One activation? WTF?!

[Ozzzzysh]

Okay. I'm kinda pissed off right now. I paid $220 for 7 Ultimate. I installed it for the second time. My key can't f****** activate? Why should I have to call EVERY SINGLE TIME I want to install my operating system? I had this problem with XP AND VISTA! Does this not bug anyone else? I know piracy's bad and all, but I'm a legitimate customer. I shouldn't have to try to speak to some person in Indian that doesn't know a lick of English every time I want to use their product.. Back to Linux.

 

[Dwarf]

You may only install the OS on a single machine with the product key supplied. If you wish to install on more than one system, each system will require you to buy a unique product key. This has been the situation with XP, Vista, and now W7.

You can install and activate the OS on the same system as many times as you wish, but if you've tried to use the same key on multiple systems then you might find that your key has become black-listed and won't work even on the machine it was originally installed on.

 

[Ozzzzysh]

I know this Dwarf. But what is the point of spending $220 for two dvds you can only use once even on the same computer that broke itself? I've installed XP over and over on many different pcs in my home and I had to call in to Microsoft's support and they just reactivated the key. Why do they say they only let you use it once if they just turn the key back on if you ask? I don't understand any of the decisions Microsoft makes.

 

[Dwarf]

Have you made any significant changes to the hardware (different motherboard, for example)?

 

[electrotune1200]

Why do they say they only let you use it once if they just turn the key back on if you ask?

Well.... Think of it as pretty descent customer service. They don't have to re-activate anything! Microsoft could just as easily tell you to go buy another key.

 

[win7clutz]

If he's doing a repair install or hardware upgrade then this should be no problem. Otherwise, if he's installing to a second machine the licensing rules are clear 'bout this. We don't know the facts yet, but Dwarf is in process of getting the info so he'll point him in the right direction...

No reason to jump the gun.

 

[Ozzzzysh]

Dwarf: I had JUST installed Windows 7 and then went to sleep. I woke up to find my poor computer BSOD-ing every time I logged in. My guess is it Auto-Updated to some drivers that obviously didn't work correctly. So I was like, I'm not gonna bother fixing it, I'll reinstall and disable auto-update and manually find all my drivers. Well... You know how I ended up here.

electrotune1200: I see where you're coming from. But I don't understand your "They don't have to re-activate anything!". They "turn" the key back on. So you can activate with it again. I may be misunderstanding.

Everyone else in this cruel world: If every customer service person I've ever gotten ahold of has made my key activate-able once again for no fee, does this mean they dislike this policy just like I do? Microsoft obviously only wants you to have one install per key, why would the CS just ignore it like they do?

 

[Dwarf]

What are your computer specs?

 

[Ozzzzysh]

Dell e521 Highly modified.
AMD Athlon 64 X2 6000+ 3.01GHz
2G Ram
EVGA nVidia GeForce 9800GT 512Mb
SB X-Fi Xtreme Audio Sound Card
Broadcom 440x onboard Ethernet

But look, I'm very well capable of setting up my hardware. I just wish Windows hadn't tried to do itself. My guess is that the problem was the sound card. I had some XP issues with it. (No problems on linux though.. >_>)

 

[electrotune1200]

No reason to jump the gun.

I apologize if I seemed a bit rude or harsh. I was a bit confused by the OP's post.

Microsoft does not have a "one install per key" policy. The retail version of Seven has a policy of allowing an install on one PC at a time. You can uninstall from one PC and move to another. OEM is one machine and that's it.

This could just be one of those unexplainable software hiccups. I'm sure a quick call to customer support will have everything sorted in a few minutes. And you shouldn't have to do this everytime.

 

[Ozzzzysh]

That makes more sense electrotune1200, but still, They allowed me to install XP on a multitude of machines. If I want to install my 7 on another machine I hope the customer service won't be "dumb" about it.

 

[Dwarf]

Have you tried removing your sound card and using the on-board audio? I know that it won't have the same sound quality, but it will eliminate (or otherwise) the card as being the cause of the problem. When you do install the OS, don't allow it to dynamically update during the installation. Always disconnect from the Internet until you have finished installing. I create a disk with the latest drivers, utilities and other useful programs/applications for my system (including the latest release of Avast!) which I then use to manually update my system prior to connecting to the Internet.

 

[zzz2496]

Every MS software are for 1 PC at a time (unless you have OVL), if you want to have 1 Windows 7 installer and many PCs installed, go buy another copy OR a new product key... unless you want to pi**** it... up to you...

zzz2496

 

[Ozzzzysh]

Dwarf: I know exactly what to do. lol I just was up until 2am and trying to get the process over with. I had a laptop that I installed 7 on couple times via a recovery disk so I wasn't really worried about anything not working. But I wasn't thinking an auto-update would ruin my setup.