Activation woes.

S

Serpreme

Weaksauce
Joined
Oct 12, 2004
Messages
81
I cant even activate with a legit CD key..does anyone know a way to get this freakin POS to work?
 
It would help a lot if you would let us know which os you are trying to activate.
 
its too late for me to call them atm. Windows XP Pro.
Its from a dell that isnt being used due to a fried mobo. wtf is with this? i try to register it with this system and it says unauthorized...this is what i get for being legit..
 
Are you using the dell OEM disc and key on another computer? That's not how OEM copies of Windows XP work - they're technically tied to the mobo on the original computer they were installed on.
 
Serpreme said:
So this 130$ copy of windows is worthless as can be?
Click to expand...
Yep. You will have to call Dell, not Microsoft, in this case. It is tied to the original motherboard (which is fried).

The only single-user (as opposed to corporate or volume-licensed) copies of Windows which can be installed on a system which is different from the original system on which they were first installed are the retail versions, which will cost you $300 for the full, non-upgrade Pro disk. (And even then, you will have to wait at least four months after you've last activated your copy in order to reactivate it online, or you'll have to reactivate over the phone.)
 
Wow that makes things so much easier for the consumer. Thank god something like this exists.
 
I'm confused. If you piad 130 bucks for a copy of windows it is not a dell CD. If its not a dell CD then you can install it on any machine with the key that cames with the copy you paid for. If it came with a dell computer then you didnt really pay 130 bucks for it and yes it will only work on a dell computer.
 
Are using a Dell disc or a seperate OEM disc.

Dell disc - Call Dell

OEM disc- Call Microsoft
 
Lowbatt said:
I'm confused. If you piad 130 bucks for a copy of windows it is not a dell CD. If its not a dell CD then you can install it on any machine with the key that cames with the copy you paid for. If it came with a dell computer then you didnt really pay 130 bucks for it and yes it will only work on a dell computer.
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Technically, Dell does charge you for a Windows CD. By default, you don't even get a Windows installation CD when you buy a PC from Dell. And even if you order a Windows CD from Dell, then you get a standard Microsoft OEM disk with the 25-character CD key that matches the one pre-installed on that Dell PC.

Therefore, the OP has a standard Microsoft OEM disk -- but one whose CD key matches the one used in the original pre-installed Windows on that Dell PC. Thus, the CD key on that Microsoft OEM CD really belongs to Dell, and thus the OP must contact Dell for support.

Also, the OP could have gotten ripped off by ordering a Windows CD after the original sale of that Dell PC. Dell charges the customer $10 for a Windows CD if the order for the CD was placed at the same time as the rest of the system. But if the Dell customer ordered the system without the CD, and then orders the CD after he/she has received the system, then he/she will be charged about $80 to $130 for the CD.
 
E4g1e said:
Technically, Dell does charge you for a Windows CD. By default, you don't even get a Windows installation CD when you buy a PC from Dell. And even if you order a Windows CD from Dell, then you get a standard Microsoft OEM disk with the 25-character CD key that matches the one pre-installed on that Dell PC.
Click to expand...

Dell *does* include CDs with certain lines of their PCs. I recently installed over 30 Optiplex workstations and each one came with an OS CD. Dell CDs =! Standard OEM disks. Dell modifies the installation to lock the CD to the PC as well as not having to deal with activation. Restoring from a Dell Recovery or Restore CD *should not* be prompting for an install key.

E4g1e said:
Therefore, the OP has a standard Microsoft OEM disk -- but one whose CD key matches the one used in the original pre-installed Windows on that Dell PC. Thus, the CD key on that Microsoft OEM CD really belongs to Dell, and thus the OP must contact Dell for support.
Click to expand...

Incorrect, If the CD is specifically labeled a Dell recovery or restore cd then it is *not* a standard Microsoft OEM Disk. FYI keys are *not* tied to individual CDs. In fact if one were to use Magic Jellybean finder on a bios locked Dell system, one would see the CD key being recovered is not the same keycode as the sticker placed on the COA.
 
SJConsultant said:
Dell *does* include CDs with certain lines of their PCs. I recently installed over 30 Optiplex workstations and each one came with an OS CD. Dell CDs =! Standard OEM disks. Dell modifies the installation to lock the CD to the PC as well as not having to deal with activation. Restoring from a Dell Recovery or Restore CD *should not* be prompting for an install key.



