New Dell Dimension 2400 Purchase ...

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

Just purchased one of these from the UK Dell site for my brother. He
doesn't have an internet connection!

Can someone please explain what will happen when the machine is booted up
for the first time out of the box? Will we need to register/activate
windows online or is it already activated/registered? Can this be done over
the telephone?

I am not familiar with Win XP product activation/registration although I
have just been told they are not the same thing. Can someone please explain
the difference?

Is there anything else we may need to do online?

He is not planning on using the PC to connect to the internet for the
forseeable future and we're wondering whether this will cause him a major
headache?!?!

What are the issue please?

Many thanks for your time.

--
T. Denford.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

If you have the modem installed, usually the activation is connected and
completed by a phone number. Not by an ISP.

Joan

T. Denford wrote:
> Just purchased one of these from the UK Dell site for my brother. He
> doesn't have an internet connection!
>
> Can someone please explain what will happen when the machine is booted up
> for the first time out of the box? Will we need to register/activate
> windows online or is it already activated/registered? Can this be done over
> the telephone?
>
> I am not familiar with Win XP product activation/registration although I
> have just been told they are not the same thing. Can someone please explain
> the difference?
>
> Is there anything else we may need to do online?
>
> He is not planning on using the PC to connect to the internet for the
> forseeable future and we're wondering whether this will cause him a major
> headache?!?!
>
> What are the issue please?
>
> Many thanks for your time.
>

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

You won't have to do anything on-line or on the telephone. When you are
asked that, just skip it or say you will do it later.

"T. Denford" <tdenford@removethisgmail.com> wrote in message
news:13f3ami6c2gsp.taody15nxfdl.dlg@40tude.net...
> Just purchased one of these from the UK Dell site for my brother. He
> doesn't have an internet connection!
>
> Can someone please explain what will happen when the machine is booted up
> for the first time out of the box? Will we need to register/activate
> windows online or is it already activated/registered? Can this be done
> over
> the telephone?
>
> I am not familiar with Win XP product activation/registration although I
> have just been told they are not the same thing. Can someone please
> explain
> the difference?
>
> Is there anything else we may need to do online?
>
> He is not planning on using the PC to connect to the internet for the
> forseeable future and we're wondering whether this will cause him a major
> headache?!?!
>
> What are the issue please?
>
> Many thanks for your time.
>
> --
> T. Denford.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

On Thu, 17 Mar 2005 07:01:53 -0500, Joan Hansen wrote:

> If you have the modem installed, usually the activation is connected and
> completed by a phone number. Not by an ISP.
>
> Joan

But he doesn't have an internet connection !?!? Am I missing something?

>
> T. Denford wrote:
>> Just purchased one of these from the UK Dell site for my brother. He
>> doesn't have an internet connection!
>>
>> Can someone please explain what will happen when the machine is booted up
>> for the first time out of the box? Will we need to register/activate
>> windows online or is it already activated/registered? Can this be done over
>> the telephone?
>>
>> I am not familiar with Win XP product activation/registration although I
>> have just been told they are not the same thing. Can someone please explain
>> the difference?
>>
>> Is there anything else we may need to do online?
>>
>> He is not planning on using the PC to connect to the internet for the
>> forseeable future and we're wondering whether this will cause him a major
>> headache?!?!
>>
>> What are the issue please?
>>
>> Many thanks for your time.
>>


--
T. Denford.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

On Thu, 17 Mar 2005 07:07:11 -0500, joe_tide wrote:

> You won't have to do anything on-line or on the telephone. When you are
> asked that, just skip it or say you will do it later.

OK excellent. Thanks. Will it keep reminding him though?

>
> "T. Denford" <tdenford@removethisgmail.com> wrote in message
> news:13f3ami6c2gsp.taody15nxfdl.dlg@40tude.net...
>> Just purchased one of these from the UK Dell site for my brother. He
>> doesn't have an internet connection!
>>
>> Can someone please explain what will happen when the machine is booted up
>> for the first time out of the box? Will we need to register/activate
>> windows online or is it already activated/registered? Can this be done
>> over
>> the telephone?
>>
>> I am not familiar with Win XP product activation/registration although I
>> have just been told they are not the same thing. Can someone please
>> explain
>> the difference?
>>
>> Is there anything else we may need to do online?
>>
>> He is not planning on using the PC to connect to the internet for the
>> forseeable future and we're wondering whether this will cause him a major
>> headache?!?!
>>
>> What are the issue please?
>>
>> Many thanks for your time.
>>
>> --
>> T. Denford.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

"T. Denford" <tdenford@removethisgmail.com> wrote in message
news:1nksjkmi78p8t$.4qt72xqds8un$.dlg@40tude.net...
> On Thu, 17 Mar 2005 07:07:11 -0500, joe_tide wrote:
>
>> You won't have to do anything on-line or on the telephone. When you are
>> asked that, just skip it or say you will do it later.
>
> OK excellent. Thanks. Will it keep reminding him though?
>

No, Dell's come preactivated.

