Crash&Burn Posted November 22, 2005 Share Posted November 22, 2005 I think if you read the EULA you'll find that you don't own the software, its more of a "rent" type deal heh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrf2027 Posted November 22, 2005 Author Share Posted November 22, 2005 I just find it mildly amusingAmusing? To have to call up and ask for permission to use something you already own?To have to type 50 digits in like a monkey?Do you think people with hearing impairments find this task amusing?I know I own the license. I'm not worried about that. It just gives me something more to tinker with...so in that sense, worst case scenario? I spend 10 minutes a month on a phone talking to Microsoft. For those who have hearing problems, yeah, that would be a problem, and I imagine it could be a problem for many other people, but it's not for me...it's just another interesting challenge.Can anybody confirm the earlier report that activation is now necessary when installing from, say, a Dell OEM disk on a Dell computer shipped with XP? I have several friends and family with Dell computers who have tapped me their official computer repairer. I'd hate to have to start activating their new installations of Windows, making special unattended CD's for each computer, etc... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nmX.Memnoch Posted November 22, 2005 Share Posted November 22, 2005 [Can anybody confirm the earlier report that activation is now necessary when installing from, say, a Dell OEM disk on a Dell computer shipped with XP? I have several friends and family with Dell computers who have tapped me their official computer repairer. I'd hate to have to start activating their new installations of Windows, making special unattended CD's for each computer, etc...Yes. If you have an OEM CD from Dell, HP, Gateway, etc and are installing on said Dell, HP, Gateway, etc and it requires activation, you will have to call in order to activate it. Those OEM keys are no longer allowed to activate over the internet anymore. They will even ask you for the computer make/model (I usually get away with giving them just the make). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrf2027 Posted November 22, 2005 Author Share Posted November 22, 2005 [Can anybody confirm the earlier report that activation is now necessary when installing from, say, a Dell OEM disk on a Dell computer shipped with XP? I have several friends and family with Dell computers who have tapped me their official computer repairer. I'd hate to have to start activating their new installations of Windows, making special unattended CD's for each computer, etc...Yes. If you have an OEM CD from Dell, HP, Gateway, etc and are installing on said Dell, HP, Gateway, etc and it requires activation, you will have to call in order to activate it. Those OEM keys are no longer allowed to activate over the internet anymore. They will even ask you for the computer make/model (I usually get away with giving them just the make).So if it's never required activation in the past, it still does not require activation - it's still preactivated based on BIOS, etc? They didn't throw some wrinkle into the Windows Genuine Advantage software requiring you to activate? It's only if activation was required before that you now have to call in to activate?Thanks in advance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jasyl Posted November 22, 2005 Share Posted November 22, 2005 man you're all wasting time and energy with this getting around this activation thing. Just get a corporate edition and be done with it forever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EchoNoise Posted November 22, 2005 Share Posted November 22, 2005 man you're all wasting time and energy with this getting around this activation thing. Just get a corporate edition and be done with it forever.Ohhh.. yeah, that will solve everybodys problem Lets spend $1000 or more on volume licensing for just 1 computer....I'm assuming by the way that you said that, your hinting on downloading it illegaly.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikep7779 Posted November 22, 2005 Share Posted November 22, 2005 OR just get xp pro... Solved. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbm Posted November 23, 2005 Share Posted November 23, 2005 Where do you get this OEM version that doesn't need activation?Only OEMs who have built more than 1000 computers in the previous 12 months can produce these CDsAh, thought it was something like that. only 995 to go Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrf2027 Posted November 23, 2005 Author Share Posted November 23, 2005 After playing around with BartPE, I think I'll use it to wipe the c:\ drive clean, then install as usual.Now some more questions:If I makecab the wpa.dbl and wpa.bak files, and replace the respective files in I386, will the files expand and show the install as activated? Or, if I put the activated wpa.dbl and wpa.bak into the $OEM$\$$\system32 file, will they get properly copied? The unattended guide says yes...I'd test this myself, but my install's only three days old and is working