Win XP Changing hardware question

[MRGOOCH]

What is the story with making changes to your system when XP is the OS.

 

[EeyoreX]

The story is, make too many changes and you need to reactivate. Perhaps if you ask a more specific question, we can be a little more helpful...

\Dan

 

[Smilin]

Once apon a time I changed hardware and I lived happily ever after.

 

[MRGOOCH]

I am in the process of upgrading. 1- install XP 2- change motherboard 3- add cdrw 4- later maybe change to a faster HD

 

[johnjkr1]

Why would you install XP then change the motherboard? Why not install the motherboard first, since you would probably have to format anyway. In general, the biggest thing that affects activation is network cards, so if those get changed, activation is much more likely. I just went through it though (I format about every 2 months) and calling them up is not a huge hassle, although it IS annoying. They just ask if it is the only computer you have it installed on, you say yes, they read off a long code.

 

[EeyoreX]

The motherboard install may force a reactivation. That depends on a couple things. If it has new integrated NIC, that would be a big factor. Even if you have to reactivate, the online activation will be fine. So long as you haven't already activated more than 3 times in 3 months. The optical and hard drive should have no effect, unless you reinstall XP on the new hard drive. If you do a drive copy/Ghost type deal, it should be fine, but may require a quick reactivation. Again, no bif deal. Even if, for some reason, the internet activation doesn't work, a phone call of less than 5 minutes will get you activated.

\Dan

 

[MRGOOCH]

I am in a catch 22. I am upgrading to XP because the MB with Nvida drivers will not install on Win98. I don't want to invest in another MB until I know that I am able to get XP working. I tried installing XP when it first came out and could not get it past the first 2 screens. I sent it back.

 

[johnjkr1]

XP should install on any computer, as long as there isn't something wrong with it. I have a P1 233 with XP. A P3, etc, etc. XP and nforce2 boards like each other alot. Also, you have 30 days to activate...you can test it out 30 days before actually sending in your activation, so that would give you plenty of testing time. There is no reduced functionality untill the 30 days are up.

 

[Smilin]

Originally posted by: MRGOOCH
I am in a catch 22. I am upgrading to XP because the MB with Nvida drivers will not install on Win98. I don't want to invest in another MB until I know that I am able to get XP working. I tried installing XP when it first came out and could not get it past the first 2 screens. I sent it back.

How about this:
Instead of fretting about it, just install XP on your new mobo. When it works be happy.

 

[stephbu]

Originally posted by: johnjkr1
Why would you install XP then change the motherboard? Why not install the motherboard first, since you would probably have to format anyway. In general, the biggest thing that affects activation is network cards, so if those get changed, activation is much more likely. I just went through it though (I format about every 2 months) and calling them up is not a huge hassle, although it IS annoying. They just ask if it is the only computer you have it installed on, you say yes, they read off a long code.

Not sure that the statement 'NICs are more likely to cause product reactivation' is 100% accurate - NIC MAC address is only one of a dozen hardware facets that monitored by WPA. If any 3 of those facets change within 120 days then re-activation is required. After 120 days the 'changes' are grandfathered into the active configuration and longer counted as changes.

Licenturion did a great whitepaper on the Tao of WPA.
http://www.licenturion.com/xp/fully-licensed-wpa.txt

 

[EeyoreX]

I believe the NIC is more heavily weighted than most other hardware in terms of triggering activation. Yes, any three changes can can trigger activation, but the NIC is the single biggest hardware factor. Sometimes, simply changing the NIC can cause reactivation request.

\Dan

 

[stephbu]

There is no additional weight to NIC or any of the other facets. The processing is a bitmask comparison not a 'score'.

As you can see from the bitfields in the WPA map - the NIC is only assessed for its MAC address. Card type, brand or capabilities for no part in the WPA assessment.

NIC like all other facets are equally weighted in the set chosen for your hardware type (dockable/non-dockable)

 

[johnjkr1]

Straight from news.com and microsoft:

"Windows XP reevaluates this combination of hardware items whenever it starts up and discovers new devices. Microsoft now says that you can change up to six devices at a time, or your network interface card and three other devices, without having to reactivate. If you change the same component, such as your video card, over and over, it counts as only one change, and new components, such as a new modem or an extra memory module, do not count as a change."

Six without changing nic (mac address), three with....sounds like a different weight to me.

 

[stephbu]

I'm going to eat a large slice of humble pie John/EeyoreX - I missed the changes made in XP SP1 where the NIC vote moved from 1 to 3 points (each piece of hardware used to have a single vote)

<snip from http://www.microsoft.com/piracy/basics/activation/mpafaq.asp>
How does product activation determine tolerance? In other words, how many components of the PC must change before I am required to reactivate?

Common changes to hardware such as upgrading a video card, adding a second hard disk drive, adding RAM or upgrading a CD-ROM device will not require the system to be reactivated.

Specifically, product activation determines tolerance through a voting mechanism. There are 10 hardware characteristics used in creating the hardware hash. Each characteristic is worth one vote, except the network card which is worth three votes. When thinking of tolerance, it's easiest to think about what has not changed instead of what has changed. When the current hardware hash is compared to the original hardware hash, there must be 7 or more matching points for the two hardware hashes to be considered in tolerance. If the network card is the same, then only 4 additional characteristics must match (because the network card is worth 3, for a total of 7). If the network card is not the same, then a total of 7 characteristics other than the network card must be the same. If the device is a laptop (specifically a dockable device), additional tolerance is allotted and there need be only 4 or more matching points. Therefore, if the device is dockable and the network card is the same, only one other characteristic must be the same for a total vote of 4. If the device is dockable and the network card is not the same, then a total of 4 characteristics other than the network card must be the same.
</snip>

Edit: fixed busted URL from autoparse

 

[EeyoreX]

Microsoft defines "substantially different" hardware differently for PCs that are configured to be dockable. Additionally, the network adapter is given a superior "weighting." If the PC is not dockable and a network adapter exists and is not changed, 6 or more of the other above values would have to change before reactivation was required. If a network adapter existed but is changed or never existed at all, 4 or more changes (including the changed network adapter if it previously existed) will result in a requirement to reactivate.

I agree with the above post, but I often like to read things for myself. So I also looked at Microsoft's site. I found a TechNet article that was quite informative.

[EDIT]Ack!!! Twice in as many days has my slow typing caused me to be behind![/EDIT]

[EDIT 2.a]Your link doesn't seem to work. Yes it does, I just needed to remove the closing >[/EDIT]

\Dan