Windows XP

Callan

If i format my harddrive and reinstall win xp will I be able to activate it again with no problems?

maxheadroom

yes.

echomadman

better yet, dont reinstall XP. install 2k instead.

[edit] sorry for trolling

but XP is much more than 2k with window dressing and eyecandy, it is another small step towards the absolute dissolution of the end users privacy and rights.

not for this thread but a valid topic nonetheless

Saruman

echomadman try and be constructive! He has XP and wants to relaod XP, NOT 2k!

If you dont like 2k fine.. just remember XP is the same as 2k with more eye candy, drivers, utilities and hardware support!

echomadman

and as for being constructive
yes is not a realistic answer to this question

If i format my harddrive and reinstall win xp will I be able to activate it again with no problems?

i have never seen a windoze install that didn't have problems

[edit]

If you dont like 2k fine.. just remember XP is the same as 2k with more eye candy, drivers, utilities and hardware support!

just re-read this, I do like 2k, i like it the best of all the M$ offerings, thats not saying much i know.

anyway

short answer to original question: Yes, with an if
Long answer: No, with a but
total asshol3 answer RTFM

Captain Trips

Just to let you know, there is a patch for winlogon.exe after installing XP that you run in Safe Mode. Then you manually enter 401111 6 times in the activation box ("by telephone") and it will activate XP.

Veyr useful if you decide you actually don't want to spend money by going online/telephone or privacy. It is actually activated. That's the requirement of the license. ANd the DMCA doesn't apply in the EU so you have not circumvented anything illegally. Maybe. (!)

Furez

I recently upgraded everything but the box. I was worried Id hit trouble when it came to the activation of xp since it was practically a different system.

Installed xphome oem version and activated fine online. Seen stories that xp allows 3 re-activations or that you can re-activate fine after some time limit. 120 days I think. Just rumours.

But go ahead itll be fine.

Furez

Captain Trips

It allows 7 major hardware changes I think, 9 on a laptop. Each change/piece of hardware has a certain amount of credits towards requiring reactivation. E.g., if you have an ethernet card/NIC installed, it will be 3. That is, if you have the same NIC card, you can change just about everything and not require reactivatiuon ( I changed mobo, CPU, RAM, DVD, Video - didn't need reactivation).

It *is* reset after 120 days. God knows who needs to change specs at a greater frequency. Needless to say, they could prob *afford* more copies of XP easily if they are changing that much!

fisty

Originally posted by echomadman

i have never seen a windoze install that didn't have problems......... RTFM

maybe if you get past your sixteenth birthday you might see one.

Callan: yes it should.
However if you format then reinstall you will lose everything previously installed or saved on the drive you install.

Your best bet if you are having trouble is to reinstall XP over itself first and see if that fixes it, if not - then format and reinstall.

echomadman

maybe if you get past your sixteenth birthday you might see one.

WTF does that have to do with anything, I'm 23 BTW



and even at 16 I had seen all flavours of microsoft OS's ****ing up, right up from DOS on a POS 286 through to 3.11, 95, Windows for workgroups and its continued through since then with 98, ME, NT , 2K and XP

whosurpaddy

Originally posted by Captain Trips
Just to let you know, there is a patch for winlogon.exe after installing XP that you run in Safe Mode. Then you manually enter 401111 6 times in the activation box ("by telephone") and it will activate XP.

Do you mean you need a patch to do this or if you just go through the steps as youve described this will work?

Callan

It worked fine.

Is NTFS faster than FAT32?
My system seems to be running much faster (programes loading faster etc.) since I formatted my harddrive from FAT32 to NTFS.

Captain Trips

No you need the patch. You can only write over winlogon in Safe Mode. It's just a tiny executable, but I won't link it here for obvious reasons. As it stands it's the best way I found to avoid reactivation. I am presuming of course you have a legitimate XP CD key to do the install. (!)

rander00

[edit]
try and keep it civil girls,

looks like echomadman was just expressing an opinion.. no need to bite his head off

-Koopa (with love!)

[/edit]

Dun

Originally posted by Callan
If i format my harddrive and reinstall win xp will I be able to activate it again with no problems?

Simple answer is yes. If it's the same computer without major hardware changes then you can reactivate it an unlimited amount of times. If there is significant hardware change then you can re-activate once (or twice - can't remember offhand) before you have to phone them up. Check out Microsoft's site, they have tons of info on this.

elexes

after having to reinstall loads of win xp systems that code thing will be very helpfull god i hate ringing up and going through the code thing . just put me through to the damb opperator will you like omg . and when you say to them can u just wait a sec ive got another pc hear that i have to activate also there minds seem to die r somthn ..

Captain Trips

Actually the bets thing to do would be to the first time get the code over the phone, then if you are reinstalling, just have it written down because your System ID (or whatever it is called - the ID number it makes as a "fingerprint" of your comp) will be the same.

I don't know if it would still work if you changed hardware that was not enough to require activation. Basically then you'd just need to write your Product ID (from the phone operator) next to the Serial ID that comes on the disc.

Duffman

Originally posted by Callan
It worked fine.

Is NTFS faster than FAT32?
My system seems to be running much faster (programes loading faster etc.) since I formatted my harddrive from FAT32 to NTFS.

Not sure if it's faster but it's certainly more dependable than FAT32... Large sections of my windoze fat32 partitions have frequently disappeared in the past for no apparant reason...

XP Professional doesn't require all this MS activation rubbish btw...

Woden

"i have never seen a windoze install that didn't have problems"

i seen loads of windows installs that didn't have problems

"XP Professional doesn't require all this MS activation rubbish btw..."

my official copy of xp pro requires activation? the other copy i have doesn't though don't no whats the different, my office xp says its already activated on install as well?

Captain Trips

OEM generally don't req activation. The install is set to only work on the system bought.

Woden

they aren't OEM though, there installable on any machine?

Hankster

Haven't tried this myself, but got his in an e-mail the other day:

"If you have to reinstall Windows XP you normally will have to re-activate too. Well not anymore. Just copy wpa.dbl after you activated the first time. It is located in the system32 folder. Now if you reinstall Windows XP just copy the file back and you're up and running again. "

Captain Trips

That's right too; I remember The Register talking about that method back when it was launched. It's not going to help pirates but it definitely reduces the hassle for legit end-users.