What is going on with windows xp activation

**Kodiak** · November 16th, 2010, 06:21 PM

I have had three times here in the past month or so that windows xp won't activate even by phone. I call and it says it is a key they don't recognize but it's the key right off the machine and even my own xp pro key which I have activate several time with the same cd won't activate anymore. Anyone know whats going on? Are they cracking down on xp trying to eliminate it or what?

**joey3k** · November 17th, 2010, 12:23 PM

so far my XP activations have been going smooth.

I do about 5 per month without any difficulty (yet.)

**Kodiak** · November 17th, 2010, 01:19 PM

I do in between 5-10 a week for several years now and in the last month I have seen this three times. Funny thing is it will let me install the os then when you try to activate ot won't then I call and it tells me the key isn't for this product. This is the key off the bottom of the computer and with my personal xp pro it was the same cd. They are all oem yes. All my cd's are oem to.

**Kodiak** · November 19th, 2010, 10:04 AM

Windrivers crew stumped I can't believe it. Hehehe

**futuretech** · November 19th, 2010, 10:47 AM

They are not IBM machines by chance?
I had one a few years ago that did the same and was shunted up the ladder at Microsoft until finally i was given a new key and when i asked was told the key on the COA was for 64bit XP

**Kodiak** · November 19th, 2010, 07:35 PM

No one was my very own xp pro which I had used the same cd for many times and the other was a Toshiba. The other was a Acer Mini. None of which were 64bit.

Just strange it would let me install if the key wasn't for the product in which I was installing.

**slgrieb** · November 20th, 2010, 12:01 PM

The likely explanation is that there are a bunch of widely pirated keys floating around, and Microsoft has blacklisted a lot of them. A couple of years ago, I kept running into this with many eMachines, and a fair number of Dells and Gateways. At one time, about every other employee at our local refinery was using a bootlegged copy of XP with the same pirated key, and it wouldn't activate once it was blacklisted.

My experience has been that Microsoft's reps will always give you an activation code; so you just have to get out of the automated system. Once, I was actually asked for the name and contact information for the customer, but MS eventually activated the product even though I refused to provide the info.

So, the reason the product will install with your key, is that the key is valid (i.e. it generates an installation code), but it won't activate through the automated process because it's blacklisted. You may also find that it won't pass WGA validation as well.

**Kodiak** · November 20th, 2010, 01:40 PM

Strange this has all happened in the past month. One mini laptop with home on it, one laptop with home edition, my very own pro and I even think another pro version did also now that I think about it. All stating the key was not for the product in which I was trying to install when I tried to activate by phone.

What's a good number to call to talk to someone directly about this?

**slgrieb** · November 20th, 2010, 04:53 PM

Ah, there's the rub! As far as I know, you can't directly bypass the automated system. You have to start there and make a mess of it before you can be transferred to to a person. If you make enough "mistakes" entering your information, the system will connect you with a rep.