Microsoft: 10 Vista Activations
Posted by lardiop on 26 October 2006 - 16:27 · 108 comments & 52421 views
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(13 replies)
#1 Posted by Max™ on 26 Oct 2006 - 16:30
- So after 10 activations - thats it is it? Another £250 down the drain if you're using the Ultimate version. Bloody stupid idea if you ask me. It needs to be implemented so much better than what it currently is.
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#1.1 Posted by Jack31081 on 26 Oct 2006 - 16:34
- Did you even think about it? Basically, you get to go through 10 hard drives with one Vista license. That's like 20 years. Who's upgrading their hard drive so often that this would be a problem?
Regardless, if someone is upgrading their hard drive so often, I think the cost of Vista is the least of their concerns. -
#1.2 Posted by Max™ on 26 Oct 2006 - 16:39
- Quote - Jack31081 said @ #1.1Did you even think about it? Basically, you get to go through 10 hard drives with one Vista license. That's like 20 years. Who's upgrading their hard drive so often that this would be a problem?
Regardless, if someone is upgrading their hard drive so often, I think the cost of Vista is the least of their concerns.
There are so many 'combinations' of things that can go wrong - doesn't just have to be the hard drive. Say you had a hard drive failure, motherboard replacement, a new hard drive and a reformat all in a year from a virus or whatever - thats 4 gone already.
My point is - who has actually said "oh dear - I need to buy a new windows copy" due to activation? Not many I bet - and not many will. The people who actually want to get past it will pirate it anyway, so its an unneccessary restriction put into place for the sake of it. -
#1.3 Posted by nemo on 26 Oct 2006 - 16:47
- Quote - Max™ said @ #1.2Quote - Jack31081 said @ #1.1Did you even think about it? Basically, you get to go through 10 hard drives with one Vista license. That's like 20 years. Who's upgrading their hard drive so often that this would be a problem?
Regardless, if someone is upgrading their hard drive so often, I think the cost of Vista is the least of their concerns.
There are so many 'combinations' of things that can go wrong - doesn't just have to be the hard drive. Say you had a hard drive failure, motherboard replacement, a new hard drive and a reformat all in a year from a virus or whatever - thats 4 gone already.
My point is - who has actually said "oh dear - I need to buy a new windows copy" due to activation? Not many I bet - and not many will. The people who actually want to get past it will pirate it anyway, so its an unneccessary restriction put into place for the sake of it.
and that's only for ONE YEAR. If Microsoft keeps on pace of releasing OS's every 5 years... you'll definitely go over the 10 times. -
#1.4 Posted by DjmUK on 26 Oct 2006 - 17:00
- Quote - Jack31081 said @ #1.1Basically, you get to go through 10 hard drives with one Vista license. That's like 20 years.
Not quite:
- One may install a RAID system (0+1) so that's 4x HDDs;
- You may upgrade all the HDD's;
- They may fail;
- Motherboard might fail;
- May wanna' get a new motherboard;
- May wanna' test a motherboard off a friend before purchasing your own;
- Hardware enthusiasts running benchmarks on a monthly basis.
So many different reasons why one may require 'change' (20 years huh? um...okay, I'm going to remain with solid-state hard drives for that long).Quote - Jack31081 said @ #1.1I think the cost of Vista is the least of their concerns.
Hardware enthusiasts usually get the test hardware free (permanent or temporary), but they still have to shell out for the O/S. And despite that, people are always cost conscious - I couldn't justify the extra costs of the O/S license.
I understand that as a worldwide percentage, the numbers are low (but we're still talking about a LOT of people) - but the target audience for the 'Ultimate Edition' is hardware and game enthusiasts (aka upgrade freaks for testing and/or pleasure).
But it is good to hear that it's 10 and not the rumoured 2. -
#1.5 Posted by Jack31081 on 26 Oct 2006 - 17:18
- Quote - DjmUK said @ #1.4
Not quite:
Ok, fine. I neglected RAID arrays. Still:Quote - DjmUK said @ #1.4- One may install a RAID system (0+1) so that's 4x HDDs;
1 reactivation, not 4Quote - DjmUK said @ #1.4- You may upgrade all the HDD's;
1 reactivationQuote - DjmUK said @ #1.4- They may fail;
1 reactivationQuote - DjmUK said @ #1.4- Motherboard might fail;
No reactivation necessary (HDD(s) are the same)Quote - DjmUK said @ #1.4- May wanna' get a new motherboard;
No reactivation necessary (HDD(s) are the same)Quote - DjmUK said @ #1.4- May wanna' test a motherboard off a friend before purchasing your own;
No reactivation necessary (HDD(s) are the same)Quote - DjmUK said @ #1.4- Hardware enthusiasts running benchmarks on a monthly basis.
