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Old 11-01-2010, 08:21 PM
 
Location: SW Missouri
15,853 posts, read 35,024,794 times
Reputation: 22693

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OK, so I wanted to install Office 2010, on my Windows XP machine, but before I could do that I had to install SP3, which I had never gotten around to doing because this is not my "primary" laptop.

Ok, so I installed SP3 and now I have to re "activate" my copy of windows. Not a big deal. So, I try to do it. Can't do it over the internet. Try to do it by phone, can't do it by phone either.

I KNOW that this copy of xp is pefectly legal. It came with the machine. I put in the numbers on the bottom of the laptop, so that I would have the correct information. Still cannot activate it.

I am very frustrated. This is not my primary laptop, but I have lots of nifty stuff on it. I have 30 days to get the damn thing activated or I am not going to be able to get into windows and am going to have to reinstall. I do not want to do this if I can help it.

FYI this laptop is about four years old, so there is no more warranty tech support available.

Does anybody have any GOOD ideas what I can do about this?

Thanks in advance

20yrsinBranson
pulling my hair out
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Old 11-01-2010, 08:27 PM
 
Location: SCW, AZ
8,239 posts, read 13,328,556 times
Reputation: 7875
Well, any "GOOD" ideas that come to my mind are unethical and/or illegal.

Curious, why can't you activate it over the Internet or phone? Why does it not accept the code, what does it say?

Would you be able to connect this machine's hard dirve to another machine and copy over your nifty data so you can do a re-install if need be?
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Old 11-01-2010, 08:53 PM
 
15,913 posts, read 20,129,736 times
Reputation: 7693
I read this post and it reminded me why I dislike windowz so much.

You can call Micro$oft tech support, will probably cost you a small fortune though.
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Old 11-01-2010, 09:13 PM
 
Location: SW Missouri
15,853 posts, read 35,024,794 times
Reputation: 22693
Quote:
Originally Posted by TurcoLoco View Post
Well, any "GOOD" ideas that come to my mind are unethical and/or illegal.

Curious, why can't you activate it over the Internet or phone? Why does it not accept the code, what does it say?

Would you be able to connect this machine's hard dirve to another machine and copy over your nifty data so you can do a re-install if need be?
The voice prompt from hell simply says that they cannot activate (no reason given).

I am looking into those "alternative" methods you allude to in your response. I do NOT like to have to resort to marginally legal actions, however, I am at the point where I don't think I have any other choice. it is a sad, sad day when law-abiding citizens must resort to these shady alternatives because MICROSOFT has made their software so very, very difficult to deal with. I tried Linux once and if it had not been so WEIRD, I might have stuck with it.

MacBooks are starting to look more and more attractive to me IYKWIM.

Thanks for your timely response, it is appreciated.....

"a torrenting I will go, a torrenting I will go - Hi Ho the Merry-o a torrenting I will go....."

20yrsinBranson
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Old 11-01-2010, 09:25 PM
 
Location: Wicker Park, Chicago
4,789 posts, read 14,706,694 times
Reputation: 1966
Funny, my Windows installs needed genuine verification / reactivation and they worked. Seems like MS messed up their database on you. Then I'd have to resort to torrented Windows OS Activators or a cracked Windows XP SP3. But I run all genuine OSes on my computers - I don't trust cracked OSes.
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Old 11-01-2010, 09:50 PM
 
Location: SW Missouri
15,853 posts, read 35,024,794 times
Reputation: 22693
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jesse69 View Post
Funny, my Windows installs needed genuine verification / reactivation and they worked. Seems like MS messed up their database on you. Then I'd have to resort to torrented Windows OS Activators or a cracked Windows XP SP3. But I run all genuine OSes on my computers - I don't trust cracked OSes.
It is a legit install. I had to reinstall a couple of times but I have the disk that came with the computer when I bought it, so I know it is good. I do not like to mess with stuff that is tweaked either because I know that it will just cause me heartache down the road (I have stories to tell).

I am going to keep tinkering with it. Maybe I can boot from the disk and do a "restore" and that will do the trick...... hoping it will.

20yrsinBranson
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Old 11-01-2010, 10:06 PM
 
Location: Copiague, NY
1,500 posts, read 2,791,622 times
Reputation: 2414
Quote:
Originally Posted by 20yrsinBranson View Post
The voice prompt from hell simply says that they cannot activate (no reason given).

