Microsoft Windows XP Activation woes!!1

I have an older laptop that my kids have been using. It was running like crap due to malware. As there was nothing of importance on it, I chose to simply start over. My Windows XP pro disc was the first version. I loaded it and found out quickly that Microsoft no longer supports anything below SP3. No problem! So I spend 3 days off and on downloading and adding updates to make this machime usable again. I found a nifty little piece of software here called Driver max. Paid for the "Pro" version to save myself some time getting driver updates. Used it to update every driver that it reccomended. Seems one of the drivers I downloaded didn't work. Killed my network controller. Fine! So I do a system restore to go back to yesterdays setup! Now! I get a message from Microsoft saying that the hardware on my machine has changed significantly, so I must re active windows. OK! Pain in the rear, but whatever. NOW it says I have exceeded the number of times it can be activated. What the heck?!?! Is there a way to fix this?

 

>> NOW it says I have exceeded the number of times it can be activated. What the heck?!?! Is there a way to fix this? <<

Re: XP Microsoft Product Activation

There is actually no limit on how many times you can activate a single system using a single key. What does happen is that online activation will stop accepting the key if you activate repeatedly in a short period of time. In that circumstance, you can phone Microsoft Product Activation Center. You may be asked to provide extra proof of purchase, such as the details on the COA (Certificate of Authenticity) sticker. You might want to have that COA handy when you call. As long as you have a valid license they'll be happy to give you an activation code any time you ask for one.

Related Links:

Microsoft Activation Centers Worldwide Telephone Numbers
http://www.microsoft.com/licensing/existing-customers/activation-centers.aspx

How to find a phone number for a Microsoft Product Activation Center
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/950929

How to activate Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/307890

Somewhat Related Links:

A virtual agent for your Microsoft Product Activation questions:
http://support.microsoft.com/gp/cu_sc_prodact_master#tab1

Piracy Basics - Microsoft Product Activation
http://www.microsoft.com/piracy/mpa.aspx

Windows Product Activation (WPA)
http://www.aumha.org/a/wpa.htm

Good Luck...

COMP

 

Thank you! I feel silly now! Just seems like a ton of trouble for something they don't even support anymore. I should upgrade to Win 7 anyway. Thanks again.

 

Back it up in the future if feasible. XP has a utility for that, ntbackup.exe. There are also a few free to download and use third party programs here with majorgeeks. Fairly decent guides here also... http://www.tweakhound.com/xp/backup/1.htm