No reactivation necessary if the HDD(s) don't changeQuote -So many different reasons why one may require 'change' (20 years huh? um...okay, I'm going to remain with solid-state hard drives for that long).
I didn't say 20 years on the same HDD. I said it would take the average user 20 years to go through all 10 activations... -
#1.6 Posted by Jack31081 on 26 Oct 2006 - 17:25
- Quote - Max™ said @ #1.2Quote - Jack31081 said @ #1.1Did you even think about it? Basically, you get to go through 10 hard drives with one Vista license. That's like 20 years. Who's upgrading their hard drive so often that this would be a problem?
Regardless, if someone is upgrading their hard drive so often, I think the cost of Vista is the least of their concerns.
There are so many 'combinations' of things that can go wrong - doesn't just have to be the hard drive. Say you had a hard drive failure, motherboard replacement, a new hard drive and a reformat all in a year from a virus or whatever - thats 4 gone already.
My point is - who has actually said "oh dear - I need to buy a new windows copy" due to activation? Not many I bet - and not many will. The people who actually want to get past it will pirate it anyway, so its an unneccessary restriction put into place for the sake of it.
Again, as the article states, reactivation is only necessary when you swap out a HDD and one additional component. If your motherboard fails, you don't need to reactivate.
The scenario you presented would only require 1 re-activation:
- HDD failure : no reactivation
- Motherboard replacement : reactivate
- new HDD : no reactivation
- reformat : no reactivation -
#1.7 Posted by Mikee4fun on 26 Oct 2006 - 18:49
- Well don't activate until you install everything and test. You have 30 days. Also after you install everything just image it so when the os breaks, just restore it from the image. Otherwise enjoy giving Microsoft another $399 donation.
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#1.8 Posted by faraaz on 26 Oct 2006 - 19:18
- Quote - Mikee4fun said @ #1.7Well don't activate until you install everything and test. You have 30 days. Also after you install everything just image it so when the os breaks, just restore it from the image.
i was just thinking that. if you test a component, say a new hd and mobo, you dont need to reactivate for 30 days, so you can go ahead and test it out. also, if something fails, and you reformat the hard drive, you dont need to reactivate, because it said replacing HDD and one other component. or, contrary to reactivation, you can just do a system restore right to when you first installed windows (or another stable time) -
#1.9 Posted by theyarecomingforyou on 26 Oct 2006 - 19:42
- Why is there even a limit at all? You should be able to have one copy of Vista installed on one machine but that should be the only limitation - if I wanted to upgrade my hard-drive or motherboard every other day I should be able to. I might never come across the limitation myself but it still shouldn't be there.
The whole activation system is flawed. They should just make a USB dongle (or other physical copy protection device), which could be installed internally for OEM machines, that is registered to a specific person or institution. It would allow you to reinstall as many times as you want and if it gets stolen then the user could report it as such, with it being disabled next time someone tries to activate Windows online. The current system basically treats all users as thieves, with Microsoft carefully watching over and imposing absurd restrictions. The current system is disgusting - if they had a system that worked properly they wouldn't these stupid restrictions. -
#1.10 Posted by MrCobra on 26 Oct 2006 - 21:05
- I think you should be able to deactivate it if need be. How about when it's activated for the very 1st time you provide some info about yourself that only you would know and if it ever needed to be reactivated then provide that info again and it's done?
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#1.11 Posted by Hak Foo on 27 Oct 2006 - 04:04
- [quote=Jack31081 said,#1.1]Did you even think about it? Basically, you get to go through 10 hard drives with one Vista license. That's like 20 years. Who's upgrading their hard drive so often that this would be a problem?p/quote]
Since 2000, I've been through four. And I'm not a storage freak.
There are also other reasons you'd hook in a new drive even without strict replacement.
I tried to test if a system problem was software by hooking up a new drive and installing clean to it. That avoided any possibility of upsetting the original configuration.