I am looking into those "alternative" methods you allude to in your response. I do NOT like to have to resort to marginally legal actions, however, I am at the point where I don't think I have any other choice. it is a sad, sad day when law-abiding citizens must resort to these shady alternatives because MICROSOFT has made their software so very, very difficult to deal with. I tried Linux once and if it had not been so WEIRD, I might have stuck with it.

MacBooks are starting to look more and more attractive to me IYKWIM.

Thanks for your timely response, it is appreciated.....

"a torrenting I will go, a torrenting I will go - Hi Ho the Merry-o a torrenting I will go....."

20yrsinBranson

Dude, we can deal...

I never found merit in paying for software that I could just "rip" off of the net,
having graduated from the dog-eat-dog world of taking a sock in the eye with every
new upgrade. Like you, I bought my computer. I never thought that it would become
"Hal" and develop a mind of its own but every friggin' time I open my computer, it's
forcing me to upgrade to a newer version of what I was happy with, all of the time.
Like a fool, I believed that my computer was MY computer.

I never saw myself as a subscriber, dependent upon "service packs" or java updates.
Whether it is Dell or HP who sends those nag-screens, I'm getting tired of this pop-up life,
this trial by electronic devices. I own a bought and registered copy of XP. It's the jewel
in my software crown. Because Vista couldn't answer my third-party software needs, I keep
both OS on hand, my Visioneer scanner won't work in Vista, Bill Gates was in too much of a
hurry to upgrade us, that there are still some unanswered issues as we see Windows 7,
making us Vista users feel as though we've been living in a software cave.

I am proud to say that I bought the XP disc, it cost me $180.00 at Staples, 5 years ago.

Like a foolish consumer, I thought that it was a one time purchase, that I owned the disc
and had sole propriety over it. I never understood that I was really a subscriber, might've
owned the disc but didn't own the rights to use the disc in any other manner than what was
proscribed within the jargon of legalize, that "accept or Decline" toggle which follows the every
parsing of internet lingo.

Good luck to you. Somehow I'm envisioning your frustration much like Peter Finch went off of
the deep end in "Network". I don't like Microsoft's attitude, where's the appreciation for a world
that cannot live by any other means but our electronic tether? Talk about consumer loyalty,it's
PC or Mac, Republican or Democrat, French or Ranch, Unix or Linux, we're a world in division.

Last edited by LongIslandEddie; 11-01-2010 at 10:24 PM.. Reason: proofed
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Old 11-01-2010, 10:23 PM
 
Location: SW Missouri
15,853 posts, read 35,024,794 times
Reputation: 22693
Quote:
Originally Posted by LongIslandEddie View Post
Dude, we can deal...

Good luck to you. Somehow I'm envisioning your frustration much like Peter Finch went off of
the deep end in "Network". I don't like Microsoft's attitude, where's the appreciation for a world
that cannot live by any other means but our electronic tether? Talk about consumer loyalty,it's
PC or Mac, Republican or Democrat, French or Ranch, Unix or Linux, we're a world in division.
Wow, I think that is the best post I have ever read. Thank you. I agree so much with the sentiment. We're all little pawns in somebody's corporate game of chess.

A lot of us get eaten buy technology. Like a poor hapless surfer who doesn't see the shark below the surface until it is too late. First a leg then an arm and before you know it, you're done for. What used to be simple is now so complicated that HOURS of our lives are consumed by technology every single day, and what do we have to show for it? Frustration? Ulcers?

Thanks for your post....and that's Ms. Dude, by the way.

20yrsinBranson
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Old 11-02-2010, 04:48 AM
 
Location: Pomona
1,955 posts, read 10,952,654 times
Reputation: 1562
Were the XP reinstalls from an OEM branded version, OEM generic version, or from a retail version? That makes a difference with the codes. OEM codes don't work on retail versions at all, and branded/generic versions react differently to the codes too. BTDT at the office before.

FWIW, Microsoft does have free support for activation issues just like your's ...
Genuine Microsoft Software
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Old 11-02-2010, 08:53 AM
 
28,803 posts, read 47,525,315 times
Reputation: 37905
So are you like me? I can't tell an 8 from a B or a 5 from an S when I type in those codes. Drives me bonkers!

There is always something like this:

ViewKeyXP

Make sure you read the entire page. It's a bit disjointed, but there is a lot of good info on it.
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