Yes mate, w*%kers. Billy Boy is betraying his own people with this little scam. What i mean by that is all the so called geeks (genuine patrons though!) who spend thier time experimenting with different hardware & software are being penalised for doing so. Wasn't this how computing & particularly Microsoft got to where it is today!

However, there is a work around (legal) to bypass activation the next-time-around if you currently have Windows activated, apparently! I've got the procedure but i've not tried it so let me know if you want to give it a go? (I think it's on the web on various sites - uses the wpa files)
Regards, arb76

I have a similar problem. I have a new-ish Dell server grade tower. My WinXP got here from another machine, then got reinstalled, and all told a new C: was probably set up four times. Now I'm not sure I can even locate the CD or Product Key (I know, it can be extracted with a utility). Point is, the PC contains a disk I don't use, with preinstalled XP Pro, and the COA sticker has the Product Key for that new one I don't use. What I'd most like to do is get this much-moved, much-upgraded, much-resintalled copy in order, and the WGA stuff tells me it has an invalid Product Key. Well, I have a valid Product Key for the same PC, right on the sticker. I tried using a utility to set that Key into my old XP Pro but the utility says it gets an error and can't do it.

The silly part is that all of this was brought on by purchasing an iPod Shuffle to listen to audiobooks from audible.com. I got tired of my El Cheapo player that was included in my starting package with them. But, ah, the iPod is incompatible with Audible Manager even though it supports the Audible DRM. I have to install iTunes. OK, I start to, but it won't install without XP Pro SP2. I have successfully avoided SP2 since it was released, but now decided to throw in the towel. OK, off to Windows Update. Lots of Trusted Site stuff. Woops, can't get SP2 without jumping through WGA hoops. Never mind that that is bait and switch since WGA never existed when I bought any copies of XP Pro. OK, I go down the WGA road.

Finally it complains that it can't load an ActiveX component. It takes me to a Resolve This page that... da-daaaa... uses ActiveX to resolve a problem of ActiveX items not loading. Brilliant. I won't even go into the brain dead window it opens not being large enough and not being sizable, or the feedback acknowledgement with a Close button on it that doesn't close that window. A diagnostic link downloaded a program that fetched diagnostic info, and there for the first time I became aware that MS doesn't like my Product Key.0

So, in summary, I'd like to put a known valid Product Code into my XP Pro SP1, but the recommended utility I found says it gets an error doing it.

I suppose I can reconnect the internal HD that came in this PC and make my present disks all secondary and reinstall a bunch of stuff... not looking forward to that.

BLud, what the hell. Why was my post deleted for piracy when i said "no that would be illegal "