Why not a USB dongle instead? New PCs have 8 billion USB ports, no need for remote approval, and it effectively enforces "only one system can use a given licence at a time" without playing games with "what's a new system?" -
#1.12 Posted by franzon on 27 Oct 2006 - 17:43
- The article is pretty clear:
http://www.bit-tech.net/news/2006/10/26/Mi...on_to_bit-tech/
"Windows Vista will not require a system re-activation unless the hard drive and one other component is changed. This means that enthusiasts will be able to swap CPUs, memory and graphics cards out without any worry about having to re-activate with MS, either on the internet or by phone."
So you can install Vista infinite times on the same Hard Disk because your hardware is not changed i.e. when you format the Hard Disk you don't change the hard disk hardware!!
And you can change CPU or Mem or Graphics cards or Hard Disk infinite times.
Is it so difficult to understand this???!!
I find stupid that Neowin asks: "If I simply reformat my existing Vista PC and run the activation wizard, will I have used up one of my ten activations?"
Last edited by franzon on 27 Oct 2006 - 17:57 -
#1.13 Posted by Meacham on 28 Oct 2006 - 20:41
- Quote - Max™ said @ #1So after 10 activations - thats it is it? Another £250 down the drain if you're using the Ultimate version. Bloody stupid idea if you ask me. It needs to be implemented so much better than what it currently is.
Windows XP had 10 activations and then you had to speak to MS to get the OS reactivated again so what's the problem with that. Anybody who reinstalls their OS all the time shouldn't own a computer in the first place.
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#3 Posted by Jack31081 on 26 Oct 2006 - 16:32
- So, I take it the guy means that once the hard drive plus one other component are changed, a re-activation is necessary...not that the hard drive and additional component have to be changed at the same time.
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(2 replies)
#4 Posted by Joel on 26 Oct 2006 - 16:33
- Quote -the bit-tech folks believe keeping a base 'activated' image of Vista might save people some headaches down the road.
And if you installed a new motherboard, what's that image going to do for you? -
#4.1 Posted by lardiop on 26 Oct 2006 - 16:35
- Activations +1? It says the hard drive is the critical component so you wouldn't have to reactivate but thats crazy to re image a computer with a totally different mobo.
Last edited by lardiop on 26 Oct 2006 - 16:49 -
#4.2 Posted by MrCobra on 26 Oct 2006 - 21:06
- Quote - Joel said @ #4Quote -the bit-tech folks believe keeping a base 'activated' image of Vista might save people some headaches down the road.
And if you installed a new motherboard, what's that image going to do for you?
True Image with Universal Restore works wonders.
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(3 replies)
#5 Posted by Fubar on 26 Oct 2006 - 16:34
- Ms where we take the Personal out of Personal Computing :s ok so its gone from 2 times to 10 but even so come on , pc hardware will always fail be it down to the hardware itself or some dumb arse who doesn't know what he/she are doing
call me stupid but if i buy something id like to keep control of it , maybe im just expecting too much these days from people who only care about money heh -
#5.1 Posted by markjensen on 26 Oct 2006 - 16:53
- Quote - Fubar said @ #5...if i buy something id like to keep control of it ...You did buy the CD/DVD. And you have control over the media. However, the software content is covered by copyright, and is licensed to you. Under Microsoft's terms.
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#5.2 Posted by Fubar on 26 Oct 2006 - 17:02
- Quote - markjensen said @ #5.1Quote - Fubar said @ #5...if i buy something id like to keep control of it ...You did buy the CD/DVD. And you have control over the media. However, the software content is covered by copyright, and is licensed to you. Under Microsoft's terms.
i know that but tbh i find it rather stupid that they have to limit their customers like this , you buy something and are limited , you get a free linux distro and there's no limit to how many times you can install it , hell you can even get a pirated version of xp and there is no limit , i just fail to see how this is good for the legit user in the long run ? just like i fail to see how it benefits the legit user with all this wga malarky , but like i said i guess i expect too much from people who all they care about these days is money heh -
#5.3 Posted by +Brandon Live on 26 Oct 2006 - 17:39
- Quote - Fubar said @ #5Ms where we take the Personal out of Personal Computing :s ok so its gone from 2 times to 10 but even so come on , pc hardware will always fail be it down to the hardware itself or some dumb arse who doesn't know what he/she are doing
call me stupid but if i buy something id like to keep control of it , maybe im just expecting too much these days from people who only care about money heh
In the super-edge cases where you run out of activations - all you have to do is call MS support and they're extremely accomodating.
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(4 replies)
#6 Posted by Lasker on 26 Oct 2006 - 16:37
- my bad
Last edited by Lasker on 26 Oct 2006 - 16:45 -
#6.1 Posted by Jack31081 on 26 Oct 2006 - 16:40
- Come on, man. It's the first freakin' sentence.
"A Microsoft spokesman... told us that Windows Vista will not require a system re-activation unless the hard drive and one other component is changed."
If no hardware changes and you're just doing a format/reinstall, then no re-activation is necessary. -
#6.2 Posted by lardiop on 26 Oct 2006 - 16:45
- I'm still confused and I wrote the article. If you reformat your PC doesn't that count as an activation. (IE: You have to activate the product to use it past 30 days?) Or will Microsoft remember the system config like it does with XP and allow you to reactivate an infinite amount of times on the same hardware?
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#6.3 Posted by +Brandon Live on 26 Oct 2006 - 17:37
- The hard drive part works like XP.
As long as your HDD serial number doesn't change (which it never will regardless of formatting) - it's the same HDD as far as activation is concerned. -
#6.4 Posted by HawkMan on 26 Oct 2006 - 17:39
- Quote - lardiop said @ #6.2I'm still confused and I wrote the article. If you reformat your PC doesn't that count as an activation. (IE: You have to activate the product to use it past 30 days?) Or will Microsoft remember the system config like it does with XP and allow you to reactivate an infinite amount of times on the same hardware?
A reformat would juts check the hardware list up against the one stored at their server, same hardware, they just dwonload yoru existign activation. it's not ac "actual" re-activation as such. or rather it's a re-activation, but not an activation but...
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#7 Posted by PureLegend on 26 Oct 2006 - 16:53
- It's good, but it'll get cracked, I bet.
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#8 Posted by hinz on 26 Oct 2006 - 17:18
- I don't see what all the fuss is about, doesn't windows xp have the same policy, of 10 activations?
If your doing a reformat you should be to save the activation file so you don't need to reactivate, like xp. Least I hope so.
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(4 replies)
#9 Posted by +rEiVeRjOhN on 26 Oct 2006 - 17:29
- like wiht xp they make it so you cant sell your copy if you wanted to. who would buy your licence if they couldnt know how much life it had left in it?
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#9.1 Posted by HawkMan on 26 Oct 2006 - 17:45
- You aren't allowed to sell it anyway.
Well actually you ARE allowed to sell/transfer Vista once, but no such thign existed for XP. -
#9.2 Posted by Andrew Murphy on 27 Oct 2006 - 08:54
- Quote - HawkMan said @ #9.1You aren't allowed to sell it anyway.
Well actually you ARE allowed to sell/transfer Vista once, but no such thign existed for XP.
Wrong, it depends on your country. There are a lot of UK people that sell Windows licences. It was recently tested in the courts and found to be legal. -
#9.3 Posted by +mrbester on 27 Oct 2006 - 10:37
- Strictly you aren't allowed to transfer / sell a license for an OEM as that is (supposed) to be tied to the machine. If it is not OEM you can sell it because it is NOT tied and (most importantly) it is YOURS.
In practice, people sell their copy of XP irrespective of whether it is OEM or not. -
#9.4 Posted by m0nty on 27 Oct 2006 - 18:48
- Quote - mrbester said @ #9.3Strictly you aren't allowed to transfer / sell a license for an OEM as that is (supposed) to be tied to the machine. If it is not OEM you can sell it because it is NOT tied and (most importantly) it is YOURS.
In practice, people sell their copy of XP irrespective of whether it is OEM or not.
OEM is NOT tied to a machine.. OEM software can only be supplied with a hardware purchase.
whether that hardware be a complete Pc or just a graphics card is irrelevant.
uk courts ruled that selling the license with the CD is legal. but you must also once you have sold that cd/license remove any copy of that cd/license from your system.. ie.. you sell your cd/license to a friend.. you must remove that license from your PC as you have sold it, so essentially it is not your property anymore.. you must use a new license..
