A.6. Activation After 30 days, Vista will insist that you activate it, as shown in Figure A-4. You'll see several reminders that grow increasingly stern before Vista forces you to activate.  | Figure A-4. Top: Let's activate Vista! During activation, your PC sends Microsoft a list of several internal components of your PC. This, ladies and gentleman, is copy protection. If you ever try to install Windows Vista onto a second machine, it will notice that the components aren't identical, and activation on that second machine will fail .
Bottom: If you don't have an Internet connection, you can do this process by telephone, although it's less convenient and takes a lot longer . | |
Activation is copy protection. In some countries , a huge percentage of all copies of Windows are illegal duplicates; activation, introduced in Windows XP, is designed to stop such piracy in its tracks. Unfortunately, it also prevents you from installing one copy of Vista on even two computers. That's right: If you have a desktop PC as well as a laptop, you have to buy Windows twice. How does it know that you're being naughty? When you first install Windows, the operating system inspects ten crucial components inside your PC: the hard drive, motherboard, video card, memory, and so on. All this information is transmitted, along with the 25-character serial number on the back of your Windows DVD (the Product Key), to Microsoft's database via your Internet account. The process takes about two seconds, and involves little more than clicking an OK button. You have just activated Windows Vista. WORKAROUND WORKSHOP
When No Vista DVD Comes With Your PC | | It's becoming increasingly common for computer manufacturers to sell you a new PC without including an operating system CD-ROM. (Every 11 cents counts, right?) The machine has Windows installed on itbut if there's no Vista installation CD or DVD, what are you supposed to do in case of emergency? Instead of a physical Windows disc, the manufacturer provides something called a restore image a CD-ROM or DVD (or more than one) containing a complete copy of the operating system and other software that was installed on the computer at the factory. If the contents of the computer's hard disk are ever lost or damaged, you can, in theory, restore the computer to its factory configuration by running a program on the restore image. Of course, this image is a bit-by-bit facsimile of the computer's hard disk drive, and therefore, restoring it to your computer completely erases whatever files are already on the drive. You can't restore your computer from an image disk without losing all of the data you saved since you got the computer from the manufacturer. (Talk about a good argument for keeping regular backups !) Furthermore, some manufacturers install a copy of these installation files right on the hard drive, so that you won't even have to hunt for your CDs. |
Note: If you don't have an Internet connection, activation is a much more grueling procedure. You have to call a toll-free number, read a 50-digit identification number to the Microsoft agent, and then type a 42-digit confirmation number into your software. Do whatever it takes to avoid having to endure this fingertip-numbing ritual .
Later, if you try to install the same copy of Windows onto a different computer, it will check in with Microsoft and discover that the new machine's components aren't the same. It will conclude that you have tried to install the same copy of the operating system onto a different machineand it will lock you out. This aspect of Windows Vista has frightened or enraged many a computer fan. In truth, though, it isn't quite as bad as it seems. Here's why: -
If you buy a new PC with Windows Vista already installed, you don't have to activate anything; it's already been done. -
Copies of Vista that are distributed within corporations don't require this activation business, either. -
No information about you is transferred to Microsoft during this activation processonly a list of the components in your PC make the trip. (Later in the installation process, you're also asked to register your copy of Windowsa completely different affair. This time, personal information is transmitted to Microsoftbut this part is optional.) -
Don't believe the Internet Chicken Littles who claim that activation will shut down your PC if you try to upgrade the memory or another component. In fact, you would have to replace four of the ten key components within a period of four monthsyour basic hardware-upgrade frenzybefore Windows stopped recognizing your computer. And even then, you can just call Microsoft and explain what happened ; in most cases, the company will cheerfully provide a new activation number. If, during installation, you turned on "Automatically activate Windows when I'm online" (on the same screen where you enter your product key), Vista tries to activate itself for the first three days of installation by sending signals back to Microsoft. If you don't activate it in time, Vista switches into what's tactfully called Reduced Functionality Mode, in which many features become time-limited or stop working. For more information on Reduced Functionality Mode, see http://support.microsoft.com/kb/925582.  |
