microsoft activation...ho hum

[forge]

I just decided to take the CD-R out of a PC and replace it with a DVD-R and all manner of palarva ensued.

When I logged on I get the windows XP activation screen saying "the hardware profile used during activation has changed significantly...please re-activate"

so I try to re-activate, get told the internet's not on yet because they've given me the screen before it's ready to use internet

so then I tick "remind me later" finish the boot and try it then

so now it comes up and says "our records show that this product key has been used more times than allowed for a hardware profile please purchase a new key"


then a phone number to ring and do it over the phone

so I ring the number and go through a voice prompt thing that asks me to key in a system ID of - get this 42 numbers, which I then had to key in using the phone keypad.

I have enough trouble dialing a phone number.

then when I'd done this they give me ANOTHER 42 numbers which I now have to key in on the computer while hearing it read out by a machine on the phone

to this point I have not had to speak to anyone or give information any different to what would have been sent over the online activation

so not only was it a totally infuriating way to waste half an hour (and yes it was a round trip of at least that once you factor in the usual thought process of "how can I get around this without having to ring up", followed by ripping the top off again thinking I'll take the damn thing out, remembering how many fucking screws I had to undo to get it in in the first place, doing it anyway and finding out it made not the blindest difference, so going through the whole process again to put the DVD burner back in and going rummaging through boxes looking for the CD with the KEY on it)

not only was it a waste of time, it was also completely pointless with no discernible reason for the phone call other than to irritate the customer as much as possible

jeez the people who moan about Live's copy protection dont know they're born

I'm getting a Mac

[zappen]

I have enough trouble dialing a phone number.

are you serious? really?

then when I'd done this they give me ANOTHER 42 numbers which I now have to key in on the computer while hearing it read out by a machine on the phone

yea sounds soo hard...

not only was it a waste of time, it was also completely pointless with no discernible reason for the phone call other than to irritate the customer as much as possible

jeez the people who moan about Live's copy protection dont know they're born

I'm getting a Mac

you have no idea of what a really waste of time is...

MacBook owner has posted a chronological log of his year of MacBook ownership, documenting the troubles had with the machine. While this user has been hit particularly hard, it does show the potential nasty side to owning a defective computer. Here’s the full timeline, reprinted below:

My Year Of MacBook Troubles
May 16, 2006

Eagerly buys just-announced MacBook.
May 30

MacBook delivered.
Late June

After about four weeks starts to shut down intermittently. Happens seven times over the next five weeks.
Jul 29

Four shutdowns in a day. Calls Apple. Told to send it to service provider to have logic board replaced.
Aug 17

Macbook returns from repair.
Sep 16

Shutdowns again. More frequently this time. On average 2.8 times per day the next few weeks.
Sep 22

Calls Apple. Logic board needs to be replaced again. There’s a new revision that addresses shutdowns. Promised compensation of some kind when my problems are resolved.
Oct 4

MacBook returns from repair.
Oct 6

First shutdown upon sleep due to low battery. Sleep at first seems normal: the display is shut off, the LED lights up, then before it starts to throb the machine shuts down.
Nov 1

Second shutdown upon sleep. Happens three times the next three weeks. During this time, I realize that the screen backlight is weaker, possibly since plastic replaced. Compares with friend’s new MacBook to have it confirmed.
Nov 17

Calls Apple. Told to reset PRAM and SMC. Later same day: another shutdown upon sleep. Four more during the coming days.
Nov 20

Calls Apple. Told I will get a new replacement MacBook.

Asks about compensation. Support person says that new Core 2 Duo would be considered a compensation. I refuse to accept this, saying that I would have been compensated if second switch of logic board succeeded, but I wouldn’t after having MORE troubles? Support person changes his mind and says we should talk about compensation when my problems are resolved.
Dec 13

New MacBook arrives. Core 2 Duo, yay!
Dec 17

First shutdown upon sleep. Happens a couple times the following days. Also, battery is sometimes reported as not found (crossed-out battery in menu bar). When disconnecting power cable, goes to sleep.
Jan 18, 2007

Calls Apple. Told to reset PRAM and SMC. This seems to make things worse. Calls Apple again. Replacement battery is ordered.
Jan 31

Replacement battery arrives. Seems to work fine. Later same day, shutdown upon sleep.
Feb 1

Calls Apple. Told to replace my 2GB RAM with the shipped 1GB (note: I had shutdowns before upgrading memory), then run Hardware Test, perform Erase & Install and run Apple-only install for two or three days. If problems remain, I’m told, the machine would have to be sent away for repairs.
Feb 2

Hardware Test shows nothing on consecutive runs of both Quick and Extended.
Feb 19

Finally has time to backup everything and do Erase & Install. Later same day: shuts down twice. I charge it just a tad and pull the cord: soon shuts down again.
Feb 20

