Office XP (re)activation, or the joys of formatting

[Michael Fortson]

So, not only do you get to enjoy reinstalling windows, you can also go for the extra-special Nag option by installing Office XP anytime prior to reformating your drive. Even just the day before will do.

That'll get you a prompt to call the license police when you try to let it activate itself again, followed by some simple instructions from your friends at everyone's favorite software company:

- call this phone number
- find your 50 digit(!) "activation id"
- enter it all into your phone
- wait a moment while we snicker at you before we tell you that's not good enough
- hold while we connect you to a real person
- repeat the 50 digit code, this time by speaking it
- please explain why you would like permission to reinstall your software
- listen as we give you a different 50 digit code
- enter that new code into the nag screen
- click next, then finish
- have a nice day


And to think I paid for this... :roll:

[Xaroc]

So, not only do you get to enjoy reinstalling windows, you can also go for the extra-special Nag option by installing Office XP anytime prior to reformating your drive. Even if you just installed it the day before you formatted.

That'll get you a prompt to call the license police when you try to let it activate itself again, followed by some simple instructions from your friends at eveyone's favorite software company:

- call this phone number
- find your 50 digit(!) "activation id"
- enter it all into your phone
- wait a moment while we snicker at you before we tell you that's not good enough
- hold while we connect you to a real person
- repeat the 50 digit code, this time by speaking it
- please explain why you would like permission to reinstall your software
- listen as we give you a different 50 digit code
- enter that new code into the nag screen
- click next, then finish
- have a nice day

And to think I paid for this... :roll:

Yet another example of copy protection hurting the paying customer. Personally I would say screw that and go find the no activation patch and apply that.

-- Xaroc

[Anonymous]

I don't see why you're having such a problem. I've reformated my Windows machines several times over the past year, and my copies of OfficeXP activate with no hassle.

Product Activation keeps in mind your hardware, so as long as you install OfficeXP or WindowsXP on the same machine over and over again, it will activate with absolutely no hassle. You could format your PC, install WindowsXP and OfficeXP, activate them, reformat that same machine and repeat that process a gazillion times and it shouldn't hassle you at all. You only hit roadblocks if you try to activate it on a different machine, or if you radically change your hardware around.

I did have to call a phone number when I switched my copies of OfficeXP around (I have a full version and an upgrade version, and I wanted the machines to switch numbers). I explained this to MS and typed in the new # and it took about 2-3 minutes, tops.

Since then, I've reformated both machines and installed Windows XP and OfficeXP on both, and they activated automatically, since the hardware was still the same as from the last time.

[Michael Fortson]

Kale, thank you so much for your assistance. Really. Unfortunately, I am not posting to get advice, or asking for help. I tend to assume people will recognize a person venting when they see it; my apologies for not being more clear.

[Tyjenks]

Unfortunately, I am not posting to get advice, or asking for help. I tend to assume people will recognize a person venting when they see it; my apologies for not being more clear.

In that case, I feel your pain.

[Anonymous]

Where this is really going to get sucky is when Microsoft starts refusing to activate "no longer supported" products.

IE: MS has already announced a version of Windows due for Christmas with some draconian digital rights management stuff built in. And Hollwood has lots of capital hill in their pockets.

SOO... Even as I continue my never-ending upgrade cycle into the future, etc., I may want to keep an older rig around running Windows XP so I can rip MP3s for my own user, use my AIW to record TV programs to watch on a handheld, etc.

But if something happens on that PC and I need to reinstall, and MS has "retired" XP support, that means their response will be "buy our new Windows BB (Big Brother) edition, XP is no longer supported." And then the only options are to use a pirated copy of a product I paid for, or to upgrade to an OS with all sorts of DRM controls in it that will restrict my own fair use of media that I own.

And THAT, my friends, is the future pain of XP, and something to think about before writing off product activation as "not that big a deal."

[Anonymous]

"Rip MP3s for my own use," that is. I guess I need to take the 2 minutes to register at some point, so I can edit my messages...

[Anonymous]

Are you Sparky's masculine side, by the way?

[Anonymous]

Nope, no relation.

(Although after reading her messages and seeing her sense of humour, as long as she doesn't have a giant goiter or something, I'd marry her sight-unseen. Well, if she wasn't already married.)

I actually used to go by Sparky. But then there was another guy in the Half-Life LAN crew I played with who already had the name. Sparkman was a lame "think of something else quick" that stuck.

[Chris Nahr]

But if something happens on that PC and I need to reinstall, and MS has "retired" XP support, that means their response will be "buy our new Windows BB (Big Brother) edition, XP is no longer supported." And then the only options are to use a pirated copy of a product I paid for, or to upgrade to an OS with all sorts of DRM controls in it that will restrict my own fair use of media that I own.

Quite right -- which is why I'll keep a copy of Windows 2000 indefinitely. The last good Windows version that didn't require activation.

And as for Office XP, why even use it? OpenOffice 1.01 has recently been released, the retitled successor to StarOffice. It's free, the whole package is only as big as a single service pack for MS Office (~50 MB), and I found it surprisingly capable and painless to use. Read all my Word and Excel files with little or no problems, too. Big improvement over the rather crappy StarOffice of yore.

http://www.openoffice.org

(Uh, could someone tell me how to put an URL "below" another piece of text, as with the HTML <A HREF="..."> tag?)

[Michael Fortson]

ahh... like this (http://www.openoffice.org)

You just have to put (url=http://someurl)link text(/url)

... but with brackets of course. Don't use quotes in the actual url or it won't work.

[Chris Nahr]

You just have to put (url=http://someurl)link text(/url)

... but with brackets of course. Don't use quotes in the actual url or it won't work.

Thanks! I tried just that but of course with quotes around the URL... why is it that some parameters requires quotes and others can't even have them? Oh well, at least I discovered two more smileys. :mrgreen: :|

[voltaic]

So, not only do you get to enjoy reinstalling windows, you can also go for the extra-special Nag option by installing Office XP anytime prior to reformating your drive. Even just the day before will do.

So don't run Windows XP.