What the duck! I installed IRST and now Windows is not activated

[G73S]

So I activated Windows after installing all my drivers and Windows updates.

Then I remembered that I forgot to install the IRST driver. So I installed it and rebooted. After about an hour, I get a popup message saying Windows is not activated so I had to call Microsoft again and enter about 100 numbers to activate again! This is really crappppp! what a stupid activation system! I don't blame people who use activators!

I get so much more trouble than anyone because I have genuine licenses for every program/OS I use having to call MS for each Office activation and Windows installation and now a driver installation is just BS!

 

[Gunbuster]

You had to make a three minute phone call. First world problems.

 

[smakme7757]

You had to make a three minute phone call. First world problems.

Pretty much.

 

[RampantAndroid]

I get so much more trouble than anyone because I have genuine licenses for every program/OS I use having to call MS for each Office activation and Windows installation and now a driver installation is just BS!

So if I assume you call for Windows activations because you get a lot of new hardware, fine. But office activations don't change when you swap hardware last I looked. Why are you installing it so often? You get what, 3 activations per year without calling.

 

[Ketchup]

Is it a legit/legal copy?

 

[Victorian Gray]

So if I assume you call for Windows activations because you get a lot of new hardware, fine. But office activations don't change when you swap hardware last I looked. Why are you installing it so often? You get what, 3 activations per year without calling.

I had it happen to me with Office 2010 several times. And it wasn't changing hardware that triggered it, it was updating NIC drivers.

 

[G73S]

Is it a legit/legal copy?

all my keys/software are legit, and that is the headache I call. Same thing with Nero Platinum Suite, 3 activations and you need to email support!

 

[BonzaiDuck]

I live with the same annoying troubles. Most particularly and very recently, I had replaced an accelerated hard drive (and SSD-caching ISRT) with a standalone Sammy 840-Pro. My Office Pro 2010 license had been for two PCs, and we never overstepped that boundary. The robot voice on the activation service must have asked me three times "On how many computers do you have software installed?" I was beginning to panic until -- after repeating the word "two" each time -- it finally responded "OK."

I also think I recall that this HDD-replacement prompted a new "need to activate" Windows itself, but I didn't need for it to provide me a new activation code. In other words, it behaved more like you would want and expect -- click the button: automatic activation "successful."

I now have another gripe with Microsoft, which I will report in another thread. It's a whole different dimension of uncertainty and misunderstanding -- beyond what is being discussed here.

I readily admit it: before we began buying win XP Pro licenses as far back as 2002, I had been able to install Win 2000-Pro on two different machines without a problem: one was just a server-box with old hardware. It wasn't as though I was making copies and selling them on the street.

So we accommodated ourselves to OS-installs lifting hash-codes from the hardware. And we live with the limitation of OEM install discs to the equipment first chosen as the installation platform. But some of the results for replacing an item of hardware seem a bit much.

 

[G73S]

You had to make a three minute phone call. First world problems.

wrong, since 1 month, Microsoft's Activation system is messed up.

I need to call, enter a long series of numbers, then answer a few questions, even though I answer them right (as in installed only on one PC), then it says your entry was not accepted

then I call again, go through the same crap again...and guess what? it works!

it is an error with their activation system because it has happened numerous times over the past 2 months, and it happens with both Windows and Office activation! so yes it is a first world problem! it comes in the way of my work flow

 

[denis280]

wrong, since 1 month, Microsoft's Activation system is messed up.

I need to call, enter a long series of numbers, then answer a few questions, even though I answer them right (as in installed only on one PC), then it says your entry was not accepted

then I call again, go through the same crap again...and guess what? it works!

it is an error with their activation system because it has happened numerous times over the past 2 months, and it happens with both Windows and Office activation! so yes it is a first world problem! it comes in the way of my work flow

weird.But it did to me a couple time.MS is really Puck up:whiste:

 

[BonzaiDuck]

wrong, since 1 month, Microsoft's Activation system is messed up.

I need to call, enter a long series of numbers, then answer a few questions, even though I answer them right (as in installed only on one PC), then it says your entry was not accepted

then I call again, go through the same crap again...and guess what? it works!

it is an error with their activation system because it has happened numerous times over the past 2 months, and it happens with both Windows and Office activation! so yes it is a first world problem! it comes in the way of my work flow

[and replying to denis280, also . . ] SO!! I'm not alone in this!! But I wouldn't have known so much about it if I hadn't been doing maintenance on three machines with OEM licenses of such a nature that I either reinstalled Windows, did an "Upgrade-Repair" or changed out some piece of significant hardware.

"Live and learn" is a nice platitude. But a lot of learning requires repetition or "frequent refresh."

This is the world we -- AND MICRO$OFT -- live in. The Russian Mafia. The Chinese "hacker-gang-of-five." The big DOJ roundup of criminal hackers in recent news. Viruses. Malware. NSA. Target-store credit-card scanners. And piracy-for-profit, for that matter . . .

So I suppose you could think that M$ is looking out for the interests of its diverse and mammoth-world-wide customer base, and trying to balance that interest against the inconvenience to this or that customer-base-segment. In that equation, you wouldn't expect them to compromise their "legitimate intellectual property rights."

