I read that are possible only 2 activation of FSX (too few for a simulator that will last more than 3 years) since nowaday few PCs are able to run it well; I'll upgrade my pc next year when vista and DX10 will be out and probably within 2 year more again (I change it aprox every 2 years).I think that we all together we can make a petition or something to make MS or ACES Team expand at more activation (may be 1 every amount of time or....) but 2 are really not enought!!Andrea

3 years from now, what will FSX be selling for? FS9 is twenty bucks. But I will support the petition, because sometimes when FS acts up a reinstall is the only option- and will FSX bog down sometimes after being installed for a while just like FS9? That is the real issue; users should not be penalised for FS quirks.Best Regards, Donny :-waveFLYing? It's cool. Trillions of birds and insects can't be wrong.

Petitions do work. (Possibly)At the IL2 site, upgrades for the flightsim were available only through DL and came with a delivery system not unlike childbirth - long, complicated, and painful. A petition was started (alongside the plethora of other posts saying how horrible the DL system was) asking for a better system or a boxed version and lo and behold we're now getting an all-in-one DVD of the entire series plus patches and upgrades in November.Whether the petition moved mountains or not is open to question, but it didn't hurt to try and we did end up with a very happy and satisfied IL2 community. (Aong with the happy and satisfied IL2 makers who are now going to sell a ton of their products to appreciative customers. Win - win situation.)

I would of thought that it would use the same system as XP - you can contact them to get it reactivated.If not - I think I might have to give xplane a look, there is no way that two installs will last me 6 months, let alone 2 years.

I read that are possible only 2 activation of FSXThen what you have read is wrong.Some folks have already reinstalled and reactivated the program dozens of times. Yes, sometimes they have to call the toll free number to reactivate.

>I read that are possible only 2 activation of FSX (too few>for a simulator that will last more than 3 years) since>nowaday few PCs are able to run it well; I'll upgrade my pc>next year when vista and DX10 will be out and probably within>2 year more again (I change it aprox every 2 years).>>I think that we all together we can make a petition or>something to make MS or ACES Team expand at more activation>(may be 1 every amount of time or....) but 2 are really not>enought!!>>AndreaI have installed FSX three times so far.

>>I read that are possible only 2 activation of FSX (too few>>for a simulator that will last more than 3 years) since>>nowaday few PCs are able to run it well; I'll upgrade my pc>>next year when vista and DX10 will be out and probably>within>>2 year more again (I change it aprox every 2 years).>>>>I think that we all together we can make a petition or>>something to make MS or ACES Team expand at more activation>>(may be 1 every amount of time or....) but 2 are really not>>enought!!>>>>Andrea>>I have installed FSX three times so far.>On different computers?

>I read that are possible only 2 activation of FSX>>Then what you have read is wrong.>>Some folks have already reinstalled and reactivated the>program dozens of times. Yes, sometimes they have to call the>toll free number to reactivate.If you reinstall on the same system, and your hardware hasn't significantly changed, you should be able to reinstall as many times as you want/needed. Activation should only kicks in if some how the system hardware ID has changed.

>I read that are possible only 2 activation of FSX>>Then what you have read is wrong.>Mike Gilbert said that, so how wrong could it be? I guess it could still be wrong, but what was said...was what was said. I think what tdragger meant, was that after the 2nd activation, one must CALL to activate.>Some folks have already reinstalled and reactivated the>program dozens of times. Yes, sometimes they have to call the>toll free number to reactivate.There is a possibility that when I call, Microsoft will refuse activation.RhettAMD 3700+ (@2.5 ghz), eVGA 7800GT 256 (91.47), ASUS A8N-E, PC Power 510 SLI, 2 GB Corsair XMS 3-3-3-8, WD 250 gig 7200 rpm SATA2, CoolerMaster Praetorian

Which goes back to the original issue, who spent the cash and owns the software,Me - or my computer and its configuration at the time.Thats's the real question. I would suggest IT guys shouldn't be continually asked to fix marketing's distribution and lost sales problems.Regards'Garett

Its the same thing as it was with XPIf you install it on more than 2 computers, you just call the microsoft activation number, and tell them you're reinstalling on your computer, which is now upgraded.They give you an activation code free of charge. End of story.... I did it all the time working in IT when people had their computers reformatted due to spyware or had new harddrives put in.The x2 activation number is just a formality. It doesnt reflect how many times you can actually do it as long as you phone.

>Its the same thing as it was with XP>>If you install it on more than 2 computers, you just call the>microsoft activation number, and tell them you're reinstalling>on your computer, which is now upgraded.>>They give you an activation code free of charge. End of>story.... I did it all the time working in IT when people had>their computers reformatted due to spyware or had new>harddrives put in.>>The x2 activation number is just a formality. It doesnt>reflect how many times you can actually do it as long as you>phone.Thanks a lot!! nice to know, so I'm not more concerned for future system upgrade or changes Andrea

>Its the same thing as it was with XP>>If you install it on more than 2 computers, you just call the>microsoft activation number, and tell them you're reinstalling>on your computer, which is now upgraded.>>They give you an activation code free of charge. End of>story...The licence conditions for XP changed some time back. The OEM version of XP now *cannot* be reactivated if the motherboard is changed. Microsoft refuse to issue an activation code in this case. (This may not be a problem for the full retail XP).There was lots of heated discussion about this on PC home-builders newsgroups, as home-builders invariably buy the OEM XP package which come without the big box, and is only 1/3 the price of the full retail package. They are also the folks who are forever upgrading motherboards - err, a bit like FS enthusiasts :).So some caution about what MS may or may not do in the future is in order, especially if you anticipate making future CPU/motherboard upgrades chasing those elusive FPS numbers.--Bryn

Obnoxious restrictions, DRM, etc. really make it hard to want to be an honest customer. There are already several companies and products that I boycot whenever possible (cough...Sony) because of these issues. Matt

These draconian measures are only the tip of the iceberg! This will look like child's play in a few years from now ....Don't be surprised if future MS software "phones home" every time you use it ....