[Fury]

Say what? OEMs like Dell, etc do not put ID info in the BIOS (unless you mean the boot logo, which I'm damn sure Windows does not key to). OEM Windows is the same as any other Windows, except it comes with less paper junk, more licence overhead, and a different type of CD key. I should know; when I build computers for people I buy OEM copies of Windows from EBuyer.

I work at a tech support which also gives tech support for one such OEM computer manufacturer's customers. They do put OEM identification into their BIOS and the OEM XP they bundle with their computers looks for the ID. If the ID is not present, you cannot install or activate your copy of XP.

Edit: I should add that OEM copies you can buy off from stores and copies that come with OEM computers are NOT the same thing.

Physical processor == CPU core. A dual-core CPU is two pysical processors and would need an XP Pro licence. A non-physical processor (a 'logical processor') is what you get in Hyperthreaded processors like the P4, which is why the P4 counts as one physical processor and thus works with XP Home.

Windows XP Home Edition works perfectly fine with dual-core CPU's. You have mistook multi-core CPU's as SMP's, which they are not. XP Home does not support SMP but supports multi-core on one physical CPU.

[Descenterace]

I work at a tech support which also gives tech support for one such OEM computer manufacturer's customers. They do put OEM identification into their BIOS and the OEM XP they bundle with their computers looks for the ID. If the ID is not present, you cannot install or activate your copy of XP.

Edit: I should add that OEM copies you can buy off from stores and copies that come with OEM computers are NOT the same thing.

Ah, you mean the copy they provide with the Recovery CDs. Yes, that does make sense.

Windows XP Home Edition works perfectly fine with dual-core CPU's. You have mistook multi-core CPU's as SMP's, which they are not. XP Home does not support SMP but supports multi-core on one physical CPU.

Symmetric Multiprocessing? Athlon X2s are certainly capable of it. Whether XP Home takes advantage of it is, I suppose, another matter entirely.

[KappaWing]

Uhhh so is there anyway I can get out of this without losing any money?

[Kosh]

do a search on google for windows product activation crack. You will find plenty of things.

[Fury]

Descenterace, Windows XP and Windows 2003 counts sockets not cores to determine how many physical CPU's it has. XP and 2003 treats each core as a logical processor. Windows 2000 and earlier do not make a difference between them.

Microsoft has announced its decision to follow AMD's recommendations. Microsoft server software, which is currently licensed by the number of processors in the server, will continue to be licensed in that model for server hardware that contains dual-core and multi-core processors. Microsoft operating systems and applications will install and run on multi-core systems just as they do on current single-core systems.

Source

Even though that quote explicitly mentions server software, the same holds true on Windows XP as well.

Microsoft Windows XP Professional and Microsoft Windows XP Home are not affected by this policy as they are licensed per installation and not per processor. Windows XP Professional can support up to two processors regardless of the number of cores on the processor. Microsoft Windows XP Home supports one processor.

Source

[Descenterace]

That seems... totally illogical. Maybe I've been using Linux too long. As far as it's concerned, a CPU is a CPU.

[jr2]

Some CPU's are dual-core, ie two-in-one.  Others are Hyper-threading, which is different.  (Still one CPU, but is sort of treated like two, which gives it more power.  BTW Linux does support both, depending on what kernel you're using.  If you're using a kernel that doesn't support HT or Dual-core, and you have one of those CPUs, it's wasting your processing power.  One side of your CPU is snoring while the other does all the work.  If you run Windows 9x on an HT processor, it does this too.

[Shadow0000]

Actually some processors supports both Dual Core and HyperThreading (HyperTransport for AMD), an example are Pentium 4 EE, however also the CPU's core support Threads, most normal Dual Core have 2 Core and support 2 Threads (1 per core), however again the more complex ones support 4 Threads, so 1 CPU / 2 Cores / 4 Threads.

A good example of this is the X-Box 360, which has 1 CPU / 3 Cores / 6 Threads, however there aren't really game designers which can really make use of all the Core's and Threads, then probabily we would start see different quality in games as we seen until now...the same happened with the Nintendo 64, most games just use 32-bit instructions, pretty useless feature overall, "but hey!, whatever to increase the price of the console and our profits..."

