hobsgrg Posted April 30, 2003 Share Posted April 30, 2003 By upgrade i mean re-install the OS but it will keep all the current settings, its not just a case of putting in a new key :( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeremyWeisser Posted April 30, 2003 Author Share Posted April 30, 2003 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hobsgrg Posted April 30, 2003 Share Posted April 30, 2003 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paixao Posted April 30, 2003 Share Posted April 30, 2003 I didn't think you can activate eval copy of Windows.... Yes i can, i activated it. :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeremyWeisser Posted April 30, 2003 Author Share Posted April 30, 2003 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joel Posted April 30, 2003 Share Posted April 30, 2003 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Veteran Posted April 30, 2003 Veteran Share Posted April 30, 2003 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeremyWeisser Posted April 30, 2003 Author Share Posted April 30, 2003 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 :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
d806 Posted May 1, 2003 Share Posted May 1, 2003 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hobsgrg Posted May 1, 2003 Share Posted May 1, 2003 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricardo Gil Posted May 2, 2003 Share Posted May 2, 2003 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? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hobsgrg Posted May 2, 2003 Share Posted May 2, 2003 Im not 100% sure but i think u'll be able to activate by telephone, can anyone confirm this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricardo Gil Posted May 2, 2003 Share Posted May 2, 2003 Where are the keygen's when we need them :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hobsgrg Posted May 2, 2003 Share Posted May 2, 2003 Actually i am sure u can activate by phone, it's just like retail except u only get 14 days and not 30 days to activate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Veteran Posted May 2, 2003 Veteran Share Posted May 2, 2003 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? ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hobsgrg Posted May 2, 2003 Share Posted May 2, 2003 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Veteran Posted May 3, 2003 Veteran Share Posted May 3, 2003 beta 1... it's not final. it's meant to be activated by beta testers, who usually have an internet connection. :p Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeremyWeisser Posted May 4, 2003 Author Share Posted May 4, 2003 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Veteran Posted May 4, 2003 Veteran Share Posted May 4, 2003 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeremyWeisser Posted May 12, 2003 Author Share Posted May 12, 2003 Forget it, I have convinced my boss its worth the investment and just ordered an MSDN Universal subsription. Thanks for everyones input. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts