Microsoft Activation System!

[scrappysphinx]

Well i just spent the last hour on the phone with the Microsoft Windows Activation system.

I have a Windows 7 Home Premium Family pack which allows me to use the included license on 3 different computers at the same time.

I currently have it activated on one laptop and have installed it on my newly built desktop machine.

I didn't realise it wasn't activated so tonight it came up and told me i had to activate to continue using windows. So i chose to activate online but that failed telling me the license key was invalid and offered me phone activation.

I rang the toll free number and proceeded to enter all the numbers requested for it to ask me

"How many computers is this software installed on?"

I answered truthfully and said 2 and it told me my license is only to be used with 1 computer and ended the call dead.

I rang back and tried again and when it asked me the same question i lied and said 1 and it told me

"Your license key is invalid, please contact your local Microsoft reseller to purchase a new license" and ended the call.

Third time i didn't press anything and just waited till it put me through to a call centre where a foreign lady proceeded to also tell me my license is only valid for use with one computer!

I spent the last 30-45 minutes arguing with her before she finally acknowledged that i had a family pack and it is in fact valid for use with 3 machines and gave me my activation code.

Why can't Microsoft, just for once, get something right?!

 

[ChrisUnionNJ]

Then they would not be microsoft!!

 

[Zetr0]

^^---- he's got a point there Scrappy...

remember... ALWAYS answer NO to any other systems!

or try out a good linux distro and then have fun with WINE =D

 

[TheCorfiot]

Makes the bootloader option more honourable doesn't it

TC

 

[StrontiumDog]

When in doubt ... hack it

 

[TheCorfiot]

When in doubt ... hack it

Aye, it's probably less stressful & frustrating with language barriers to just get the ole bootloader installed...

Bad Boy !!!!
TC

 

[jvdbossc]

Then somebody pays , he gets this, very frustrating,,,

I had internet problems here, it fell out regulary.

Modem on: your internet is working hang up
Modem off: my phone is death as well, I cannot call them...
Using mobile: no option to register internet problems,(same provider- internet problems are only related to my mobile phone then:roll::deadhorse

So only way out is to use mobile phone from somebody else, or to go to the neighbours and call from there..

 

[Paul_s]

Ah the wonderful activation system.

I had to make 50 phone calls to this lump of carp last month as someone asked me to install a student licence for Office 2010 on 50 machines... my hands are still painful from entering probably upto 1000 numbers into my phone. I still have nightmares about that horrible robot woman too.

 

[ShambleS1980]

the funny thing is..
Theire attempt to prevent people using the os without a valid key just leads people with a valid key to create more demand for hacks to bypass the checks.
when its easier to just install an illigal copy of an os on to multiple systems than it is to install the legal copy of the os all your really doing is making peole say, "to hell with it, i dont need the hassle."

ah well. i wont join in the rant or il end up spiraling out of controll and talk about steam and other junk

 

[Paul_s]

The good thing is the Win 7 OEM stickers can be used on x86 or x64 systems I've found. Don't tell anyone!

As we use a volume licence at work it means all the OEM keys on the Dell kit we buy in can potentially be used on any 3rd party kit... Good old Microshaft

 

[scrappysphinx]

Oh my license for win7 is a genuine retail upgrade license and comes with both the 32 and 64bit discs so i can use either.
With XP i have many old OEM licenses that have been removed from old or dead systems that have been installed on non-oem machines. I've always had to activate them over the phone but they've always worked 100%.

 

[Gouldin]

Just become friends with your works IT dept, they will always sort you out with a VLK copy of windows and a nice corporate key that doesn't require activation.

Or do as I do and work in the IT dept, free software for life

 

[scrappysphinx]

That would be ok if i was able to go to work

The wife has a pelvic problem which means she struggles to walk, go to the toilet and is not able to pick up the children so i have a 2 and a 3 year old to look after and my wife.

 

[Gouldin]

Fair enough, send ppl pm's that work in IT depts on here then

 

[commodorejohn]

And this is why I will never, ever, ever upgrade to 7.

 

[Justin]

well you are missing out as windows 7 is actually a good OS

 

[commodorejohn]

Maybe so, but XP suits my needs just fine, has lower requirements, and doesn't run me through so much rigamarole when installing...

 

[Justin]

i found xp to be quite slow and bloated towards the end (after all the patches and service packs) W7 actually runs quicker on my pc than XP did


anyone else remember when XP was a BSOD buggy piece of poo? it was like that until SP2

 

[jvdbossc]

i found xp to be quite slow and bloated towards the end (after all the patches and service packs) W7 actually runs quicker on my pc than XP did


anyone else remember when XP was a BSOD buggy piece of poo? it was like that until SP2

If you clean up old files and defrag the hard disk it flies again. Due all the different updates the os is spread all over the hard disk causing it to slow down,.

 

[moijk]

Well i just spent the last hour on the phone with the Microsoft Windows Activation system.
...
Why can't Microsoft, just for once, get something right?!

As a Mac user, I don't struggle with activation etc. (since it requires hardware from them, I guess they are happy with that)

I still need windows for testing, either cross compiling or testing websites. Happily I got MSDNA since I'm a fulltime student (as well as working fulltime). I get free Windows licenses from there. One unique serial for 32 bit and one for 64 bit - for every windows version including win 7 and win 7 sp1. It's so easy to use - click on one link to get the serial and one other to download an exe that downloads the iso. Got to love when they have done it so easy. So they can if they want to.