I recently pulled apart an old XP - cleaned it up (lot of dust) and junk files put extra RAM, renewed the thermal compound, and now the thing starts up with a window asking to go online and validate something that has been on it for years.
How can I stop it? - is there a tutorial?
Sounds like it's trying to validate your win XP installation ... Did you enter the key from the sticker on the side of the case when you installed win XP ?
Providing it's a legitimate copy of XP, the easiest way to get rid of the message is to let the validation tool do its job.
The validation considers a number of details about a PC. It calculates a GUID (Globally Unique Identifier) based on values derived from system components. Any single change will cause a recalculation of the GUID. However; If three or more of the components change at once, it can trigger a re-validation process. If you installed a new battery or reset CMOS memory, that may reset enough of the parameters to trigger a re-validation. If the system had no problem before, ie. activatied, simply run the WGA from Microsoft's site or select validate from the screen.
Here's some of the major components tested:
Motherboard make and model.
Processor.
Memory.
BIOSchecksum.
MAC address.
Hard drive serial number.
Region and language settings of the operating system.
Operating system version.
PC BIOS information (make, version, date).
PC manufacturer.
User locale setting.
Validation and installation results.
Windows or Office product key.
Windows product ID.
Thanks everyone and yeah carwizz there were a lot of those items I played around with like different RAM ( increase & brand) changed the battery reset a few things in the BIOS plus the usual change of security etc.
I even cleaned up another drive on the second SATA socket - if that means anything.
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