Ok this is a OS related question.

I recently borrowed my friends XP disc and partioned my hard drive on my Vista based system (504mb of ram + Vista = Slower than our cars in stock form)to install XP. I wanted to dual boot before I found out about the dual booting issues between XP and Vista. I had it set up to where both operating systems worked if I booted XP from bios's boot options, but on windows' boot screen it lists XP but will only boot Vista. boohoo they were rigged but it worked. XP is lightning fast!! Now I needed to call MS for a new activation code.(not my xp disc) but I found a crack for XP's activation period which i gave a shot. It involved changing the activation timers binary code. It worked! I checked my activation status and it said it was activated. Great. So I reboot. "Windows activation period expired, click here to activate windows" damn I'll have to call MS and get a new activation afterall. So I click to activate windows, and it says "Windows is currently Activated" so I click "OK" which is my only option. it goes back to boot XP. "Windows activation period expired, click here to activate windows" ENDLESS CIRCLE.

I am on Vista now.

QUESTION IS: Is there anyway to get windows activated if there is no option for me to change or enter an activation code, or am I looking at another reinstall?

Originally posted by ThePerfectShift
Ok this is a OS related question. I recently borrowed my friends XP disc and partioned my hard drive on my Vista based system (504mb of ram + Vista = Slower than our cars in stock form)to install XP. I wanted to dual boot before I found out about the dual booting issues between XP and Vista. I had it set up to where both operating systems worked if I booted XP from bios's boot options, but on windows' boot screen it lists XP but will only boot Vista. boohoo they were rigged but it worked. XP is lightning fast!! Now I needed to call MS for a new activation code.(not my xp disc) but I found a crack for XP's activation period which i gave a shot. It involved changing the activation timers binary code. It worked! I checked my activation status and it said it was activated. Great. So I reboot. "Windows activation period expired, click here to activate windows" damn I'll have to call MS and get a new activation afterall. So I click to activate windows, and it says "Windows is currently Activated" so I click "OK" which is my only option. it goes back to boot XP. "Windows activation period expired, click here to activate windows" ENDLESS CIRCLE. I am on Vista now. QUESTION IS: Is there anyway to get windows activated if there is no option for me to change or enter an activation code, or am I looking at another reinstall?

504 megs of RAM and Vista even booted? Wow.

Considering the half assed tinkering you did I would pull anything useful off the hard drive and just wipe it entirely with a clean install of XP. Or you could PM Dino and he'll yell at you to install Ubuntu or something (and considering your system specs that might not be a bad idea plus Dino is never wrong).

FIRST off, go to www.newegg.com and buy some more RAM man! You can get 4Gb of nice DDR2 Corsair RAM for $100!
Seriously! Do this first.



Now,... sadly, you can’t just pop in an XP disc while you’re running Vista and hit Install. Your first step is to determine whether you want to dual boot Vista or simply wipe out Vista and replace it with XP. If you’re going to dual boot, use the DiskPart tool on the Vista installation disc to create a second partition, or use a third-party tool such as GParted (http://gparted.sourceforge.net/) to do the same thing. If you’re wiping out Vista, you can use the same tools to erase the Vista partition and start with a clean slate or just reformat while booting and installing from the XP setup disc.

2. If you’re using a bleeding-edge PC, XP will likely choke when it comes time to start copying files, as it won’t be able to see your hard drive. Why? XP can’t handle AHCI mode on SATA drives, which most newer PCs have enabled. In your PC’s BIOS, turn off AHCI mode (which should turn on ATA emulation) to make your installation easier. Or just load the drivers via floppy F6 drivers at boot. Alternately, you can slipstream AHCI drivers into a Windows XP installation disc, but this is a huge hassle.

3. With a blank partition ready and AHCI turned off, boot from an XP setup disc, preferably one with Service Pack 2 preloaded on it. Install the operating system normally. (If dual booting, Vista will remain on the C: drive; XP will show up on E: or another drive letter. The two OSes will be able to see each other, so be cautious when selecting the proper drive when installing apps.)

4. If you plan to dual boot, you’ll need to repair the Master Boot Record, as XP overwrites the Vista-created MBR, which prevents Vista from loading. To fix it, boot from a Vista DVD and select “Repair your computer” on the Install Now screen. Select Startup Repair to finish the job.

5. Last step: Set up dual booting. Any boot manager will do the job, or try the free (and Vista-friendly) EasyBCD (http://neosmart.net/dl.php?id=1). Boot into Vista (you won’t have a choice), install and run EasyBCD, then click Add/Remove Entries. Change the drive letter to E: (or whatever drive letter you set up in Step 3), and then change Type to Windows NT/2k/XP/2k3. Click Add Entry, then Save. Reboot and the bootloader will now automatically appear.

should look like this:

Ok well being that I use XP primarily, I wouldnt mind solely having XP. If I wipe out vista and install Xp on it's partition but still keep the Vista Recovery partition, could I reinstall Vista if I decided to?
I tried using easy BCD a while ago, but I had some kind of freakin issue. I have a hard time wrapping my brain around this crap. and yes RAM is definetly on the shopping list. lol

With 504MB of RAM, you have onboard video more than likely. Buy a graphics card as well. That is a big reason Vista runs slow. That and your lack of RAM. Buy an 8800 or 9800GT.

Step 1. Buy an XP license. And quit griping that your illegitimate software doesn't work.

Step 2. Fix your MBR and edit your boot.ini, or, Do it the long way and go System Properties -> Advanced -> Startup and Recovery -> Edit your default OS values.

1. Take the windows disc and throw it out the window.

2. go to www.slackware.com and download the latest ISO

3. Burn it, install it, and enjoy life without Microsoft's shit.

And, so you know, your friend has 1 license to install Windows to 1 computer. If you want it on your computer, you have to buy a license. That is why it wont work.

Originally posted by adamzty
And, so you know, your friend has 1 license to install Windows to 1 computer. If you want it on your computer, you have to buy a license. That is why it wont work.

. . . and that's why i make friends with the people with "Enterprise" licenses :) or anyone with a Microsoft platform developers license.