 

[Noo]

microsoft blocked my legitimately purchased key (bought through digitalrivers or something like that), I guess it's because I constantly format/reformat my computer. Calling in to activate it no longer work. It's funny how much less of a hassle it is to crack the stupid thing than going through the proper channel (of something I already bought).

 

[MongGrel]

microsoft blocked my legitimately purchased key (bought through digitalrivers or something like that), I guess it's because I constantly format/reformat my computer. Calling in to activate it no longer work. It's funny how much less of a hassle it is to crack the stupid thing than going through the proper channel (of something I already bought).

Um ok.

Heh.

 

[Doomer]

Funny how legit customers are hassled to death while the thieves go unmolested.

 

[Gunbuster]

Yes hassled to death. One person had to make two three minute phone calls, a few people have had to make one phone call and finally another customer who cant even remember where they bought the software from got their key (supposedly) banned from "constantly format/reformat"

Hassled right to death I tell ya!

 

[Ketchup]

Funny how legit customers are hassled to death while the thieves go unmolested.

Unfortunately, people are "hassled" because of the people who want to find illegitimate reasons of getting Microsoft's software. Can't really blame them. And don't think they aren't constantly analyzing this sort of thing. They have competition now in many segments, unlike days of yore, so they have to make something easy enough for genuine users, but somewhat secure to prevent all the abusers out there.

 

[G73S]

Unfortunately, people are "hassled" because of the people who want to find illegitimate reasons of getting Microsoft's software. Can't really blame them. And don't think they aren't constantly analyzing this sort of thing. They have competition now in many segments, unlike days of yore, so they have to make something easy enough for genuine users, but somewhat secure to prevent all the abusers out there.

What I like is the activation system of some antivirus apps such as Emsisoft Anti-Malware, Norton, Bitdefender, BullGuard...

with those, you simply login to your online account, and de-activate the license, that way your pc or whomever might be using your license, will be de-activated, then you can freely reinstall it again let's say if you format or want to switch to another PC

That's how Microsoft should do it.

 

[Ketchup]

What I like is the activation system of some antivirus apps such as Emsisoft Anti-Malware, Norton, Bitdefender, BullGuard...

with those, you simply login to your online account, and de-activate the license, that way your pc or whomever might be using your license, will be de-activated, then you can freely reinstall it again let's say if you format or want to switch to another PC

That's how Microsoft should do it.

This isn't a bad idea. However, an OS has to account for being on a PC that isn't on the Internet. In that respect, the user would pretty much be back to the "call" activation system they are using now. Aside from my work laptop, which uses a slightly different system for activation, I have only had to call Microsoft for 2 activations, and those were, at most, a 5-minute call. Not a deal-breaker for me.

 

[code65536]

What I like is the activation system of some antivirus apps such as Emsisoft Anti-Malware, Norton, Bitdefender, BullGuard...

with those, you simply login to your online account, and de-activate the license, that way your pc or whomever might be using your license, will be de-activated, then you can freely reinstall it again let's say if you format or want to switch to another PC

That's how Microsoft should do it.

1) That's what they're doing with Office 365.

2) Pretty sure many people will not be happy about having to create an account with Microsoft just to use the OS.

 

[Noo]

Yes hassled to death. One person had to make two three minute phone calls, a few people have had to make one phone call and finally another customer who cant even remember where they bought the software from got their key (supposedly) banned from "constantly format/reformat"

Hassled right to death I tell ya!

Don't believe me? I think I still have an emailed receipt from them (digital rivers) when I bought the CD key of windows 7 pro. It WAS a legitimate site (now it's dead?) that sell windows products & keys and you can download the ISO. I'm sure people here knows what i'm talking about.


It's just a fact that my genuinely purchased key was banned for some stupid reason when a damn crack take less than 5 seconds. Microsoft logic.

 

[RampantAndroid]

Don't believe me? I think I still have an emailed receipt from them (digital rivers) when I bought the CD key of windows 7 pro. It WAS a legitimate site (now it's dead?) that sell windows products & keys and you can download the ISO. I'm sure people here knows what i'm talking about.


It's just a fact that my genuinely purchased key was banned for some stupid reason when a damn crack take less than 5 seconds. Microsoft logic.

How do you know it's banned? What are the details here?

 

[MrChad]

microsoft blocked my legitimately purchased key (bought through digitalrivers or something like that), I guess it's because I constantly format/reformat my computer. Calling in to activate it no longer work. It's funny how much less of a hassle it is to crack the stupid thing than going through the proper channel (of something I already bought).

Why are you constantly formatting/reformatting your computer?

 

[DrGreen2007]

Never activate until your done with all the installs, configs, tweaks, then activate and make a backup image.

 

[Gunbuster]

Don't believe me? I think I still have an emailed receipt from them (digital rivers)

Digital River is a back-end service provider. You may have downloaded the ISO from them but I'm 99% certain you didn't but a key directly. Perhaps figure out who you actually purchased from and talk to them about your key getting invalidated.

 

[tommo123]

this is why a lot of people pirate. some buy stuff legitimately but then use loaders and the like to get around this crap. next time around they just pirate. not a good move when the legit user has to jump through hoops