XP Activation ID

[Boxxcar]

Aside from the legalities, if I install XP Pro w/SP2 on one of my PC's, use the phone-in option for product activation, what is there to stop me from loading the same XP on other PC's in my home and use the same actviation ID obtained earlier?

 

[Robor]

The activation ID's are uniquie to each PC so they will be different.

 

[RebateMonger]

Originally posted by: Robor
The activation ID's are unique to each PC so they will be different.

Unless the PCs are identical....then the only differences would be the network card's MAC address and the system disk Volume ID. Volume IDs can be changed.

 

[Robor]

Originally posted by: RebateMonger

Originally posted by: Robor
The activation ID's are unique to each PC so they will be different.

Unless the PCs are identical....then the only differences would be the network card's MAC address and the system disk Volume ID. Volume IDs can be changed.

Aren't they randomly generated each time? By that I mean even on the same system the Activation ID's would be different between 2 loads.

 

[Boxxcar]

Correct me if I'm wrong but the activiation ID is a 25 digit code (or something like that) that one gets from MS and you enter that code into the product activation screen. If I have only one PC connected to the net and all others are stand alones, then I shouldn't have to worry about having the same codes on different pcs. Yes?

 

[RebateMonger]

Originally posted by: Robor
Aren't they randomly generated each time? By that I mean even on the same system the Activation ID's would be different between 2 loads.

Well, there COULD be a problem with a phone-in activation, I suppose.

If you do a phone activation, the internal Windows activation program generates a fifty-character code that is related to the Key and a hash representing the internal hardware. It's certainly possible that the hash also includes a random number that is reflected in the fifty-digit number that Microsoft returns to you. In that case, yes, the Microsoft-supplied fifty-digit number wouldn't work on another PC, even if it was otherwise identical.

But once you activate a PC, you should be able to do an Internet activation of a NEARLY IDENTICAL PC. This is what would happen if your hard drive failed. You'd install Windows on the new drive (since it's a new install), be forced to activate, and it'd be accepted automatically with online activation because only the hard drive has changed. Microsoft should allow small changes in hardware without requiring a phone activation.

There's a second issue now, however. The "Genuine Windows" program ALSO seems to check for identical key numbers. I've seen "Genuine Windows Validation" refused because Microsoft's database sees that two different computers underwent Validation using the same original key number.