ACTIVATE YOUR COPY OF WIN XP

[WingZ 547]

I know, I know, not many will still be running the Operating System No Longer Supported By Microsoft.

But bearing in mind my flightsim of choice is FS2004, there is no better OS for the FS box.

 

On booting up this morning, I got a banner page in my browser requiring activation within 3 days, of my copy of WIN XP.

 

A little surprised I went onto MS online support with my story, to be told repeatedly that I should upgrade to WIN 8.1,  XP no longer being supported. When I asked who then, might have supported my copy of XP with an Activation Requirement, I was told to get WIN 8.1...

 

If genuine (which I think it is) this looks like blackmail to me,

Anyone had this experience, and hopefully, come up with a fix? 

[ubersu 78]

If you got it on a new machine, it was an OEM copy which was already activated.  If you bought it, the packaging had a serial number to be used in activation.  Having said that, I've never seen such a thing on my sole remaining copy of XP which was an OEM copy from well before FS9 was released.

 

DJ

[Manny 1,293]

If genuine (which I think it is) this looks like blackmail to me

 

Win XP is one awesome OS. For FS9 stick with Win XP. It managed memory so well. I never heard the term OOM with Win Xp

[WingZ 547]

• Just to be clear: this box was purchased in 2007 with OEM XP SP3.

The last upgrade for it was April 2009, video card.

MS clearly has made a decision to go out there and kill XP and its associated software (When I opened Excel on this box, I also got a MS Genuine Advantage Activation Requirement message).

It is something of a Catch-22: you cannot activate the product as it is no longer supported...

 

Processor

Intel Core 2 Duo E6600

Processor Cores

2

Processor Speed

2.40GHz

RAM

2.0GB Dual-Channel DDR2 @ 400MHz

Video Board Manufacturer

nVIdia XFX Pine Group (1682)

Video Board Model

GeForce GTS 250

Video Memory

1024MB

Mother Board

ASUSTeK Computer P5N-E SLI (Socket 775)

Hard Drives

977GB Western Digital + 2x 488GB Seagate

Monitor

DELL U2913WM (2560x1080@60Hz + DELL 1907FP (1280x1024@60Hz)

Operating System

Windows XP Home 32-bit SP3

Joystick

Saitek Cyborg Evo FFB

[mgh 89]

As of April 8, 2014, support and updates for Windows XP were no longer available.

[WingZ 547]

I think you work at the MS Help Desk, are you also a machine??

 

I know the OS is unsupported.

Why then would MS trigger an Activation Requirement on an unsupported OS??

 

If I cannot activate the product because it is unsupported, then MS has effectively disabled my computer.

 

It happens from time to time: I remember Word 7 was incompatible with earlier Word documents.

MS is such a big place, I wonder sometimes if they have internal wars without realising who's on the other side...

[mgh 89]

Has Microsoft actually stopped Win XP from running - if so why have all Win XPs stopped running worldwide?

[WingZ 547]

Not quite sure what the last post is meant to convey...

 

Anyhow, the immediate problem is resolved by simply submitting to the activation process on bootup.

I suppose MS was fishing for live XP users.

 

I am naturally suspicious of events like this: presumably I have been added to some spook database to watch who I communicate with, and what I say.

 

Better start behaving, then.

Sorry Microsoft.

Sorry.

Very sorry. 

[JRBarrett 3,078]

I know, I know, not many will still be running the Operating System No Longer Supported By Microsoft.

But bearing in mind my flightsim of choice is FS2004, there is no better OS for the FS box.

 

On booting up this morning, I got a banner page in my browser requiring activation within 3 days, of my copy of WIN XP.

 

If this message appeared in your Internet Browser, (as opposed to your desktop or task bar), be careful - it may be malware as opposed to a genuine reactivation request.

[WingZ 547]

it may be malware as opposed to a genuine reactivation request.

In my mind as of now: one and the same thing.

No matter, it's done, directly through a Windows dialogue box at startup, not a browser.

Perhaps someone from the MS Helpdesk is at this very moment paying for membership of an outlawed international syndicate with my credit card details.

 

I'm not normally this paranoid, but as someone famously said:

"Just because I'm paranoid, doesn't mean they are not out to get me!"  

[FormerSF3 15]

I was running XP until October.  I had a 2.3 GHz dual core but like an old man my memory was going.  I had the computer for 10+ years and never asked to re-register.

 

However when I upgraded to Win 7 it appeared.  1.  Got the computer and installed Win 7.  2.  On one of the update cycles there was an update buried in there that caused an registration issue.  3. Removed update and everything was fine.

 

What happens when you enter your product code?  Is the machine even connected to the internet?  Mine is now on the floor of my closet.

[Matthew Kane 1,343]

Has Microsoft actually stopped Win XP from running - if so why have all Win XPs stopped running worldwide?

 

I still have one machine running Windows XP just fine, just because it is not supported by MS doesn't mean it doesn't work anymore, it just means it is not supported but it works just fine, in fact you still get automatic updates on it even though it is 'not supported'

 

Rest assured Gerry in 10 years time people will still be running Windows XP for various reasons, just like some people today still use 80486DX2-66mhz machines to create music because you get a more consistent clock speed on that processor then the latest computers, and MS-DOS and WIndows 3.1 still works fine today. These are the true computer hobbyists out there how can still do amazing things with older PC's

[kamaz74 81]

I know, I know, not many will still be running the Operating System No Longer Supported By Microsoft.

But bearing in mind my flightsim of choice is FS2004, there is no better OS for the FS box.

Actually, FS2004 runs far better on my Win7 machine than it ever did on Win XP. You just have to run it in compatibility mode and it does great. Win 7 is not only a million times safer to use than XP, but the OS itself is much faster.

 

On booting up this morning, I got a banner page in my browser requiring activation within 3 days, of my copy of WIN XP.

This issue sounds like this: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/312295/

 

A little surprised I went onto MS online support with my story, to be told repeatedly that I should upgrade to WIN 8.1,  XP no longer being supported. When I asked who then, might have supported my copy of XP with an Activation Requirement, I was told to get WIN 8.1...

 

If you are comfortable with Win XP, under no circumstance should you upgrade to 8.1 (you'll hate it). Your computer might not even be able to run it comfortably if it originally shipped with XP. Also, FS2004 might run on 8.1, but addons may have some problems with compatability. Microsoft stopped supporting XP in, I believe, April of last year. All this means is you will not longer get security patches and system updates. My advice to you, be very careful on the internet so you don't get infected going forward. As a last resort, since you purchased XP and Microsoft no longer sells it, you could forcibly remove Windows Activation to keep from getting messages.

[WingZ 547]

This issue sounds like this: https://support.micr...n-us/kb/312295/

That looks like valuable information, thanks for the link.

 

 

If you are comfortable with Win XP, under no circumstance should you upgrade to 8.1

The XP box is dedicated to FS2004 for the very reason that it works.

I have other computers for different computing needs running WIN 7, and it is a very good OS.

But I see no need to update my FS box, at all.

Windows Update is disabled, and I would not have it talk to the internet at all, if it were not required by some of the software I run.

 

 

you could forcibly remove Windows Activation

Didn't know you could - might you have a link describing how?

 

EDIT:

 

 

some people today still use 80486DX2-66mhz machines

Funny that; I've had one of these streaming iTunes on the home network for years. I only learned about NAS boxes when someone asked if that was one. It is totally stable and never gets turned off.

[mgh 89]

 

 

Rest assured Gerry in 10 years time people will still be running Windows XP for various reasons,

 

I'm already well assured. I 'm also well assured that Microsoft will also continue to support Win XP - provided it is paid for it on a contract.