Here’s what activation does, at least for Windows XP.
I ran out of time. Internet activation worked. I just wonder if I have used up one of my chances, if they are limited.
I will certainly be using cracked software from MS in the future, if this is what I have to put up with. Way to shoot yourself in the foot there.
they’re not. You can’t re-activate over the internet using the same product key more than once within a 120-day period. After 120 days, you can. I’ve re-activated the XP Pro license I bought god knows how many years ago more times than I can count. Only once did I have to call the automated line because I had a hardware failure not long after installing it.
Y’know, instead of coming up with a flimsy justification for piracy, you can just use a free OS like Ubuntu and not worry about it at all.
It started asking for it again earlier this evening. :eek: Not it is much more serious, IMHO.
Is there malware that does this?
Yes. If it asks you for your credit card details when you re-register, you’ve been owned.
If not, maybe you’ve got a hardware failure. Was it a retail copy of XP, or is it a brand-name computer (Toshiba/HP/Dell etc)? A faulty OEM motherboard with corrupt OEM BIOS could cause this problem.
It’s not common for it to fail for any other reason: I’ve never seen or heard of it happening where there are real support people who would actually recoginise the problem, (Only second hand stories about older family members)
I built it from parts, as I have every PC compatible since my first 8086. The XP was an OEM from Fry’s that I bought when I got the mobo.
So the problem is NOT that it is failing to recognise the OEM string in the BIOS, since a generic MB doesn’t include a specific OEM string. (The OEM string is a single point of failure that must always cause this problem if you can’t read from the MB)
I’d still say that it is probably either a virus or a MB battery failure, but I’m whistling in the dark.
I think it wanted to install its copy protection system. I finally let it do that, and all seems well.
its what?
Some kind of Microsoft spyware that I have until now unchecked when Windows wants to update. I guess it is no longer optional.
y’know, if you’re asking for advice or help, you could stand to be a little more helpful with the information you provide. I don’t know what a “Microsoft copy protection system spyware thing” is. I don’t see it listed in my start menu nor in windows update on any of the systems I use.
Whatever the software is called that Microsoft is now putting on your system to snoop around for unlicensed products. I don’t know if that is part of “Genuine Advantage” or whatever.