Incorrect, If the CD is specifically labeled a Dell recovery or restore cd then it is *not* a standard Microsoft OEM Disk. FYI keys are *not* tied to individual CDs. In fact if one were to use Magic Jellybean finder on a bios locked Dell system, one would see the CD key being recovered is not the same keycode as the sticker placed on the COA.
Click to expand...

Okay, I goofed. If the OP paid $130 for a Windows disk, then either he got a Microsoft OEM disk, or he got a Dell disk from someone other than Dell (unauthorized resale, in that latter case). In either case, then the OP cannot reactivate or validate his copy of Windows with another system or motherboard since it's permanently tied to the first system or motherboard he installs the Microsoft OEM copy on (or the Dell system in which the Dell disk was originally sold with). Microsoft keeps activation keys for retail copies of Windows for only 120 days -- but may keep activation keys for OEM versions of Windows for much longer.

And since Dell does not support Windows installations other than the one originally installed on that PC (whose mobo is fried), then the OP must call Microsoft by phone. He must also tell Microsoft that he has an OEM copy of Windows, and is trying to install it on a system other than that fried-mobo Dell system in which he first installed it and from which he first activated it.
 
BillLeeLee said:
Are you using the dell OEM disc and key on another computer? That's not how OEM copies of Windows XP work - they're technically tied to the mobo on the original computer they were installed on.
Click to expand...

Everyone says this, but the WinXP disk that Dell gave me works in my new PC - the only thing still Dell about it is the case since I was being cheap when I upgraded. It works fine for me all the time.
 
Raaben said:
Everyone says this, but the WinXP disk that Dell gave me works in my new PC - the only thing still Dell about it is the case since I was being cheap when I upgraded. It works fine for me all the time.
Click to expand...

Your Dell copy was setup to bypass activation, in this case. And when it comes time to updating and validating Windows, the Microsoft validation tool may flag your installation as invalid due to it being installed on another computer besides the one in which it was intended for.
 
E4g1e said:
when it comes time to updating and validating Windows, the Microsoft validation tool may flag your installation as invalid
Click to expand...

It hasn't so far, unless it flags it and says nothing to you. The ones that bypass activation, I take it, don't ask you at any time for your key? Mine does, so I assume that is the difference, but people say that it is still tied to my mobo.
 
Raaben said:
It hasn't so far, unless it flags it and says nothing to you. The ones that bypass activation, I take it, don't ask you at any time for your key? Mine does, so I assume that is the difference, but people say that it is still tied to my mobo.
Click to expand...

Actually, the ones that bypass activation are simply set up to not remind you to activate your copy. Plain and simple. All copies of Windows require the entry of your key during the initial setup.
 
Huh, well as I said, my Dell cd works fine with my new PC guts. Is that a wierd thing to happen, then? Does it make a difference that the CD is two years old?
 
E4g1e said:
Actually, the ones that bypass activation are simply set up to not remind you to activate your copy. Plain and simple. All copies of Windows require the entry of your key during the initial setup.
Click to expand...

Not true. The ones that bypass activation are preactivated at the factory and bios locked thus not requiring the end user to activate when reinstalled. Same goes for installation, Major vendors provide recovery or restore CDs that do not require the user to input the keycode.
 
E4g1e said:
... But if the Dell customer ordered the system without the CD, and then orders the CD after he/she has received the system, then he/she will be charged about $80 to $130 for the CD.
Click to expand...


just a note on this part. If you pay for a dell cd on a new system thats your mistake. I just got a inspiron 6000 2 weeks ago. of course it came with no restore cd and for somereason the utility that is normaly in the dell accessories section was missing so i could not create me own cd. I got on dell chat support explained my problem and they sent me my drivers and os cd at no cost 2 day ups. So whatever you do, do not pay 80-130 bucks from dell for a cd.

Btw if your nice to them im sure it helps getting it for free.
 
Serpreme said:
So this 130$ copy of windows is worthless as can be?
Click to expand...
If you got a Microsoft copy that you've first activated on the Dell with the fried mobo, then the only recourse for you is to contact Dell for the replacement of your mobo. You cannot reuse your $130 OEM copy of Windows XP on another PC -- even if that other PC is your own. Simple as that. Your OEM copy is permanently tied to your Dell system (whose mobo is fried), which was the first system on which you've installed that OEM copy of Windows XP.
 
The above post is true according to the EULA but as a owner of a OEM copy you can change mobo's and call ms if need be to reactivate.
 
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