Calls Apple. Basically told to always plug in the cord or put machine to sleep upon low battery warnings. (Support person claims the warning says this clearly. Which is not the case, it says “If you do not, your computer will go to sleep in a few minutes to preserve the contents of memory”.) If I don’t it’s an error on my part and Apple denies responsibility. Also told to calibrate battery, which I do overnight.
Feb 24–Apr 19

Six shutdowns upon sleep. Twice battery is reported as missing.
May 1

Shutdown upon sleep. Installs battery update.
May 2

Gets MacBook from bag and finds that it is rebooting. Due to battery update?
May 5

Reboots as I close lid. Battery at 55%.
May 15

Shuts down upon sleep. Calls Apple. Long call. First told to reset SMC and PRAM and call back if problem persists. Not satisfied with that answer. Talks to other support person. Checks lots of things. Then told to do Erase & Install and run Apple-only install for a couple of days, to rule out that this is a software issue. Doesn’t matter that I did this a couple of months ago. Sigh.

Tomorrow 1 year since placing the order.

dear myspace user, good luck with your new mac! i hope it will make you feel very original!

Apple’s Knowledge Base article hints a potential external display problem with the new MacBooks. Yes, these are the new MacBooks, released in May 2007.

Issue or symptom

If using a MacBook (Mid 2007) with an external display (such as an Apple Cinema Display), you may notice that if the menu bar is set to the external display, waking the computer from clamshell mode may temporarily prevent the internal display from displaying video.
Products affected

* MacBook (Mid 2007)

Solution

1. Press F7 on the MacBook keyboard to temporarily restore video on the internal display.
2. Save any unsaved data and restart the computer.

[forge]

[b0unce]

that guy has a real axe to grind with pc V mac issues.

[hambone1]

Incredible that he seemsto have all the research and statistics at hand!

[forge]

I've actually been really liking my girlfriends macbook

the idea of dual boot with windows as well is pretty cool too

[gaspode]

I've actually been really liking my girlfriends macbook

the idea of dual boot with windows as well is pretty cool too

I switched about a year ago to the Macbook Pro. There are some differences between how you operate it versus a Windows XP laptop, but I really haven't had any kind of major problems. Live runs amazingly well, and being able to use Parallels to run OS X/Windows XP music apps on the same system is sexy!

Greg

[smutek]

Zappen's right. You think that's bad, we just bought a macbook for my wife last month. It seemed to work fine the first day - till we ran software update.

All of a sudden applications started quitting unexpectedly.

We ran a permissions repair and rebooted and we haven't had a problem with it since.

Man, what a horrible machine.

I remember when I added a second hard drive to my G5, I first had to shut down and take the side panel off the tower. Then I had to insert the driive, plug it in, reinstall the side panel, and reboot.

Took about three minutes, man what a serious pain in the ass that was. Wish I'd never bought this piece of shit.



We own four macs, they all work fine and with the exception of the G3 imac we bought in 2001 (it is really outdated at this point) all are heavily used still and none of them have any problems. That G3 is sitting on the floor next to me now, but has sat and ran pretty much every day for the last six years, I shit you not, we just never shut the thing down, but it still boots right up.

I just want to be original. I just want a computer that will work, do what its supposed to do, and last me a few years with minimal headaches.

Sorry man, I use PC's at work and there is just no way in hell I'm ever going to buy one of those things.

[blank]

Now you know why there is a lot of people who own a valid microsoft licence that use a complete cracked version or who simply crack the activation engine.

Their activation system is boring, totally stupid and obstrusive.

Windows xp still a pretty good os for music production to me and i'm not an apple fan at all, not cause of the computer they sell but apple as a coorporate citizen is a total asshole.

I cannot pardon them Itunes anyway

[gaspode]

Just because I'm curious... what's wrong with iTunes... managing music collections... pricing... DRM?

I'm not sure I'd pardon Windows Media Player either... that thing is at least a much of a mess as iTunes.

There are a few interesting open source/Linux solutions... but even those aren't really optimal.

Any suggestions?

[yoshitosser]

Good to see zappen back on the forum. We've missed you.

I'm hoping vegeryan will make an appearance too.

[blank]

I did own an Ipod a year ago, for like 3 months

Itunes did turn my pc in some kind of zombie that need a new exorcism badly.

It's the most horrible software I did use myslef.

The ipod is also a something I will never buy again.

For reading my media files I use vlc media player.

Apple computers still some kind of great anyway.

[ewistrand]

The one time I had to call to get XP reactivated (I'd fried a motherboard within a month of the original install), I got a real person on the line- at 4 AM on a Sunday morning. Was back up and running within five minutes...

