should i activate windows xp

[mindbullets]

ive just installed windows xp on my pc which i borrowed from a friend , xp is now asking me to activate it online ,should i do this or will i have the microsoft police banging down my door for piracy ,or is there a way around it , advice much appreciated as i dont really want to go back to windows 98

[j2buttonsw]

You have 30 days to activate the product before it becomes inoperable. If someone else has activated the copy you have borrowed, both copies will be deactivated. This is the new way Microsoft is trying to combat software piracy. Therefore, get an MSDN version with a volume licence which does not need activating or download a cracked XP copy which you may not be able to service pack. Or, God forbid, buy a legit copy.

[jenstar]

Everyone I know who's tried Windows XP has been very glad to go back to Windows 98!

[sft42]

Sorry button but i have used my copy for three other people and discovered that you can actually activate the product ok....the only thing to do is not to register it with microsoft...that's when you hit the soapy bubbles. You should find the product will be able to do this if you follow the on screen instuctions (& entering the really long product number) but if the product has been activated before then you might have to phone up to get them to activate it for you but as i have said i have done this a number of times with no problems....and I find XP much better than 98 though it does tend to spoonfeed a bit much.

[mac309]

If you register Win XP using the original product key this will disable the original owner's ability to get any updates because it registers the serial numbers of your hardware for checkback purposes when requesting updates.Although Win 98 was a fairly good OS, Win XP is probably the best product microsoft have ever produced, which myself and friends are using and haven't heard a bad word said against it yet. Due to the fact that it's built from Win NT technology the file structure is slightly different and can get a little daunting to start with, but after a while you'll wonder why you didn't change sooner. Get a Genuine copy with you're own product key.

[Bazzdude]

I like XP. Even though it took 3 hours to download Service Pack 1.

[sukisingh]

Don't bother register it, it will still work and so to will any one else's copy if they use the CD. The only draw back is that you cannot get any of the service pack updates, which to be honest is not the end of the world. Simply delete the register icon and away you go. Don't listen to all this scare mongering about getting caught, its rubbish. And you can update you hardware as much as you like, I am speaking from experience.