It's not a charge to activate, they're saying my product ID doesn't qualify for free Tech Support. Does that number get to a human being? I've done this twice now for 2 different issues and got a computer generated auto response both times.
I don't know when or if you used that number but I have called it three times in the last month and every time it was answered by a machine. It has offered no option to speak to a person and simply hangs up when it decides it can't help you further.
There's something you're not telling us, then. If you can't activate online or over the phone, then there's probably nothing you can do. Is it an OEM license? Did you do major hardware upgrades?
It is a moot point. I had an epiphany in the middle of the night. To answer question more accurately. The machine had crashed because of faulty memory in doing so it had corrupted the MBR so badly that none of the repairs I tried would fix it. All I did was reinstall the system with new memory in the PC. My licence is for 3 machines, everytime I told the MS robo answer machine it was the 3rd machine it would tell me my licence was only good for 1 machine. So I called again and told it it was the first machine and it gave me an activation code. Another little hole in their convoluted activation system.
Very informative post, but I'm stuck on what exactly you mean in Step 3. I'm not techie, so have no idea what this means "Launch a command line and navigate to the directory in which you saved MBRWiz.exe (we saved ours to D:). Once there, invoke the MBRWiz /list command to display a list of drives configured in the system."
Sorry, but can you expand in layman's terms, please? (I know where I put MBRWiz, it's the command/launch/invoke business I don't get.)
Also, I'm trying to upgrade XP 32 bit to Win 7 64 bit and I don't get the very last "caution" part of Step 3. Why do I repeat Step 2 and where do I get a 64 bit DVD - I thought 32 and 64 bit were on the same DVD and accessed depending on which license you had.
Also, I'm trying to upgrade XP 32 bit to Win 7 64 bit and I don't get the very last "caution" part of Step 3. Why do I repeat Step 2 and where do I get a 64 bit DVD - I thought 32 and 64 bit were on the same DVD and accessed depending on which license you had.
Thanks.
The key is bit-level agnostic, but the media is not. You need separate media to install an x64 version, but you can use keys from either side of the equation.
Thanks but, sorry, I've not a clue what that means, AlexDeGruven! Might as well be written in Swahili!
As I said, I don't know the tech side of computers, hence, my question about the command/launch/invoke element of Step 3.
Cheers.
Hey, it happens. Let me break it down a little further:
Windows 7 (and Vista, actually) keys don't care if you're using them on a 64-bit or 32-bit install. The key you got with your 64-bit version of Win7 will work just as well on a 32-bit version. They simply don't care.
The install media, however (the DVD that Win7 actually comes on), is the part that matters with the 64-bit vs 32-bit discussion. There are 2 types of DVDs, one is 64-bit, and one is 32-bit. You can't install a 32-bit version of Windows with anything other than the 32-bit disc. The same goes with 64-bit. However, as the previous paragraph notes, the key that you use to activate the install could come from either without issue.
Hope that helps clarify a bit. If not, feel free to ask more specific questions, as it will help us nail down exactly what you're looking for.
Comments
Very informative post, but I'm stuck on what exactly you mean in Step 3. I'm not techie, so have no idea what this means "Launch a command line and navigate to the directory in which you saved MBRWiz.exe (we saved ours to D:). Once there, invoke the MBRWiz /list command to display a list of drives configured in the system."
Sorry, but can you expand in layman's terms, please? (I know where I put MBRWiz, it's the command/launch/invoke business I don't get.)
Also, I'm trying to upgrade XP 32 bit to Win 7 64 bit and I don't get the very last "caution" part of Step 3. Why do I repeat Step 2 and where do I get a 64 bit DVD - I thought 32 and 64 bit were on the same DVD and accessed depending on which license you had.
Thanks.
The key is bit-level agnostic, but the media is not. You need separate media to install an x64 version, but you can use keys from either side of the equation.
As I said, I don't know the tech side of computers, hence, my question about the command/launch/invoke element of Step 3.
Cheers.
Hey, it happens. Let me break it down a little further:
Windows 7 (and Vista, actually) keys don't care if you're using them on a 64-bit or 32-bit install. The key you got with your 64-bit version of Win7 will work just as well on a 32-bit version. They simply don't care.
The install media, however (the DVD that Win7 actually comes on), is the part that matters with the 64-bit vs 32-bit discussion. There are 2 types of DVDs, one is 64-bit, and one is 32-bit. You can't install a 32-bit version of Windows with anything other than the 32-bit disc. The same goes with 64-bit. However, as the previous paragraph notes, the key that you use to activate the install could come from either without issue.
Hope that helps clarify a bit. If not, feel free to ask more specific questions, as it will help us nail down exactly what you're looking for.
Now, what about the command/launch/invoke element of Step 3. I've not idea what I'm supposed to do there. Sorry.
Thanks again.
Thanks.