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#10 Posted by lbmouse on 26 Oct 2006 - 17:38
- I'm not sure if it does much good to complain at this point. If you don't like the EULA restrictions, there is a very easy solution; don't use the product and either stick with XP or move to another OS platform. That is exactly what many of use are doing. If enough consumers move in this direction, the kids in Redmond will catch the drift.
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#11 Posted by Kushan on 26 Oct 2006 - 17:47
- I'd class myself as an enthusiast and I by no means have ever had to reactivate windows 10 times over the past 5 years due to hardware changes.
To all the people bitching, this only counts if you replace the hard drive AND something else, get a clue. New hard drives, reformatting, new RAID arrays etc. DO NOT COUNT.
I'm not even sure if replacing the entire motherboard would count, providing that's all that's replaced.
But the point is, as long as you don't swap out your hard drive each time you buy or install a new component, then this wont be a problem and even at that, how many of you have replaced a hard drive AND something else at the same time 10 times since XP was released?
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(2 replies)
#12 Posted by +GreyWolfSC on 26 Oct 2006 - 18:00
- You can always call the toll-free number and actually TELL someone why you've got to do a strange reactivation. They're not unreasonable. I have to call every time I reactivate XP now since I've had to reinstall it so many times due to my work, and for some pretty odd reasons. They've never told me to go buy a new copy.
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#12.1 Posted by SBacklin on 26 Oct 2006 - 19:22
- Quote - GreyWolfSC said @ #12You can always call the toll-free number and actually TELL someone why you've got to do a strange reactivation. They're not unreasonable. I have to call every time I reactivate XP now since I've had to reinstall it so many times due to my work, and for some pretty odd reasons. They've never told me to go buy a new copy.
That is what my situation is. I have reinstalled XP on my machine so many times, that activating over the net doesn't work anymore. I always have to call in and do it over the phone. I never had any problems with that aspect. Is Vista going to be the same way. If you activate 10 times over the net and need to do it again, just call in and give them the installation ID and they give you a code back?
Also, how would Vista know that the hard drive hasn't been changed if you completely wipe the drive and repartition/reformat. With XP, I wipe my drive and reinstall XP and it has me reactivate everytime. How is Vista going to do this differently? -
#12.2 Posted by theyarecomingforyou on 26 Oct 2006 - 19:53
- But why should you have to phone up every time you want to reactivate Windows? Once they are confident that you are a legitimate user they should reset the number and treat you like a new user. I have no problem with activating Windows... however, I do have a problem with jumping through hoops just because Microsoft's activation system is so fundamentally flawed.
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(1 reply)
#13 Posted by Aaronz0rz on 26 Oct 2006 - 18:06
- what if you install windows on one HD thats installed
then say u move vista to a secondary HD
i have an 80 and a 160 gig drive..currently windows is on the 80
if i moved to the 160..is that a reactivation?
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(3 replies)
#14 Posted by Rivernet1 on 26 Oct 2006 - 18:13
- Why not just install everything (like mentioned in the article), image the drive and be done with it?
If the system goes 'tits up', you have a working, activated ISO ready to restore. -
#14.1 Posted by Joel on 26 Oct 2006 - 19:09
- So the differences in hardware config wouldn't worry you in that scenario?
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#14.2 Posted by MrCobra on 26 Oct 2006 - 21:13
- No the hardware difference wouldn't be a bother. TrueImage with Universal Restore works wonders.
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#14.3 Posted by Julius Caro on 26 Oct 2006 - 22:30
- I think that Vista uses the serial number of the hard drive to do the activation thing. And I suppose that it has something to detect a hardware change. So moving everything from one HD to another, vista will realize anyway.
But after some thinking, it kinda makes sense it is the hard drive the thing you have to change for vista to be suspicious. After all, it's the HD where the installation phisically resides. You can move your HD anywhere and that installation will still be the same.
Plus, if it is "the HD AND something else", you can change the HD first, without changing anything else, and after a while, change the other thing (the mobo, the CPU, whatever). You change two things, but not at the same time. That still keeps the same "activation" right?
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(4 replies)
#15 Posted by temp2 on 26 Oct 2006 - 18:14
- I wonder if Vienna? will come with some form of DNA matched mobile timecard access system whereby you pay for every minute you use the OS. Maybe they will even be able to charge you for the time spent thinking about using their OS by then...
