Win ME PC Problem

[parttimetechie]

It's abandonware at this point anyway, and never did use activation to begin with. Ahhh, the good ol' days.

If I ever do need to reinstall ME, I have one key in my bag that I use if one is not available.

Ya, I miss the old days of no activation and just the product key

 

[Fulano]

Ya, I miss the old days of no activation and just the product key

Yeah I miss those days too. I remember having to perform nukes and paves like 10~15 years ago on Windows 95, 98, ME and 2000 just type in the product key and your done with it. There was no need to call microsoft to activate the OS to then wait microsoft to read you out a loooong series of activation codes that needs to be inputed to MSOOBE like the situation now MAN thats so arcane, I really miss the good old days.

Windows 3.11 and earlier versions of Windows, including MS-DOS all versions required NO product keys what so ever.

Shame on Microsoft for adopting such an anti-feature, its a "Vista" (yeah I have come to associate the term "Vista" with "Stupid").

Here's Microsoft Anti feature sequence of operations:

*There was no product key required
*Product keys eventually made it to be a requirement.
*Then Product key WITH hardware attaching product activation busting the heads of those poor customers whos motherboard died and purchased a different motherboard, just to name one of many problems that became apparent with hardware attaching product activation schemes.
*Then Product key WITH hardware attaching product activation WITH WGA (Windows Genuine Advantage)
*Window Genuine Advangate (WGA) gets renamed to Windows Activation Technology (WAT) possibly due to bad press and negative conotations coupled with M$ F**kups/hickups.

WHAT's NEXT? (or in Microsoft's term WAT's next?) Biologically attached with blood matching on a USB blood sensor?!? lol

It would make more sense if Microsoft returned to how they were operating back in the pre windows 95 days, requiring NO product keys, activations, hardware attachments, etc because stopping software piracy is impossible and Microsoft is only hurting the Genuine techs and customers by making THEM go the extra mile while all what software pirates have to do is download TinyXP Rev.10 just to name an example, install it with no product key or activation required and be done with it in less than 10 minutes.

WHY is it easier for the pirates and not for us?