I may have a buyer for my old laptop so, in preparation, I wiped it and installed the OEM copy of Windows XP that came with it. The first thing I did when I got this machine was install Windows 2000, so I had never used this WinXP CD before.
For those who don’t know, XP has this obnoxious “product activation” scheme, where you need to enter a unique serial number and then let the computer phone home to Microsoft to verify it.
In situations like mine where I didn’t get a normal retail version of the operating system, the serial is on a sticker on the bottom of the computer. Since I had no plans to run XP, the sticker (a big multi-colored reflective thing) was removed and discarded.
I wasn’t prompted for the serial during the installation but if I remember correctly, I have something like 30 days to register it. So I called Dell assuming that since they’re selling these MS software licenses they keep a record of the serial numbers. I was told by their customer service that they don’t keep records of these and I should just get one from a friend. This is the award-winning support I’m paying for? I asked for her supervisor, who explained to me that she probably just meant I could use someone else’s serial “to test it”.
Apparently my only other option is to drop $300 for another copy of the OS, despite the fact that I have a licensed copy that I already paid for as part of the computer purchase. And when Windows XP came out Microsoft made a big deal about how their activation scheme would reduce piracy without inconveniencing their legitimate customers. Now I just have to hope my buyer has another OS he plans to install (or has a copy of someone else’s serial, as Dell recommends).
Before the above conversation with Dell, I asked them what I had to do to transfer my warranty and support contract to the new owner of the computer. I was told that she didn’t know exactly, that it might require a three-way call with me and the new owner because “security has really been tightened up since 9-11″. Because Al Qaeda is well known for their attempts to transfer computer warranties
Comments
angeldye
September 2, 2003
well yeah… al qaeda only target dells…
kar3ning
September 2, 2003
Because Al Qaeda is well known for their attempts to transfer computer warranties, right?
LOL! I’m sure as soon as they get reliable electricity, and a local Microsoft distributor, and phone cables laid, and a local ISP, and support reps in Arabic, then yeah, Al-Qaeda is gonna be all over software piracy. Those bastards.