/slippery slope -
#15.1 Posted by Lasker on 26 Oct 2006 - 18:52
- by the time Vienna is released, the computers arquitecture will be different than today's computers with quadcore processors
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#15.2 Posted by Primetime2006 on 27 Oct 2006 - 01:02
- Quote - temp2 said @ #15I wonder if Vienna? will come with some form of DNA matched mobile timecard access system whereby you pay for every minute you use the OS. Maybe they will even be able to charge you for the time spent thinking about using their OS by then...
/slippery slope
Think that up all by your loner self? Go back to class, the bell has rung. -
#15.4 Posted by badazzEVO8 on 27 Oct 2006 - 03:41
- temp2, i believe primetime is a fanboy dont mind him
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(3 replies)
#16 Posted by neufuse on 26 Oct 2006 - 18:20
- ugh wait... for someone like me that reinstalls their system almost weekly (because of driver development and such) I can only reinstall it 10 times?! because in XP i have to reactivate it every time I reinstall it! (not phone activation, but it asks me to activate the software every reinstall)... so for me to develop dirvers I have to spend how much money now!?
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#16.1 Posted by jwjw1 on 26 Oct 2006 - 18:29
don't you have 15 days to activate...and isn't there only 7 days in a week-
#16.2 Posted by coolcash on 26 Oct 2006 - 18:30
- One suggestion would be to invest in vmware workstation. This allows you to revert back to a snapshot that is working. By doing this you save yourself the pain of reinstalling every single time.
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#16.3 Posted by hackerssidekick on 27 Oct 2006 - 00:47
- Or even just keep your activation file so you don't need to re-activate...
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#17 Posted by coolcash on 26 Oct 2006 - 18:34
- My suggestion would be to allow you to register your copy. Once registered you can login to a website and activate/deactivate computers. This way you can install it on any computer you want and are not violating any licensing. Redhat does this for their server activation, this works really well, especially when your dealing with many systems.
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#18 Posted by majortom1981 on 26 Oct 2006 - 18:37
- this is a hard drive and soemthing esle. Do they mean at the same time?
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(1 reply)
#19 Posted by WinCC on 26 Oct 2006 - 19:46
- An usb dongle would be nice option.
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#19.1 Posted by phiberoptik on 26 Oct 2006 - 20:33
- Yea, but there are not USB hardware dongle emulators in software... google it... that would be easier to crack probably.
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#20 Posted by 5HORiZONS on 26 Oct 2006 - 20:08
- Isn't this how XP has worked so far? You have a certain number of activations and then you have to start calling them. After you call they must reset it or something for a while... I dunno, every time I've had to call they always get me up and running pretty quickly, can't complain about that.
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#21 Posted by VX1 on 26 Oct 2006 - 20:35
- I thought Vista was suppose to have the ability to recognize change hardware upon boot and thus load the configuration manager if hardware had changed? Is this no longer a feature?
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(2 replies)
#22 Posted by Gabe3 on 26 Oct 2006 - 20:39
- Good job MS, your forcing me to get a pirated copy then.
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#22.1 Posted by +chconline on 26 Oct 2006 - 20:55
- lol, I think the activation thing is pretty good already. Are you using a pirated version already?
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#22.2 Posted by hotdog963al on 26 Oct 2006 - 21:59
- Don't get a copy at all!
Even easier and 100% legal!
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#23 Posted by NeoFlux on 26 Oct 2006 - 21:07
- What about Hard drives in RAID? Wouldn't Vista see a RAID array and not the amount of hard drives in it? or the names or anything like that?
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#24 Posted by eilegz on 26 Oct 2006 - 21:51
- i guess enthusiast and people that change too much the config would get a cracked version... this its too much problem and annoyance cracked version its free and its the same thing. Im a legit windows user and somehow i feel that everyday pass i feel the less value we get with windows, microsoft treating us like criminals its not a way to go.
I think that going to the warez way its less problematic... waiting for cracked version or corporate.... or otherwise i stick with XP, sorry i dont feel that all this its right they should focus more on dropped vista features than crap like wga and activation that no one likes and only affect legit users.
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#25 Posted by Julius Caro on 26 Oct 2006 - 22:03
- Changing a hard drive is definitely (a lot) more common than changing the CPU.
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#26 Posted by newdeepdan on 26 Oct 2006 - 22:19
- I think as vista rolls out and with invisioning some of the activation headaches I will encounter, I will be more than likely to just get a mac and say goodbye to windows in my home. I agree with you 'eilegz' that microsoft is treating all of us like criminals.