fine, so I can't justify the time reinstalling Windows yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keytotime Posted November 23, 2005 Share Posted November 23, 2005 Use Virtual Pc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Metzen Posted November 23, 2005 Share Posted November 23, 2005 yes, CD doesn't require activation are CD with generic key, and activation it's done by oembios files (so we must keep the original bios/material original from the oem like HP, Dell & co. ) ...I think it's something like a $500 one time fee for the oem* files on the CD you want pre-activated, so it's within the realm of mere mortals. The catch? Those files are encrypted and during Windows Setup they are decrypted and look for a string in your computers BIOS within a specified location. Both sets of information are specified within the OEM* files. If it finds the information it's looking for in your BIOS your Windows automatically activates itself. If it does not, it makes you activate via the normal method. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nmX.Memnoch Posted November 23, 2005 Share Posted November 23, 2005 [Can anybody confirm the earlier report that activation is now necessary when installing from, say, a Dell OEM disk on a Dell computer shipped with XP? I have several friends and family with Dell computers who have tapped me their official computer repairer. I'd hate to have to start activating their new installations of Windows, making special unattended CD's for each computer, etc...Yes. If you have an OEM CD from Dell, HP, Gateway, etc and are installing on said Dell, HP, Gateway, etc and it requires activation, you will have to call in order to activate it. Those OEM keys are no longer allowed to activate over the internet anymore. They will even ask you for the computer make/model (I usually get away with giving them just the make).So if it's never required activation in the past, it still does not require activation - it's still preactivated based on BIOS, etc? They didn't throw some wrinkle into the Windows Genuine Advantage software requiring you to activate? It's only if activation was required before that you now have to call in to activate?Thanks in advance.As far as I understand...that's correct. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cluberti Posted November 23, 2005 Share Posted November 23, 2005 (edited) Yes, it's a one-time fee and it's approximately $500, if things haven't changed in a few years. And to jbm, that's the funniest thing I've heard today (not sure why, but it's just funny ).As previous users have stated, using the Corporate versions of XP don't require activation at all (and probably won't require you to purchase 1,000 copies either). Technically, however, these are supposed to be given only to customers with an SA agreement, so having one at home will probably require you to get a copy from your employer, or download illegally. I don't suggest the latter, and the former is probably out for most people.However, if you are going to spend money and you are a developer, getting an MSDN subscription will give you copies of XP and 2003 (and Vista / Longhorn when they come out) that don't have the internet activation limitation, and don't require activation for 60 days - since you're reinstalling every 30 days or so, you should never have to activate . Unfortunately an MSDN subscription will cost you money year over year, but you do get more than just OS CDs/DVDs and licenses with it. Just a thought. Edited November 23, 2005 by cluberti Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grake Posted November 23, 2005 Share Posted November 23, 2005 Yes, it's a one-time fee and it's approximately $500, if things haven't changed in a few years. And to jbm, that's the funniest thing I've heard today (not sure why, but it's just funny ).As previous users have stated, using the Corporate versions of XP don't require activation at all (and probably won't require you to purchase 1,000 copies either). Technically, however, these are supposed to be given only to customers with an SA agreement, so having one at home will probably require you to get a copy from your employer, or download illegally. I don't suggest the latter, and the former is probably out for most people.However, if you are going to spend money and you are a developer, getting an MSDN subscription will give you copies of XP and 2003 (and Vista / Longhorn when they come out) that don't have the internet activation limitation, and don't require activation for 60 days - since you're reinstalling every 30 days or so, you should never have to activate . Unfortunately an MSDN subscription will cost you money year over year, but you do get more than just OS CDs/DVDs and licenses with it. Just a thought.is this site one of those MSDN site by any chance?http://www.sce.carleton.ca/msdnaa/or does it have to be that microsoft one. http://msdn.microsoft.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cluberti Posted November 23, 2005 Share Posted November 23, 2005 Microsoft. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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