Prod. Activiation - Reformat and ReInstall (XP Home)

[deedindeed]

Hello,
My hard drive died, crashed, went "the way of all flesh". A really good technician came to my home and installed a new drive and helped me reinstall XP home. I tried to go thru the product activation and it is not working. I tried to find a telephone # to call on the MS site for this and no luck. Does someone out there have experience with having to re-install XP and how to get the activation done? Now I know why some folks resisted the who activation thing. What do you do when you have to reformat?

By the way, I had only backed up a few things...so I lost almost all of my data, pictures, programs and tweaks that I had downloaded and not saved. Needless to say, my first purchase will be some kind of back-up software and I will use it. Most of the data wasn't so important, but I am sad about the pictures mostly of friends and family. I have learned the hard way. Anyway, any help re: this product activation situation...even a phone number to call would be a great help!!

[JoeP517]

Nancy, There should be a phone number displayed on the activation page.

Joe

[Bruce K]

Hi, Nancy ~

When you reinstall XP and are met with a window displaying a message to the effect that you must re-activate XP, you should get the option to either 'Reactivate' or 'Cancel'. If you select 'Reactivate', you should then get the option to reactivate by either the internet or by phone. Select phone, then your country and then you should get a toll free number. You will eventually talk with a MS rep who will ask a few questions and then give you a confirmation number which is simply a new activation number.

[SparkyPatrick]

Usually, I find I'm talking to a machine, unless the automated process goes wrong. Whatever happened to real people? Even when you do get to talk to one, they turn out to be halfway around the world.

[deedindeed]

Thank you all! I had that activation screen up a number of times with no phone #'s. I must have been brain dead last night after a day of fixing things. I didn't even see the option for a country. It worked and all is activated. I may be back again if I have problems along the way. This lounge is awesome.