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(1 reply)
#27 Posted by Billy Gun on 26 Oct 2006 - 22:19
- What's wrong with you people? It's 10 activations on-line and unlimeted activations py phone! So wha`t's the problem? Is it so hard to undersand?
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(3 replies)
#28 Posted by Nose Nuggets on 26 Oct 2006 - 22:58
- i have customers at that can go through 10 formats and reinstalls of windows in one year due to
1. viruses
2. adware/spyware
3. a combination of the above
4. 'experimenting' with system options/files
5. unexplained 'acts of god'
6. "hackers" (big emphasis on the ""
10 activations is insane. its not a question of weather or not i will need 10 or 1000, i bought your damn software i should not be limited to how many times i install it. for god sakes apples don't even have cirts of authenticity let alone an activation process. -
#28.1 Posted by Kushan on 26 Oct 2006 - 23:48
- And how are those customers dealing with XP? Because it's no different when it comes to reactivating after a reformat.
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#28.2 Posted by Nose Nuggets on 27 Oct 2006 - 01:03
- Quote - Kushan said @ #28.1And how are those customers dealing with XP? Because it's no different when it comes to reactivating after a reformat.
what are you talking about? after you use up all your free instant activations (usually 4-8 on a retail copy or 1-3 on an OEM builder installed copy) all you do is use the phone authentication (1800-571-2048 ) and spend the 8 minutes reading off and typing in codes. its not that big of a deal. -
#28.3 Posted by neufuse on 30 Oct 2006 - 13:22
- Quote - Nose Nuggets said @ #28.2Quote - Kushan said @ #28.1And how are those customers dealing with XP? Because it's no different when it comes to reactivating after a reformat.
what are you talking about? after you use up all your free instant activations (usually 4-8 on a retail copy or 1-3 on an OEM builder installed copy) all you do is use the phone authentication (1800-571-2048 ) and spend the 8 minutes reading off and typing in codes. its not that big of a deal.
I've NEVER had that happen.... I've activated a retail copy of XP Pro probably 40 times on the same system and never once had to call them
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#29 Posted by HeartsOfWar on 27 Oct 2006 - 00:58
- people keep going back to the "swapping a hard drive and one other component" as the crutch, but they don't understand how it is going to work.
Change any one component other than the HDD constitutes as the "one other device" - and if at any time you change the HDD you must re-activate.- Build your machine and put everything together - HDD and non-HDD hash code is generated based on the hardware - 1 activation and both hash codes uploaded to MS.
- Re-build the entire machine except the hard drive - Non-HDD hash code mutates - no activation, but mutated hash code uploaded to MS.
- Change the main HDD - HDD hash code has mutated - 1 activation, and both hash codes are uploaded to MS.
The only logical step for enthusiasts is to start building machines with more than 1 HDD, so Windows ties itself to a single HDD and users can swap the others... which we do already.
Microsoft is targeting the users who purchase their machine instead of building it...
I don't like the "Big brother" feel, but MS has 95% of the market and it won't change anytime soon.
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(2 replies)
#30 Posted by Primetime2006 on 27 Oct 2006 - 00:59
- Once again the idiots who don't know anything post here.
The odds of you replacing 10 hard drives with another piece of major hardware before the next time you want to buy a new OS are slim to none. If you do manage to go thru 10 hard drives, you should consider killing yourself. -
#30.1 Posted by Nose Nuggets on 27 Oct 2006 - 01:15
- Quote - Primetime2006 said @ #30Once again the idiots who don't know anything post here.
The odds of you replacing 10 hard drives with another piece of major hardware before the next time you want to buy a new OS are slim to none. If you do manage to go thru 10 hard drives, you should consider killing yourself.
its not JUST swapping hardware. its anytime you want/need to reinstall the os as well.
mr know it all -
#30.2 Posted by illz55 on 27 Oct 2006 - 02:27
- Quote - Nose Nuggets said @ #30.1Quote - Primetime2006 said @ #30Once again the idiots who don't know anything post here.
