XP Pro upgrade MS registry can't get past this screen

[cwyman]

Long time no see guys!!

I have a customer that upgraded her computer in one of our office and it's at the screen where it wants her to register with Microsoft and her options are yes or no. If she says yes she needs proxy information (we are blocking the microsoft site until February to allow for our software to get updated for SP2). If she says no it just goes back to the same registration screen with the yes or no option.

I thought there was a way to say register later......she doesn't have that option.

Is there a work around for this other than setting up proxy information?

TIA

Carrie

 

[wolluf]

Registering (which should be optional) or activating (which isn't - but also doesn't need to be done immediately)?

Sounds like something's wrong in either case.

PS. Was this an actual upgrade (eg, started install from within 98/ME etc) or was it a clean install of XP to upgrade a machine which previously ran something else?

 

[bcastner]

Beginning with Service Pack 1, you have 30 days with a clean install, and an immediate demand for activitation with an upgrade. Use the Telephone option:

http://www.microsoft.com/piracy/activation_faq.mspx

 

[cwyman]

Supposedly selecting the phone option is not available.

 

[bcastner]

http://www.microsoft.com/piracy/activation.mspx

 

[wolluf]

Bill - 'Beginning with Service Pack 1, you have 30 days with a clean install, and an immediate demand for activitation with an upgrade'

Is this right? I was reading the site you linked yesterday - and have just gone back to it - I can't see this reference (so if I'm blind, apologies - but it seems a bit odd - activation being the turn-off it is, making upgraders have to activate immediately - very bad customer relations). Presumably you'd just need a pre-SP1 upgrade CD to avoid this....

 

[bcastner]

Well, not exactly immediately. You get three days with an upgrade:

This is made easier if Windows XP Service Pack 1 has been installed: The system will continue to boot normally for three days, during which time you will be able to contact the activation center via the net. If the extra changes have been removed, or if 120 days have passed since the original activation, you will be able to use the automatic process once more.

http://www.aumha.org/win5/a/wpa.htm.htm

 

[cwyman]

Well, working with someone over the phone who is non-technical is very difficult and we were not able to make any headway on her registration problem so I told her to call a local tech or contact the store where she purchased the upgrade.

I hate doing that, but I feel that OS installation support OTP is a bad idea so I make them go find someone that can be there to see what they see and make the right choices.

Thanks for trying to help anyway. I kept looking for number to call on the site you recommended, but in the reading it states that the phone number would only be visible on the screen and since I can't get the user to see that particular screen, we called for backup.