't use another networks' sim card, your copy of XP is locked to your PC (or at least your particular make and model of PC) so the chances of someone else using your XP disk is greatly reduced. For this reason, there's no point having the activation process to reduce the chances of piracy
If it does work on other PCs, then it has to be either a hacked copy, or maybe a very early release of XP. The very first batches of XP didn't have the activation function included because Microsoft were still having problems with it but didn't want to postpone the release date. These copies are quite rare.
Posted by blayv
Gr8! Thanx much! Now I got it. I have one more question, I'd buy a newer version of xp with sp2 already implemented. Where can I find 1 and at what price?
Posted by govigov
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i got mine within two weeks of world release....
how rare a copy is that? 
nah, i dont think i needed product activation, or key validation and stuff like that. i also ordered a free copy of SP2 from the M$$ site.
Posted by Cycovision
@blayv
You should be able to buy XP with SP2 from just about any computer shop. Online, you'd be best to use your regional version of google to find a supplier that will ship to your country.
@govi
Nice one mate
Now, you're not going to make copies of it and give it to your friends are you? Because that would be highly illegal and very naughty, you know 
Posted by dude_se
ebay sell xp quite cheap!
Posted by blayv
@ cyco even if he didn't distribute that disk, everybody can obtain it without much effort. There were rumours that microsoft themselves release those pirate beta versions in the eastern countries. That way they get best testing.
Posted by Quo
PLS MY SPV C500... NOT SETTINS