The odds of you replacing 10 hard drives with another piece of major hardware before the next time you want to buy a new OS are slim to none. If you do manage to go thru 10 hard drives, you should consider killing yourself.
its not JUST swapping hardware. its anytime you want/need to reinstall the os as well.
mr know it all
Actually, no. If you don't change any hardware, you won't have to activate anew, but simply re-activate via a rememberence of your first, initial activation which Microsoft has/knows of. So reformating is fine. I see no problem with this at all. Why are your motherboards and hard-drives all failing anyway you computer 'enthusiasts'? Aren't you supposed to be more intelligent than the average computer user; for whom they won't fail often enough for these 10 activations to go away for a LONG time? Secondly, just buy one SATA 2 HDD for any OS installations, present and future and use that for Vista; always. Stop making up stupid sh*t to bash Microsoft's licensing terms. These news are perfectly fine.
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#31 Posted by daniel_rh on 27 Oct 2006 - 01:49
- XP has a 25 limit of reactivations, Sometime ago I had to reinstall Windows because a Motherboard change and it was my reactivation number 26, The only thing I had to do to reactivate Windows was call MS Support and they give me a new key for the installation, I think the same case will happen in Vista.
Last edited by daniel_rh on 27 Oct 2006 - 11:39
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#32 Posted by strekship on 27 Oct 2006 - 02:33
- I have never had any activation problems. All you need to do is phone then and most of the time they will give you a new code to activate with.
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#33 Posted by jasondefaoite on 27 Oct 2006 - 03:04
- So when will MS actually show us an updated EULA for Vista confirming this? Until that time, treat this as a rumour.
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#34 Posted by maxmini1978 on 27 Oct 2006 - 04:07
- I do not think it is a good idea that a newbie talks about such a thing.
However, what an article of this Bit-Tech can say
- Activation is the hardware certification with an HDD and another computer part
- Activation being possible to ten times again
It is written that concern of an enthusiast is removed by these 2.
It is the article which it does not write definitely which sale form this depends on.
It is the argument that depended on a totally untrustworthy article in this, and this is really meaningless.
It is for Microsoft to interfere it about constitution of our computer virtually to prescribe the number of times of activation.
It is synonymous with helping you for a future plan of Microsoft to argue about such a license.
Should not we insist that there should be a right to use a software license for regardless of a change of constitution of a part definitely if for a normal product?
I take treatment same as a criminal by an illegal copy and why must pay expense of that purpose more?
A criminal should judge it by a law. I cannot understand why we must obey a personal law of Microsoft
If it says without being afraid of misunderstanding, it is often important to think fundamentally and radically.
A user of we Japan continues a much basic argument from the country of the Far East.
【An agent】Part 7 that Vista limits transfer of the OS【Haunting】
http://pc7.2ch.net/test/read.cgi/jisaku/1161787670/l50
"Vista limits transfer of the OS"
http://wiki.nothing.sh/964.html
I watched a company on a network-affiliated note article, the user of we Japan always repulsed the anonymous fingers of the intentional company which I guided.
We repeat such an experience and repeat an argument in "2ch".
Our society made wiki in a very reason with a little interest to a computer. However, a so detailed thing is not lacking in wiki.
Because detailed information is discharged from prison by an all person and a flow of money, and understand it entirely; is because social.
I want you go over a border if it gets used freely to go over a border and Japanese to argue.
On the other hand, some of we "2ch"er may contribute to you.
Last edited by maxmini1978 on 27 Oct 2006 - 04:36
"A Microsoft spokesman... told us that Windows Vista will not require a system re-activation unless the hard drive and one other component is changed. This means that enthusiasts will be able to swap CPUs, memory and graphics cards out without any worry about having to re-activate with MS, either on the internet or by phone.
Should you change the hard drive and another piece of hardware - for example for a major upgrade such as a motherboard change that requires a re-installation - Microsoft will allow you to re-activate up to 10 times. You will not, however, be able to have more than one machine activated concurrently."
This could pose some serious problems for enthusiasts that are constantly switching rigs or components around. Although Microsoft reserves the right to allow more than 10 activations per copy, the bit-tech folks believe keeping a base 'activated' image of Vista might save some headaches down the road.
Update: Yes, the article is rather vague but does raise some interesting issues. Most importantly, what does Microsoft consider a re-activation to be? According to the article you wont have to 're-activate' a copy of Vista unless you change the hard drive and an additional component. If I simply reformat my existing Vista PC and run the activation wizard, will I have used up one of my ten activations?