What triggers reactivation of Vista image?
Submitted by Kevin Esler on January 11, 2008 - 2:00pm.
I created a LivePC running Vista some time ago. I activated the Vista installation online. Today I was running the image on a different computer and was asked to reactivate the OS.
Any idea what caused that? I had been under the impression that one could treat the VM image as a single computer for the purposes of activation.
WPA (Windows Product Activation)
Submitted by Kevin W on January 11, 2008 - 5:31pm.
Microsoft does a hardware inventory to determine when to reactivate. When some combination changes, this triggers the WPA. Memory change is one of the items.
Yes, changing the memory
Submitted by John Whaley on January 11, 2008 - 9:05pm.
Yes, changing the memory size can trigger reactivation. We recommend you hold off on activating your Windows until you have your LivePC configured (memory size, number and sizes of disks, installed VMware Tools, etc.) Although having to reactivate is not the end of the world; you can activate your Windows over the Internet some number of times until Microsoft requires you to use phone activation.
-John
Did a memory "upgrade" trigger reactivation
Hmm I did bump up the memory assigned to the image significantly. Could that have triggered the reactivation?