Registration/Activation Wizard (XP/2002)

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My first copy of Office XP Professional is on its way to me at this very moment (OEM on a new laptop). I’m one of the people who finds (or creates) a need to reformat and rebuild my computer 3 or 4 times a year – sometimes just out of pure boredom!

I’m curious how I can avoid contacting Microsoft for the Activation Code for repeated software rebuilds on the same computer (after the initial call, of course).

I understand they allow 3 activations via internet and after that one must call Microsoft to activate. I’ve read that you can save the activation code that MS gives you over the phone and reuse it on the same machine for future activations. Is this true?

And, does the internet activation option give you a number to save for future reference?

If nothing else, I’ll find the answer to these questions and many more in just a matter of days…

Thanks in Advance!!

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For OEM versions, the process is different.
It depends on your OEM.

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For oem, the process is similar to retail, except you are limited to one computer – the OEM. Many OEMs preactivate so you only need to do it if you restore or replace a lot of hardware.

if the hardware doesn’t change, you can always use the internet to register.

there is also a method of saving activation, it involves locating a file called data.dat that is created after the first activation. if you wipe the drive and reinstall, you can replace it instead of using the wizard to reactivate.

the location of the file varies with the OS – the easiest way to find it is to search for it – showing all files, including system. Note where it was found so you know where to restore it to. this file is subject to the same limitations are reactivating over the internet – if the hardware changes are too great, you’ll need to activate normally and save the new file.

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Thanks MaryJ,

That’s exactly what I was looking for!

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OK – the computer arrived and I’ve been throuh the (surprisingly painless) pains of internet Activation for Office XP.

The system is a Dell Inspiron 8000 with Win2000. There is no data.dat file on the system. Is there any chance that it goes by a different name?

Also, you mentioned that I can always use the internet to register if the hardware stays the same. Does that mean that the 3 registration rule only applies to different hardware setups?

Thanks for your most helpful advice

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on my win2k and winxp machines, it’s at
C:Documents and SettingsAll UsersApplication DataMicrosoftOfficeDatadata.dat
and is just under 4kb. It’s a hidden file, you need to show all in tools > folder options > view.

Everything i’ve seen/heard/been told is yes, you can reactivate as much as you want on the same hardware, it’s only if the hardware changes that reactivation may be needed and that is when your activation count is used. The number (3) is lower than what i have seen mentioned for retail versions but OEM licenses will have different counts. Microsoft has never mentioned what the limit is, only that one does exist.

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DOH!

All of the new goodies in Win2000 distracted me and I and totally forgot to view hidden and system files. Rookie mistake… All is well now. Thanks for your patience.

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As I recall it may have the System and Hidden attributes set.

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I forget to mention you can no longer save and reuse the code from the phone calls. it works only for office 2000. Using the phone to activate offers no advantage with officexp and is needed only if the screen says to phone it in.

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OH!!!!!! Now that is a giant step to validate my position that I will never put any of MS software with the Registration/Activation wizard on any of my computers.

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what is a giant step? that the phone codes change each time now? or that OEM copies are only for the computer they are sold with?

will you use other companies software that requires activation? i saw the other day that quickbooks was mentioned as one that not only required activation, but also forced registration. (office only requires activation, not registration)

anyway, if you are a developer, what choice do you have if your clients install it?

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Both!

No, I will not install software from any vendor that requires registration/activation. So far, MS is the only one heading down this suicidal path.

I will develop for versions that do not require the registration/activation and I will be starting to learn Linux.

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intuit does from what i was told. others will follow, depending on how bad they feel pirating is hurting them and how well this works.

have you seen the information at http://www.licenturion.com/xp/ yet?

linux is not a vialble solution for millions of users for at least a few more years, if at all.

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Yup. However, that is totally irrelevant to my objections.

I object because I do not want to have to call in and argue with some affirmative action clerk about getting a key to let me reinstall a product that I have paid to use. I do enough hardware and software testing that I will typically exhaust my three installs within a month or two at the most on my test bed systems. I also remember the nightmares that restoring system backups caused when Lotus, Ashton Tate, and a few others had copy protection. I can see myself trying to restore a backup in 8 years to recover some data that the IRS is demanding!

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With Linux and similar applications being open source, I would believe that we should see some exponential growth in the near future as some of the best innovation has come from people “thinking out of the box”. I remember the days when I was using a TRS-80, attempting to learn Fortran on a mainframe which wouldn’t make one-third of my current pc, and the MS team was just pulling the first version of MSDOS together. Look where we are now!

