I went through similar crap when re-installing QuickBooks after a PC-Upgrade / Windows install.

The registration key wasn't accepted by their server (different hardware) and I was instructed to call their support line. After a brief time on hold, I was then subjected to about 10 minutes of up-selling and scripted 'intelligence gathering' ("[customer name] what is it your company does [customer name]?", "[customer name] what is your annual revenue?" "[customer name] we appreciate your business and would like to offer you [some crap-assed product] at a discount.")

After declining to answer all questions and (politely -- mentioning to the call centre staffer that I knew it wasn't their fault) asking for them to just give me the damn validation code for installation, I was then allowed to use the software I paid for.

It would have been easier to pirate the product, which is what I made clear to them in my (ignored) letter of complaint.

Idiocy.

Okay so this happened to me with windoze...and guess what I did? That's right, I said "screw you" and learned Linux.

Pirates created: 0, Open-Source Advocates / Linux Zealots: 1

I have two unused copies of XP Home sitting around unused because I could not find installation media. I was able to torrent a copy in under 30 minutes, but unfortunately the way it was hacked breaks the key authentication so I can't use it to register my legitimate key.

Several hours ago I could have been up and running with a working but hacked version. Now I am just frustrated and irritating everyone I know with calls searching for XP Home media. Turns out everyone I know has Pro.

I was already planning on dual-booting Ubuntu (the XP install is only for games because I am too lazy to play with WINE), so I guess now it's .5 and 1.5?

Ha. I know the feeling.

I have a HP box not 3 metres from me with an XP Professional install key on a fricking sticker on the case. I can't find the original media. The code doesn't work with any other disk I can find. I need Windows to play games (HL2, not available on my usual Macs).

What do I do? I "pirate" Windows XP, of course. Now I'm running a pirated Windows XP Pro on a machine with a Windows XP Pro key on a sticker on the case. It's surreal. The lack of respect it engenders for Microsoft and their WGA crap is palpable.

IANAL, but this sounds like a class action lawsuit or an argument that MS has stolen something from you. (You paid good money for that license as evidence by the sticker. You have something that purports to be the program that you paid money for, but the two don't work together because of affirmative measures by MS.)

In many/most US states, they can't get around the implied warrantee of fitness (the thing that you bought does what they said it would do when they sold it to you), which at the very least for an OS includes "installs".

unfortunately, it was also partially your fault for losing the actual media. then again, microsoft should at least have some way of verifying your key for another copy of windows that is the same version...

you know what, that problem is actually caused by a few possibilities

1) It's an OEM sticker. You'd have to find/download an OEM disk in that case that matches your manufacturer

2) You're downloading XP Pro with a SP when you have a key for plain old XP Pro

It could always be something else, but these are two (read: common) scenarios I know that have frustrated myself and friends in the past.

No more, no more. OpenSUSE ftw.

The reason why it does not work with a regular XP media is that they (HP, DELL, etc.) install OEM-versions of Windows which: 1) checks for branded BIOS (HP, DELL, etc.) 2) installs from a special OEM-media

If you have DELL you might have luck downloading the image of their OEM-media (Pro or Home) and installing from it.

Why bother? The pirated version works right out of the box, and since he legitimately owns a copy, his ass is covered morally.

He may not be getting the Windows "Genuine Advantage", but as far as I can tell this "advantage" is about as real as cold fusion.

no wait...the genuine advantage is actually sort of important for XP. if you dont have it, you dont get security updates. if you get security updates, you get annoying nagware. if you don't get security updates...

uhhh.

yeah. it isn't that great. I'd make this simpler: switch to linux or call windows and complain if you're up to it. both win without having to sacrifice any actual performance.

This is why Free Software is much better. There is no license that needs to be bought or activated and thus none of these problems exist.

If you made a single-point induction on software in my field for proprietary software versus open source, you'd probably conclude "License keys are annoying but on the other hand installers that actually function are sort of groovy."

There's also no profit to be made, which discourages the talented people who are perfectionists but insist on compensation.

Everything has drawbacks.

(I'd point out that with iLife 09, Apple no longer uses serial numbers, meaning they don't attempt to prevent piracy. Payware doesn't necessarily mean Stupid.)

Go ahead and downmod me but seriously, no really, -- DUH.

Haha. I had to say it!