[Descenterace]

To clarify:

'Dual-core' means 2 physical CPUs on one piece of silicon. This is effectively the same as having a dual-Opteron mainboard with two single-core Opterons plugged into it.
'Hyperthreading' means 1 physical CPU with 2 sets of state registers. It still only has one superscalar pipeline. While one execution state is stalled, eg. due to a cache miss, the other can run. This means that the pipeline spends less time idle. It still does not allow true multiprocessing, but as far as the OS is concerned it acts as two 'logical' CPUs.
A dual-core CPU can contain standard cores, which give a total of 2 logical CPUs, or Hyperthreading cores, which give 4 logical CPUs.

The number of logical CPUs determines how many threads the OS can 'run' at once. The number of physical CPUs determines how many threads can actually execute simultaneously.

Also, Hypertransport is nothing to do with Hyperthreading.

The N64 used a 64-bit data bus. These days, that's standard for a PC. Dual-channel memory allows for a 128-bit data bus. The N64 did not do 64-bit integer arithmetic, though; there was very little use for such a feature back then. Its processor was still 32-bit.

[Shadow0000]

Also, Hypertransport is nothing to do with Hyperthreading.

 :lol:My mistake, but why they changed it from Lightning Data Transport (LDT), that's less confusing.

Although Nintendo 64 was touted as being a 64-bit machine (the CPU is fully capable of this), the games rarely use 64-bit instructions. The greater precision or range available with 64-bit data types is not typically required by 3D games, and 64-bit data uses twice as much RAM, cache, and bandwidth thereby reducing performance. In addition, the cost-reduced NEC VR4300 CPU used in N64 has only 32-bit buses whereas more powerful MIPS CPUs are equipped with 64-bit buses.

Actually the buses were the exception, they has only 32-bit.

[Kosh]

the same happened with the Nintendo 64, most games just use 32-bit instructions, pretty useless feature overall, "but hey!, whatever to increase the price of the console and our profits..."

Also its use of a ROM cartridge instead of a CD-esque solution seriously limited what a game designer could do (since the memory on the cartridge was quite limited).

[Shadow0000]

Yes, that's because a CD manufacturing cost 10 cents, while a cartridge manufacturing was $50, plus due to the size of the cartridge (max 64 MB / 512 Mb, but increases a lot the manufacturing price), game designers didn't really have space for placing textures in order to make longer games, not only that but that cut the capability of using Hi-Res textures, so many game developers left Nintendo. I am surely Nintendo choose the cartridge just for Piracy, there wasn't other reasons, because they were in developement for media CD with Philips (Philips CDi)

Don't get me wrong, I am not making look wrong neither Nintendo or it's N64, remember "useless feature", useless means it never has a use, however it doesn't directly means it's not worth or crappy.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

Sorry I was just giving a CPU example with the X-Box 360 and the N64, let's better get back to the thread.

[pecenipicek]

as for OEM windows, my dad got around buying the boxed set of windows and bought an OEM version of XP Home together with a memory stick. most shops here let you do that cause otherwise nobody, land i do mean nobody, will buy windows.



neverminding the fact i used a perfectly cracked version of XP Pro for about 3 years before that *smirk*

[brozozo]

I also have a Windows regristration issue. I lost my product key (I didn't realize they put a sticker with it on the back of your case; big d'oh), so I used a friend's when I formatted my hard drive. Fast forward a month and a half after I moved back home, and my computer has been sitting around doing nothing. So, I hook it up and try to activate by phone. I tell the computer over the line the number Windows has given me, and it says it can't be activated. It suggested "uninstalling the software." Is there any way to bypass this, legal or otherwise, or am I up the river?

[Nuke]

do yourself a favor and download linux. the penguin is your friend

[brozozo]

If Linux is myl friend,  then Windows must be the *****y girlfriend I can't get rid of.

[pecenipicek]

do yourself a favor and download linux. the penguin is your friend

yeah. a favor if you want to use all the stuff that doesnt work exactly as it should ever. windows stuff works exactly as it should sometimes at least.

[Mars]

I'd be using Linux right now but it apears to have a hatred for my mobo, won't in a month or two though, I'm (finally) getting an okay computer.

[jr2]

do yourself a favor and download linux. the penguin is your friend

Yes.  Don't fear the penguin.

Although, I did just install Debian linux 3.1r0a to complement Mandriva 10.2, and the Aptitude config went all nutso on me... I'll probably have to format that install.  That's what I never like; if you spend 3 hours (if you're like me and install every package that looks remotely interesting to you and then have to resolve dependencies) configuring the install and then it doesn't go right.  Aargh!  Mandriva hasn't given me any problems with that.  Darn Debian.

[Nuke]

linux might be hard to learn, but once you have you will definately be glad you did. it vastly opens up your options.