As people learn open source they realize the possibilities are endless, because you are not limited by constraints imposed by anyone other than yourself. Too bad these days that a lot of companies effectively stifle innovation by forcing employees to conform their ideas to something which “fits” company goals. And this comes from someone who is guilty of the very same thing!

Not to say that open source apps and OS are flawless…just to say that these flaws will probably have a remarkably fast rate of correction.

My two cents….

Thanks,
Mike

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That applies mostly if you’re a programmer and want to do things your way. The vast majority of computer users are NOT programmers and don’t want to be. They want to turn it on, hit a few keys and get something familiar that they can use.

That’s one of the primary reasons that Windows became so successful in the first place, it let users work across applications and talk to the hardware without really knowing what was going on underneath the surface. To businesses, that translates into productivity, and they’ll opt for that every time over innovation, especially when the employees may not have the same “vision” that the management has. That’s a good way to run a business straight into bankruptcy.

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OK OK…I surrender! (LOL)

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Having come from the mainframe world, I think that the main reason that Windows became so popular is that the corporate IS departments made the mainframe so user unfriendly by locking it down that the users were looking for something that was more friendly and could be easily and quickly modified to get their job done in a rapidly changing business environment.

Now that corporate IT is beginning to use the Win 2k Active Directory to lock down the desktop, and MS is introducing things like the Registration/Activation wizard, I think you will see the users beginning to look for something else. There are several technologies very close to being at the poit that they could blow Windows away when the users figure out that MS and IT are trying to stuff them back in that box.

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Fine, that’s called progress. But in my experience, users are just looking for a way to get the job done, and they don’t care about it being “locked down.” That’s an issue that only programmers and people who like to get their hands dirty care about. Freedom to choose may be essential in philosophical systems but highly overrated when it comes to getting the work done.

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Sorry, but many users do care about being locked down. They find all of these neet little programs that help them get their job done and they want to be able to install them. They don’t want to wait 6 months for the IS/IT department to get around to giving them something that they approve of.

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For security reasons, companies need to tighly control what software is installed.

Users install all kinds of crap they think they need (or may carry trojans) – on computers they don’t own and if there is a compatability problem, IT has to clean the mess up.

If the company doesn’t own a license for the software, they can be held responsible – many employees don’t know or don’t care about licensing issues.

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I take it you’ve never worked a help desk and had to handle the calls after users installed those “neat” programs that they just had to have … and trashed their workstation in the process.

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And StarOffice will take over your desktop, email and internet access if you do NOT read the REAL fine print during the install.

DaveA I am so far behind, I think I am First
Genealogy....confusing the dead and annoying the living

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Only the first time that I install it.

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And StarOffice will take over your desktop, email and internet access if you do NOT read the REAL fine print during the install

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Nah! I’ve installed it (current version 5.2) on five machines (three Linux and two Windows, and it has asked me pretty politely about whether I want it to become the default handler. Its also pretty easy via the SO Tools|Options dialog to change your mind.

StarOffice has a way to go till it catches up on some aspects of MS Office (a much more mature product), but not as regards the things you mentioned. That said, if you need a full blown office program that is compatible with MS office file formats, runs on multiple platforms using the same data formats, and won’t break the software budget of a small office, you can’t beat StarOffice.

It is interesting that no one has mentioned Applixware, or the new (I can’t wait to try it) KDE office product. If it is anything like the rest of KDE, it should be fantastic.

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Not a help desk directly, but second level support for one certainly.

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Windows became popular for mainly two reasons:

1. THe cost of hardware, etc. dropped drastically. Computers do not really do anything today they could not do 20 years ago, except now it is economically fesaible to run the apps.

2. The apps. Microsoft Office, in particular. Users don’t give a hoot about anything other they see on the terminal in front of them.

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Yup, and it was when the cost of a PC dropped low enough for a user department to buy them without approval from the board of directors that they were able to move away from the mainframes.

You are somewhat correct that computers can’t do anything today that they could not do 20 years ago. They mostly just do it in a way that the user has been more in control. If IS/IT takes that control away again, then I think that the users will find other technology that gives them the control back.

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Howard, you are partly right about this. Your first poit about hardware prices is right, but your second point should be that the cheap hardware came with Windows pre-installed. As Charlotte points out, most people will stick with what’s already there.

