This little bit of nonsense from Mac-centric freelance writer Ian Betteridge plopped into my RSS reader this morning: Activation becomes more annoying.
My eWeek colleague Mary Jo Foley takes a look at Microsoft’s decision to change Windows activation so that you will have no longer be able to activate via the Internet if you’re using a PC from one of the major vendors. While I can understand Microsoft’s reasons for this, it makes activation just slightly more irritating…
Which is followed by the familiar “get a Mac” coda.
Sounds horrible, doesn’t it? Oh, but wait. What Mr. Betteridge doesn’t know, because he isn’t really a Windows specialist, is that if you buy a new computer from one of these “major vendors,” you don’t have to activate it. The system manufacturer activates your copy of Windows when the computer is built. You can reinstall the operating system on that computer using the original Windows XP CD as many times as you want, with no activation required. You would need to call for activation only if one of the following circumstances were true:
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You were trying to use the original installation CD on a different computer than the one it was purchased with. (That would be a violation of the license agreement, and that is the whole point of this change.)
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You upgraded the system BIOS with a flash that didn’t include the System Locked Pre-installation information.
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You replaced the motherboard with one from a different manufacturer that did not include the same BIOS.
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You substantially changed the computer by replacing multiple components simultaneously. (A couple minor upgrades won’t do it; assuming the motherboard is from the same manufacturer, you would need to replace practically every other internal component to trigger this so-called out-of-tolerance condition.)
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Your system has been infected by a virus that replaced the contents of the BIOS. (I can’t remember the last time I heard of one of these appearing outside of a virus-testing lab, and if you get a BIOS-level virus you have much bigger problems than activation.)
If one of these conditions is true, you will need to call a toll-free number to activate your installation. I’ve done this a few times and can report that the process typically takes less than 10 minutes. But most people who buy a computer from Dell or Gateway or HP or another of the world’s top 20 PC makers will never encounter the need to activate.
Back in 2001, when Windows XP was still in beta, I remember reading predictions that Windows Product Activation would be such an incovenience that it would result in catastrophic failure for the new OS. That didn’t happen. In fact, can you even remember the last time you thought about product activation? For most people, most of the time, it’s simply a non-issue. And that’s what this change will mean: nothing.
Update: Dell’s Web site offers a very clear explanation of the differences in activation between a retail copy (which requires Windows Product Activation) and an OEM copy that uses the System Locked Preinstallation technology. Although the specifics of this explanation apply to PowerEdge servers running Windows Server 2003, the exact same technology is used for Windows XP installations. I’ve highlighted the relevant section:
The Windows Server 2003 OS must be activated after installation. An OS installed manually using a Microsoft retail CD is activated through Windows Product Activation (WPA), which requires each installation of the OS to be activated either online or by phone through a Microsoft License Server clearinghouse.
The Windows Server 2003 CD that ships with PowerEdge servers has a built-in anti-piracy technology known as System Locked Preinstallation (SLP). The SLP feature enables administrators to bind the OS to a system’s specific hardware so that activating Windows Server 2003 is not necessary. When an SLP-enabled CD is used to install the OS, administrators need not type in a unique product key.
Because SLP-enabled CDs are designed only for clean installations of Windows Server 2003, administrators installing the OS using the CD should also boot from it. SLP is not supported while running setup.exe or winnt32.exe, because these executable files run from within an existing Windows environment.An SLP implementation is transparent to the end user, without any noticeable difference from a manual installation using retail media. However, the SLP process works only on supported PowerEdge servers that ship with Windows Server 2003. In addition, any tampering with the SLP-enabled CD automatically invokes WPA. The SLP-enabled CD is available only for 32-bit versions of Windows Server 2003, not 64-bit versions.
This technology is available to all OEMs and is very widely used.
Update: I have posted a very detailed follow-up on the changes in Windows Product Activation and what it means for you.
I have corrospondence from Microsoft which verifies it
Can you send it to me? If this is simply an e-mail from a first-level tech support person, then I wouldn’t believe it. I’ve seen absolute gibberish from low-level tech support people who have an inappropriately elevated opinion of their own technical skills.
It is extraordinarily difficult to come up with a virus that damages a hard drive or BIOS. There have been well over 100 million installations of SP2 so far, and I have never seen a single report of this kind of failure. Sorry, but I really think someone is just making stuff up here.
I must admit they were stumped by it but were very good, polite, helpful, apologetic but had no answers.
