W2K3 Evaluation Questions


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If they did that though it would only help the pirates, they could just get a key and put it in so u have to re install it

Well not really, you would have to get past product activation. It would make more sense to make the eval a regular version of W2k3 that did not require product activation for 180 days. Or make the eval activation only last 180 days.

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I am really not sure. The only thing I know is that I am most probably going to end up purchasing W2K3 server in the next 3-4 months but my boss wants to ensure that it behaves with our Novell servers. If I go ahead and upgrade our 3 2000 servers I don't want to have to wipe the machines after 180 days. Ideally I would like to just pop in the new product keys once ensured that the 2K3 boxes work as smoothly the 2000 boxes did.

Never test live, install the final version and test with that in a separate network. THEN once you've made sure it all works, install it in your domain.

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Yes, thats exactly what I thought. If MS was smart they would just enable you to pop in the new key. This is going to be a real hassle.

they did it this way because they figure most companies will test the new OS on an isolated machine, then upgrade their actual network.

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Never test live, install the final version and test with that in a separate network. THEN once you've made sure it all works, install it in your domain.

I guess I should have mentioned that these 3 machines have not been used for the last year or so. At one point they were hosting a couple of our client's websites but after a few went belly up they were taken offline.

I would never upgrade a server that was live, not that silly :)

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trial and full are nearly exactly the same. the key does not say if you use a trial. The key just seprates you from everyone else basicly.

Only a few files on the trial cd are different from a corp version.

and compared to a normal version, one file is differnet.

to make a trial setup a complete setup, use TweekNT.. no one will know the difference.

no matter what even in trial you still have to activate your setup. Trail is the same as full all the way round basicly.

And like with XP, you can change your key later on.

I got all the stuff needed to convert trial setups to full/corp. and to convert a trial cds.

email me for my server, d806@myrealbox.com

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trial and full are nearly exactly the same. the key does not say if you use a trial. The key just seprates you from everyone else basicly.

Only a few files on the trial cd are different from a corp version.

and compared to a normal version, one file is differnet.

to make a trial setup a complete setup, use TweekNT.. no one will know the difference.

no matter what even in trial you still have to activate your setup. Trail is the same as full all the way round basicly.

And like with XP, you can change your key later on.

I got all the stuff needed to convert trial setups to full/corp. and to convert a trial cds.

email me for my server, d806@myrealbox.com

This is not true, whilst if you use Tweak NT for 180 days no-one will notice the difference as it removes the messages saying it's a trial version and any indiciation it's a trial, reboot after the 180 days are up and it says that the trial has expired and invites you to purchase the full version and doesn't let you log in. I know because i've tried it just to test. And secondly you shouldn't be helping people with warez on neowin it's against the rules as well as being against the law.

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I downloaded the Evaluation Kit from M$ but then one thing popped into my mind. After 14 days it blocks if you dont activate it (or at least it was so in the rc1 I once installed). The problem is that I want to install it on a PC without Internet. How can I activate it (in order to get the full 180days period) without beeing directly connected to the net?

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all microsoft products that use activation are able to be activated over the internet or by phone. they all work the same way, except when you try to crack them, the activation is usally different. but no one who owns the product needs to crack it, do they? ;)

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all microsoft products that use activation are able to be activated over the internet or by phone. they all work the same way, except when you try to crack them, the activation is usally different. but no one who owns the product needs to crack it, do they? ;)

Thats not quite true, Office 11 Beta 1 could only be activated over the internet

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beta 1... it's not final. it's meant to be activated by beta testers, who usually have an internet connection. :p

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they did it this way because they figure most companies will test the new OS on an isolated machine, then upgrade their actual network.

True, but not many small companies can afford to invest $4000 on a guess

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True, but not many small companies can afford to invest $4000 on a guess

that's why microsoft is doing the free evaluations. anyone can get on the website and get a free evalutation version of windows server 2003. the company can then test the software, and if they like it, buy it for "real" servers.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Forget it, I have convinced my boss its worth the investment and just ordered an MSDN Universal subsription. Thanks for everyones input.

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