Of course, I'm in the US. Overseas tech support might not be the same.

ew

[sweetjesus]

so not only was it a totally infuriating way to waste half an hour (and yes it was a round trip of at least that once you factor in the usual thought process of "how can I get around this without having to ring up", followed by ripping the top off again thinking I'll take the damn thing out, remembering how many fucking screws I had to undo to get it in in the first place, doing it anyway and finding out it made not the blindest difference, so going through the whole process again to put the DVD burner back in and going rummaging through boxes looking for the CD with the KEY on it)

jeez the people who moan about Live's copy protection dont know they're born

lol

you tried to outsmart a process that's designed to take up less than 5 minutes of your time for no real gains and waste half an hour, it's kinda your fault... ive had this activation stuff before and it's never taken me that long.

i even avoid having to key in the numbers properly by putting in 0's for every number and u go straight to an operator, they ask a simple reason why u are reactivating and they always give it .. unless u say you got a copy from a dude on the street.

id and many people who i help with Live outside of this forum dream of ableton having a line that can be called 24/7 free of cost and have your software reactivated in 2-4 minutes give or take.

i think as users we brought it upon ourselves though... seriously the piracy that DOES go on is absolutely crazy and rampant, im happy ableton and microsoft are protecting their software i would too if i were them. i prefer microsofts approach a little better than ableton in terms of the customer support end of activation but hey at the end of the day they both make the tools we use to get our shit done so there's a bit of give and take.

[freqn]

Quote:

MacBook owner has posted a chronological log of his year of MacBook ownership, documenting the troubles had with the machine. While this user has been hit particularly hard, it does show the potential nasty side to owning a defective computer. Here’s the full timeline, reprinted below:

My Year Of MacBook Troubles
May 16, 2006

Eagerly buys just-announced MacBook.
May 30

MacBook delivered.
Late June

After about four weeks starts to shut down intermittently. Happens seven times over the next five weeks.
Jul 29

Four shutdowns in a day. Calls Apple. Told to send it to service provider to have logic board replaced.
Aug 17

Macbook returns from repair.
Sep 16

Shutdowns again. More frequently this time. On average 2.8 times per day the next few weeks.
Sep 22

Calls Apple. Logic board needs to be replaced again. There’s a new revision that addresses shutdowns. Promised compensation of some kind when my problems are resolved.
Oct 4

MacBook returns from repair.
Oct 6

First shutdown upon sleep due to low battery. Sleep at first seems normal: the display is shut off, the LED lights up, then before it starts to throb the machine shuts down.
Nov 1

Second shutdown upon sleep. Happens three times the next three weeks. During this time, I realize that the screen backlight is weaker, possibly since plastic replaced. Compares with friend’s new MacBook to have it confirmed.
Nov 17

Calls Apple. Told to reset PRAM and SMC. Later same day: another shutdown upon sleep. Four more during the coming days.
Nov 20

Calls Apple. Told I will get a new replacement MacBook.

Asks about compensation. Support person says that new Core 2 Duo would be considered a compensation. I refuse to accept this, saying that I would have been compensated if second switch of logic board succeeded, but I wouldn’t after having MORE troubles? Support person changes his mind and says we should talk about compensation when my problems are resolved.
Dec 13

New MacBook arrives. Core 2 Duo, yay!
Dec 17

First shutdown upon sleep. Happens a couple times the following days. Also, battery is sometimes reported as not found (crossed-out battery in menu bar). When disconnecting power cable, goes to sleep.
Jan 18, 2007

Calls Apple. Told to reset PRAM and SMC. This seems to make things worse. Calls Apple again. Replacement battery is ordered.
Jan 31

Replacement battery arrives. Seems to work fine. Later same day, shutdown upon sleep.
Feb 1

Calls Apple. Told to replace my 2GB RAM with the shipped 1GB (note: I had shutdowns before upgrading memory), then run Hardware Test, perform Erase & Install and run Apple-only install for two or three days. If problems remain, I’m told, the machine would have to be sent away for repairs.
Feb 2

Hardware Test shows nothing on consecutive runs of both Quick and Extended.
Feb 19

Finally has time to backup everything and do Erase & Install. Later same day: shuts down twice. I charge it just a tad and pull the cord: soon shuts down again.
Feb 20

Calls Apple. Basically told to always plug in the cord or put machine to sleep upon low battery warnings. (Support person claims the warning says this clearly. Which is not the case, it says “If you do not, your computer will go to sleep in a few minutes to preserve the contents of memory”.) If I don’t it’s an error on my part and Apple denies responsibility. Also told to calibrate battery, which I do overnight.
Feb 24–Apr 19

Six shutdowns upon sleep. Twice battery is reported as missing.
May 1

Shutdown upon sleep. Installs battery update.
May 2

Gets MacBook from bag and finds that it is rebooting. Due to battery update?
May 5

Reboots as I close lid. Battery at 55%.
May 15

Shuts down upon sleep. Calls Apple. Long call. First told to reset SMC and PRAM and call back if problem persists. Not satisfied with that answer. Talks to other support person. Checks lots of things. Then told to do Erase & Install and run Apple-only install for a couple of days, to rule out that this is a software issue. Doesn’t matter that I did this a couple of months ago. Sigh.

Tomorrow 1 year since placing the order.

I've been running multiple apps including Live on a macbook everyday for hours at a time since early Feb and have not experienced any problems.