I have a siemens copm. with Xp-home preinst. The recv.CD is a complete Xp. Had some problems. Siemens recomp. a clean inst. on a naced HD. I did so, worked fine, BUT I got the message you MUST activate. Tried MS, but they will not as it is an OEM, tried Siemens, but they say that MS MUST do it, as they cannot. MS will only take it as an support-case meaning I have to pay 120US$ in adwance and no pay-back. Any help??

ms does activate oem xp, just do it online. HOW TO: Activate Windows XP from that article; How to Activate Windows XP by Phone To contact a Microsoft customer service representative and activate Windows by phone: Click Start, point to All Programs, point to Accessories, point to System Tools, and then click Activate Windows. -or- Click the Windows Activation icon in the status area of the taskbar. Click Yes, I want to telephone a customer service representative to active Windows now. Click Read the Windows Product Activation Privacy Statement, click Back, and then click Next. Follow the steps that are displayed in the Activate Windows by phone dialog box, and then click Next.Please note: the number will be displayed at this point and will differ based on the location you select. When activation is complete and you receive the following message, click OK. You have successfully activated your copy of Windows. back to the top Troubleshooting If you cannot establish an online connection by using your modem or an Internet connection, the wizard prompts you to contact a customer service representative and activate your copy of Windows XP by telephone.

How to Activate Windows XP by Using the Internet To activate Windows XP by using an Internet connection: Click Start, point to All Programs, point to Accessories, point to System Tools, and then click Activate Windows. -or- Click the Windows Activation icon in the status area of the taskbar. Click Yes, let's activate Windows over the Internet now. Click Read the Windows Product Activation Privacy Statement, click Back, and then click Next. Use one of the following procedures: If you want to register and activate Windows at the same time, click Yes, I want to register and activate Windows at the same time, click Read the Windows Registration Privacy Statement, click Back, and then click Next. Type your contact information in the appropriate boxes in the registration form, and then click Next. An asterisk (*) is displayed next to required information. -or- If you only want to activate Windows, click No, I don't want to register now; let's just activate Windows, and then click Next. The wizard establishes a connection with an activation server, and processes the activation request. When activation is complete and the following message is displayed, click OK: You have successfully activated your copy of Windows.

Ouch. If you are going to spend additional money, do not risk it with MS support; Instead, purchase an "upgrade version" of Windows XP Pro. (It would cost about $120, and you can either install it over XP Home or do a clean install. You just need to make sure that your CD is, in fact, a full version of XP Home.) Or search the web and you may find other answers. www.annooyances.org is another good forum to ask.