When expensive PCs came with little software installed, WordPerfect (and before that WordStar) was king. It was only after every PC came with MS apps (Word or Works) that people switched. I started out with Word 5.5 for DOS at that time. When my secretary went on maternity leave and we were using Word 2 for Windows, we couldn’t get anyone to replace her (or use a mouse). We finally hired someone with Mac experience. Times change, but it has more to do with superior marketting than superior software. (I’ve always love Word and thought it was first rate, but Excel and Access are mediocre products that have succeeded because they are adequate and have overwhelming market share. The better stuff — remember Lotus Improv — disappeared because of MS’ market dominance.)

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Charlotte,

I agree with your thoughts regarding people’s attitudes regarding chioce and Windows vs. Linux in the demographic of those over 25 and in a business environment. That is, those people who are using their computers only because they have to.

The younger people and those who enjoy their computers beyound it being a fungible tool will prefer Linux — as it exists today — if they have a chance to play with it.

I find that most people who sitll think Linux is hard to use and install and doesn’t have much software available are the ones who have read a lot about it but haven’t installed it themselves. Linux has been ready for prime time for about two years and it is quickly getting better.

I still use Windows on one machine at work for only two reasons: on rare occasions I need to read or write a file format that Linux won’t do (very rare) and there are a couple of Windows programs I can’t yet live without (Quickbooks and TimeMatters) that have not yet been ported or have a reasonable alternative.

The key is to stop believing the common wisdom and try it yourself.

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Linux is NOT a threat to Microsoft until somebody figures out how to run the current version of, at least, Microsoft Office and, perhaps, VB on Linux.

MSFT is not going to do that unless forced to by the gummermint.

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I am just beginning to look, but it looks like there are products out there that are getting close to giving the same functionality as MS Office, and that is what is really required. Lotus and Ashton Tate once thought that they had the market locked up because their user base was so large. That seems to be Microsoft’s attitude today and I think it will get them the same results it got Lotus and Ashton Tate.

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Why would running Office on Linux be a threat to Microsoft?

There are some alternatives to MS Office which are gaining ground rapidly. Since the majority of MS revenue comes from Office, I can see where alternative software could be a threat. What I said was that open source has no limits on the speed of development and that improvements in alternative software will come rapidly. As for Visual Basic, I believe StarOffice has some midlevel code similar, although not as thoroughly devoped, as Visual Basic.

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As for Visual Basic, I believe StarOffice has some midlevel code similar, although not as thoroughly devoped, as Visual Basic.

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StarBasic is pretty similar to VBA. In fact, SO has a wizard (they call them autopilots) that imports VBA code. Most of it is commented out, but with a few modifications, you can uncomment it and have it running. StarOffice lacked Word’s Shift+F3 ToggleCase command that I really use a lot. I was able to write a StarBasic macro to do it, using my VBA experience, in less than 15 minutes.

The current version supports automation via the older StarBasic macro language or via the StarOffice Open API. The latter is as powerful as C++, but not as easy to transition to as StarBasic for us non-professional programmers.

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Why would running Office on Linux be a threat to Microsoft?

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Windows caught on because a lot of good apps were being written to run on it. In the early days, a lot of those apps were not MS products. MS was happy to share limited API info with other software developers becuase their popular apps sold copies of Windows. MS Office is now the standard for most businesses, so those businesses must run Windows. So the popularity of Windows-only office insures more sales of Windows itself. Most people — as Charlotte points out — don’t care about the OS. They use windows because (1) it came installed on their computer, or (2) it is needed to run MS Office or other popular apps. If MS made a Linux version of Office they might sell a few more copies of Office, but they would certainly make up for that gain in sales of Office with losses of sales in Windows.

THE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT PROBLEMS THAT MICROSOFT HAS ARE A JOKE COMPARED TO THE THREAT OF LINUX AND OTHER OPEN SOURCE AND FREE SOFTWARE. If this wasn’t true, Messers. Balmer and Alchin wouldn’t be spending so much of their time making speeches obfuscating the difference between “Open Source” and “Free Software” and labelling both as “un-American”. Non-credible threats are ignored, not criticized. Part of MS’ public relations assault on the two is to get people to believe that they are not serious, viable alternative, but rather experimental, arcane software of value and interest only to programmers. Try them. You will find them neither experimental nor arcane (though the documentation still has a way to go).

