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Graphic card upgrade and Windows 7 activation...

Marine-RX179

Marine-RX179

Marine-RX179

Soldato
Joined
6 Feb 2010
Posts
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I have just upgraded from a 9800GTX+ 512MB to a MSI 5850 Twin FrozeR. After installing the new card, damn Windows gave me a message saying that it detected a change in hardware, and I am required to go through activation again.

I chose the "retype product key" method for the activation, and it won't get through using my product/CD key from my Retail Windows 7 Home Premium (as in I entered it, and then nothing happens in the end). :mad:

So do I have no choice but to use the "automated phone system" to activate? And is that process straight forward?
 
Basically you need the long activation code which should be shown onscreen when you choose the telephone option, phone the number then a automatic voice will go through what to do, answer a simple question, ie how pc's is this software installed on, ie one.

Then type in the number from the screen in the blocks of 5 or 6, once this has been done the voice will hopefully say it's been accepted, then give you the activation code which you type into the boxes, once finished press activate on screen and you should be good to go, have used this many times in the past :)
 
Although a straight forward process, I don't see why this should occur? Never heard of this happening just because someone has installed a different video card.
 
This happens with OEM copies of Windows. It's there to prevent you from transferring it to other computers since it is only technically supposed to be used with 1 new computer. It normally happens with motherboard changes but I can't say I've heard of it happening with a new gfx card :/


On the plus side I had my OEM copy of Win XP for about 8 years and I activated it over the phone like 50 times lol :) Sometimes it's just an automated system and sometimes you speak to a person. They might ask you the reason why you are reactivating and how many computers it has been installed on but I just tell them it was to fix a virus and 1 computer of course :D hehe
 
arc@css said:
Although a straight forward process, I don't see why this should occur? Never heard of this happening just because someone has installed a different video card.
Click to expand...

I've been stung the same way, with a retail copy and mobo upgrade. Unfortunately that's the deal we make with the M$:p devil.

Telephone activation just involves sitting down at the phone for a while and copying down a long list of alphanumeric gibberish.
 
Got it activated now. While it is a simple enough process without needing to speak with anyone...I'm still thinking "WHY"? Why do I have to bother in the first place, and can't just install the graphic card without needing to deal with this? I thought having the Retail version of the Windows 7 would mean I don't have to go through this process. So is the OEM version of the Windows any different then if people change their hardware? Is going through this process with the OEM version exactly the same as activating the the Retail version over the phone when changing hardware, meaning that Retail version doesn't actually offer any benefit over the OEM version?
 
Strange, when I re-installed W7 a few weeks ago atfer some hardware up-grades I diden't even have to go through the activation process I just entered the code at install and that was it.
 
Well i swapped out my mobo & CPU tuther day & expected to have to reinstal W7. It downloaded a few drivers, rebooted then I did an on line activation & it was all fine & dandy. Next day i clocked the ****. :D
I can't beleive it was that easy myself. :confused:
 
Sometime they do through a wobbler, I have changed components in the past like added new memory or something else and this has come up with the activation process.
 
On windows 7 retail here, in the past year ive had 4 different gpu's in this system, never been asked to reactivate windows.
 
I didn't have todo this when i changed from my 4870x2 to 6970 :) i had todo it once before though when i changed mobo,cpu,ram.
 
Phal said:
It normally happens with motherboard changes but I can't say I've heard of it happening with a new gfx card :/
Click to expand...

I managed to make mine require re-activation with a motherboard bios update. This was before the system was entirely automated, so I then spent 10 mins arguing with the guy on the phone that I had not in fact changed any hardware, and I did not need to contact my system vendor to request a new product key due to the changes made to my computer :rolleyes:

Was only when I asked him what his name was and what the complaints procedure was that he decided to "do me a favour" and activate my copy.

This was when windows 7 had only been out for a week so i think they were being abnormally agressive. once it's been out a while they don't seem to care anymore.
 
Addicted said:
never ever seen it with a gpu upgrade and i've built/changed a lot of systems, so unless it's OEM, i smell ******** :-)
Click to expand...
It's definitely Retail, as I bought it from Amazon and it was sealed, and with both 32-bit and 64bit disc. I have reinstall window 7 before changing HDD, install the Asus Xonar DX, there wasn't any activation crap.
 
I've never heard of this happening on a gfx card change. Had to do mine earlier in the year when I moved my retail copy to a copy to a completely new system as expected. They make it easy enough.
 
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