From The Naked PC issue #5.04...

eXPeriencing More Activation Annoyances

by Al Gordon
February 14, 2002

We expressed annoyance in this space awhile back space about Microsoft's anti-piracy "activation" scheme in Office XP and Windows XP. With the passage of time, we have duly considered the real world results--and we are even more annoyed.

After installing the Adaptec DuoConnect card reviewed in the accompanying article, Windows XP demanded that I re-activate. According to the official Microsoft White Paper on activation, neither USB nor FireWire cards are among the components that are part of the activation scheme. But this, after all, is a Microsoft program, so there always are "issues."

According to the technical representative on the other end of the 800-line at activation central, Windows XP regularly decides that FireWire cards are network cards, which WinXP activation does monitor. Hence my activation eXPerience.

But that's only the #2 annoyance. As part of another test, I had been checking out Adaptec's family of SCSI cards, the 19160, 29160, and 39160. These did not trigger Windows XP activation. No, no, no, nothing that simple. Instead Windows XP decided that it needed to re-install each of the hard drives connected to the SCSI cards. The drives had not changed, but routing them through a different SCSI card sufficed to make Windows see new hardware. This, in turn, triggered an OFFICE XP re-activation.

On the plus side, the people on the 800 lines provided the necessary codes to re-activate without protest. But all things considered, I have better uses for my time than having to dial an 800 number every time I test something on my PC.

You can reach Al Gordon at:
mailto:al@TheNakedPC.com

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