Actually it corrupted the Bios and the hardisk is usable but only in pio mode ( i did try all suggestions on getting the right mode from many sources including the manufacturers.)
I’ll see if i can find the corrospondence and send you it.
It’s on an old backup, when i get time i’ll send it but got lots to do just now.
I have 2 of your inside out Win XP and XP Deluxe books, they are very good.
It should be logged with Microsoft
Sorry gotta go but i’ll get back
Cheers,
Peter
peter…I have been doing pc repair / building since 1993 and I have never seen that. As far as the dell xp oem cd’s… I have 1 cd and have installed it on multiple dell pc’s…I use a key changer and change the preactivated key to the key that matches their pc – which makes the installation legal – and I have never had to activate windows.
I sent Ed a bit that i found and he has said he will look into it.
It does mention that the Service pack seems to have made changes to the bios.
I have an OEM version of XP Home which requires activating every time I boot up. Obviously, I am not making changes to hardware etc. Whilst this has been irritating for some time I now find that I can’t activate over the internet as it says the product key has been activated too many times and i need to activate over the telephone. I have done this twice but am now concerned that it will need doing every time i want to use my computer. Is there a way out?
Stuart,
You should not have to activate every time you boot up. I have never heard of that problem, but it indicates that somehow Windows is losing its memory of your hardware configuration at startup.
If I were you, I would check with whoever built your computer. I suspect you have a hardware problem.
Thanks Ed, unfortunately the builder is no longer in business. Would it be worth tryimg to reinstall Windows?, Any idea what type of hardware problem as I don’t get any messages, faults/failures that indicate any problems.
Sure, it would be worth trying to reinstall Windows. I would do the following:
1. Check to make sure the motherboard battery is good.
2. Flash to the latest BIOS.
3. Set BIOS to defaults and then disable all nonessential peripherals.
4. Run disk and memory diagnostics.
This problem is so odd that I’m not sure what else to suggest. Could be some sort of virus, I suppose.
I’ll give it a go. Glad to know I’m not the only one confused.
Failing this I’ll probably start going to church again. Thanks anyway
Can i put my dell xp on another computer as long as i have my code.
Raymond, your question has two answers. Assuming the copy was purchased with the original computer (an OEM copy), then:
1. Legally, no, you cannot use that copy of Windows on any other computer than the one it was purchased with.
2. Technically, depending on whether the CD uses SLP, you may not be able to install it on any other computer except another Dell from the same product line.
I got the windows xp disc with my Dell 2 years ago. Is there anyway to tell if it is a (OEM copy) or a (SLP Copy) and i have to sa microsoft has some crazy ideas when it come to there software and how you are able to use it.
If the CD came with your Dell PC, it’s an OEM copy.
Crazy idea? Assuming it’s Home Edition, you probably paid $25 for that copy of Windows, if you could break out the price that Dell paid Microsoft plus their markup to you. If you had purchased it at retail, it would have been about $100. You got a substantial discount in exchange for accepting the restrictions on your ability to use the software. What makes that crazy?
That $25 for windows is not such a good deal when you loose a motherboard and can no longer use the OEM CD unless you pay the rediculously high price for a motherboard from your PC manufacturer to get an exact replica of your original motherboard.
I also ran into an interesting activation problem yesterday. I bought a new copy of XP home 2 days ago. Installed it yesterday and tried to activate. I got the message that my product key (or something) had been activated too many times. There should be no way this could happen on the first install of the OS.
I am not against activation, but tying activation to a specific hardware configuration is rediculous. And if you read microsofts websit on activation, you will realize it does not take much hardware change to require re-activation.
Stuart, Ed,
My grandfather has the same problem with his PC. This is an IBM PC. Not my first choice, but my uncle works there and he feels that he is being loyal by buying the IBM machine. It wants to reactivate every time. I thought it was just a windows glitch so I made sure I had all the necessary updates. I even reinstalled the operating system from scratch. Still no go. I will use the PC battery idea as well as the other suggestions. Thanks for the suggestions.
“Imagine doing phone activation on hundreds of OEM machines after doing upgrades on them.”
lol, yep, this is What we run into, I commented in another thread.
If a harddrive needs replaced, or a mobo, or an FDISK due to virus or severe spyware infection, the COA sticker on the side of a dell only works if you call it in. I have never had a problem with phone activation, except for the 10 min of my life I never get back multiplied dozens of times over. I have taught my wife how to do it, so now she is going bald with frustration too. =)