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WOW! Fascinating insights…

Unfortunately, the practical (and harsh) reality is that I must continue to use Microsoft products because that’s what my clients use – even with the Activation Wizard (and the “monopoly”).

If the mainstream market shifts in the future, I’ll gladly follow it to other alternatives.

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geez Art…you written any books lately?

(LOL…just kidding). Thanks for the insight. However, not all of us interested in alternatives to Office fit into the 25 and under category, more like the “old fogies” category!

Thanks a lot,

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you written any books lately?

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Sorry. Get carried away sometimes.

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not all of us interested in alternatives to Office fit into the 25 and under category

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It’s been almost (not quite) 25 years since I’ve seen 25.

I based the age stuff on observing people in various offices. I’ll catch it for generalizing here, but I think this applies more to men than women. I’ve noticed that women see the computer as a mere tool — a means to an end. It’s the route, for them, not the destination. Men seem to appreciate the tools — in and of themselves. They sometimes create jobs for the sole purpose of trying out the tool.

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Uh oh….Here comes the Mars vs. Venus discussion.

I’m too young for this one

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That applies to Windows XP, not Office XP, tho the underlying methods could indeed be similar.

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That means you never use Shareware?

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I do not install any shareware that requires me to register before I can use my computer or access my data. I also would not install any shareware that required me to register again every time I reinstall my OS or make a significant hardware change. I will install shareware that I have to register to get rid of a nag screen.

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No company can expect that EVERY computer is hooked up to the Internet.

THere has to be a phone process for BOTH refistration and activation.

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there is a phone option. internet is the recommended method though, especially since the reason for calling with off2k was to save the code to use later.

and to be clear – registration (giving your name and address) is optional only activation is required.

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Why should they assume that a computer is located where there is a phone?

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Why should they assume that a computer is located where there is a phone?

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[/indent]Aren’t you stretching your point just a little here Legare? I don’t care if you got your software by pack mule, if the supplier of said software requires that you activate it in some way that insures they have been compensated for it and you didn’t just borrow it from the villager next door, so be it. I don’t work for free and don’t expect even Bill Gates and his crew to do so.
In way of background; I started my technological life supporting Burroughs Mainframe software then as a DEC-PDP 11/70 operator. My very first personal computer was a TRS-80 Model I (think the serial number was in double digits) and I bought it to teach myself BASIC, the language of choice on our DEC computers.
Stating computers don’t do anything today they couldn’t do 20 years ago just cheaper is a gross understatement of the facts. I have an artifact sitting in front of me right now – an 8K memory board from a DEC- PDP 8 (measuring 8 1/2″ x 10 1/2″) that in its day, sold for close to the cost of my current Pentium system (just the 8k memory card mind you). That PDP 8 with about 4 similar cards installed, could maintain a database of some 80,000 cable subscribers. The database was accessed by 8 directly connected dumb terminals and supported by a staff of 4 full time programmers. I won’t even go into the introduction of the 11/70 and our installation of a Packet Switching Network to facilitate remote access.
The point is, I support a very similar operation today on my Intel Pentium thanks entirely to Microsoft Windows and Microsoft Office Pro, and I have absolutely no qualms about proving to the vendor that I’ve paid for the privilege.

Gosh – that’s the longest post I’ve ever submitted. think I’ll go lie down now, [climbing off of soapbox].

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No, I don’t think I am stretching the point since I have actually been in somewhat that situation. I actually lived for a while in a place where getting an activation from Microsoft by Internet would have been impossible and by telephone would have been difficult and at best would have cost about as much as the software.

I also do not expect you or Bill Gates to work for nothing. Not because I particularly want to enrich either of you, but because I understand economics well enough to know that you you and Bill do not make money on the software you sell, then that software and any future enhancements will not be available to me. I pay for the software I use, and if Bill wants to send someone to my house or office (as the license agreement says he can) to check what software I am running and what licenses I have, I will not object.

My objection is to having something in the software that may cause me to lose access to my data or even my entire system if it has a bug that makes it think that it is no longer running on the same system, or that may cause the software to not work when it is restored from a backup.

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I think that you can see from my other comments in this thread that I agree with most of what you say, plus I have major concerns with this monstrosity deciding on the spur of the moment that my configuration has changed and that I must reactivate (see the latest issue of Woody’s Office Watch for a few early horror stories). I decided back in the early 1980s that copy protected software was not worth the risk and have never installed it on my PCs.

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