One thing I would love MS to do is have a Partner / OEM / Members private area where we can reactivate products instead of having to go through the telephone process which usually lasts 10 minutes.
I often replace dud parts, for example when lightening frys a modem and motherboard. If you can't get the exact make / model you get an similiar one, but its often just enough to warrant reactivation.
While the call is free, its often annoying having to explain that you have no idea how many times its been activated / installed / age of the PC etc etc because im a repair company not the end user. The best one yet was the other day we had a HP here and the call center girl was having all sorts of problems understanding that it was a preinstalled version on a brand computer. She wanted to know make / model / where is was purchased, and what was the nearest city!!!!!! Your call may be free but my time isn't
Today, we had to reactivate a PC that hadn't even got out of the door. We were near the end of a burn-in when the PSU blew and took out the Mobo & HD. We had to reactivate it (granted it wasn't exactly the same board but it was all we had in stock) however, this was only the 2nd activation. Didn't we used to have 3 chances?
Terry
Hi Terry,
Activation is an annoying necessity I fear - and one which MS would be very dis-inclined to "open a back door" for anyone!. Whilst we all assume that members of Partner / OEM / Members groups are devoid of dishonesty, I am quite sure that in reality, there will inevitably be those which dabble in the "dark side" which are lurking in several of those partner groups and companies.
We only have to look at the number of paper MCSE's etc whom obtain their certs from Asia without even sitting an exam, if these number just 0.1% then there are going to be thousands of "dodgey" IT Pro's out there! The asia test centres have "befriended" MS to obtain the permission to test customers and then promptly stolen all the answers and set up again as another test centre but this time as a testing bucket shop. Ouch! Once people have access to a online system where they can generate/validate activations I am sure that the protection would be cracked/published/sold within weeks if not days!
I feel your pain, since you are a system builder, but think about the MS Certified Trainers out there - if they are giving a Server or SBS class then they need to activate up to 8 different OS/application licences per student PC - now that can be frustating!, (especially since we often leave it to the day before and then we have to spend an hour or so on the automated system!, quite numb especially if the speaker phone is kaput!!)
Also, I am not sure if you use OEM licences, but these should not be re-activated when you replace a PC/Server with a different M/board since they are only licensed for that original equipment. I make it quite clear to customers that if the box gets fried then they should be looking at a new machine with a new OEM licence etc, a fried box to me is like a British car made on a Friday shift... Better to claim on the business warranty/insurance and replace it with a new shiny one.
Perhaps as an alternative to your idea, MS could open a second line of call centres which are manned by native English speaking helpline - we would probably even be happy to pay a premium rate for that quality?
Regards the 3 chances - I think this applies to re-activations where the equipment is not significantly changed, ie standard re-installations etc.
Andrew
No second chances, but you do get some leway over time. This process is going to continue I am afraid - however the more we can stamp out pirates the easier it will get for us all in the long run.
ttfn
David
(c)David Overton 2006-23