Argh! Microsoft!

  • Thread starter Thread starter DQuaN
  • 8 comments
  • 751 views
DQuaN

DQuaN

Goat of the Year
Premium
Messages
12,299
United Kingdom
Ealing-London
Just a bit of a rant really.

My boss just asked me to change the graphics card in my colleagues machine so that she can have dual monitors.

No Problem.

Once all set up, it seems that Microsoft Office needs to be reactivated to 'check' to see if it is compatible with the new hardware.

It seems that the key has now been used too many times so I have to call Microsoft. They say that the activation code the computer has generated is invalid so I have to contact customer service.

I contact customer service, they tell me as we are a Microsoft partner, we have to contact MSDN.

I contact MSDN and the lady tells me that I have to enter the 25 digit product key. I ask her if that means she wants me to reinstall Office.

Her: No, just enter the 25 digit key.

Me: It wants the activation code not the key! It only asks for the key when you install Office.

Her: You can't put the key in?

Me: No, only the activation code.

Her: What's that?

Me: *facepalm* It's the 42 digit number you need to give me to reactivate office.

Her: I'll give you the number to call.

Me: No thanks, i'll just reinstall with a different key.


So, replacing graphics card and setting up dual displays - 10mins
Reactivating Microsoft Office - Nearly 2 hours.

Doesn't say much for Microsoft's ease of use does it?!!

[/rant]
 
Wow, Dunc this was completely your own fault.

I'm not coming to you for any more PC problems, I'll go find James.

:)
 
Danachronism
Wow, Dunc this was completely your own fault.

I'm not coming to you for any more PC problems, I'll go find James.

:)
Click to expand...
:lol: No... :p

God forbid the day I have to ring MS. I know someone in my class who has wrung (pun intended) them several times on trying to activate windows itself. I couldn't quite remember the specifics but it was along the lines of them not acceping a code to activate windows because it had been used before. He gave them another one and they were saying they can't use that one because it's off another copy of the exact same version of windows he didn't have installed. He got pretty frustrated but I think he got it sorted in the end.
 
Had a similar problem at work when i needed to re-instal a copy of Quark on a machine whose hard drive needed replacing. I had the original disk and the serial number for it but had lost the validation code. Quark customer support for Europe is based in Austria or Switzerland and English obviously isn't the operators first (or even second or third) language so trying to explain what i needed was like bashing your head against a brick wall. I ended up emailing them instead and eventually got what i needed after 17 emails and almost 6 weeks latter!!!!
 
Wait, so its not enough that you have to convince them that you didn't take Windows to a different computer, you also have to revalidate software already installed because the hardware changed? :scared:
 

Latest Posts

Back