Tom

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

On Thu, 17 Mar 2005 12:44:11 GMT, Tom Scales wrote:

> "T. Denford" <tdenford@removethisgmail.com> wrote in message
> news:1nksjkmi78p8t$.4qt72xqds8un$.dlg@40tude.net...
>> On Thu, 17 Mar 2005 07:07:11 -0500, joe_tide wrote:
>>
>>> You won't have to do anything on-line or on the telephone. When you are
>>> asked that, just skip it or say you will do it later.
>>
>> OK excellent. Thanks. Will it keep reminding him though?
>>
>
> No, Dell's come preactivated.
>
> Tom

Thanx Tom. So registration is not required compulsory?!

--
T. Denford.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

registration is voluntary, and has no purpose that i know of other than for
microsoft to collect marketing information about you.
activation is required, but your dell comes pre-activated. activation
registers the serial number of your windows license with microsoft along
with non-identifiable information about your system. the information tells
microsoft what components are installed in your system so that they can
determine if you attempt to activate another system with that same license
number (in which case you would not be able to activate over the internet
but would be required to make a regular voice phone call to obtain an
activation number from them).

"T. Denford" <tdenford@removethisgmail.com> wrote in message
news:11grhn8wunuef.s3kuxn43myep$.dlg@40tude.net...
> On Thu, 17 Mar 2005 12:44:11 GMT, Tom Scales wrote:
>
>> "T. Denford" <tdenford@removethisgmail.com> wrote in message
>> news:1nksjkmi78p8t$.4qt72xqds8un$.dlg@40tude.net...
>>> On Thu, 17 Mar 2005 07:07:11 -0500, joe_tide wrote:
>>>
>>>> You won't have to do anything on-line or on the telephone. When you are
>>>> asked that, just skip it or say you will do it later.
>>>
>>> OK excellent. Thanks. Will it keep reminding him though?
>>>
>>
>> No, Dell's come preactivated.
>>
>> Tom
>
> Thanx Tom. So registration is not required compulsory?!
>
> --
> T. Denford.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

On Thu, 17 Mar 2005 13:06:40 GMT, Christopher Muto wrote:

> registration is voluntary, and has no purpose that i know of other than for
> microsoft to collect marketing information about you.
> activation is required, but your dell comes pre-activated. activation
> registers the serial number of your windows license with microsoft along
> with non-identifiable information about your system. the information tells
> microsoft what components are installed in your system so that they can
> determine if you attempt to activate another system with that same license
> number (in which case you would not be able to activate over the internet
> but would be required to make a regular voice phone call to obtain an
> activation number from them).

Thanks for the explanation Christopher. Much obliged.

More clear now. Thanks.

>
> "T. Denford" <tdenford@removethisgmail.com> wrote in message
> news:11grhn8wunuef.s3kuxn43myep$.dlg@40tude.net...
>> On Thu, 17 Mar 2005 12:44:11 GMT, Tom Scales wrote:
>>
>>> "T. Denford" <tdenford@removethisgmail.com> wrote in message
>>> news:1nksjkmi78p8t$.4qt72xqds8un$.dlg@40tude.net...
>>>> On Thu, 17 Mar 2005 07:07:11 -0500, joe_tide wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> You won't have to do anything on-line or on the telephone. When you are
>>>>> asked that, just skip it or say you will do it later.
>>>>
>>>> OK excellent. Thanks. Will it keep reminding him though?
>>>>
>>>
>>> No, Dell's come preactivated.
>>>
>>> Tom
>>
>> Thanx Tom. So registration is not required compulsory?!
>>
>> --
>> T. Denford.


--
T. Denford.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

T. Denford wrote:
> Just purchased one of these from the UK Dell site for my brother. He
> doesn't have an internet connection!
>
> Can someone please explain what will happen when the machine is booted up
> for the first time out of the box? Will we need to register/activate
> windows online or is it already activated/registered? Can this be done over
> the telephone?
>
> I am not familiar with Win XP product activation/registration although I
> have just been told they are not the same thing. Can someone please explain
> the difference?
>
> Is there anything else we may need to do online?
>
> He is not planning on using the PC to connect to the internet for the
> forseeable future and we're wondering whether this will cause him a major
> headache?!?!
>
> What are the issue please?
>
> Many thanks for your time.

No activation is needed. I bought a Dell a little while ago and it fired
up straight out of the box, and that was it.
I think activation is aimed at people who buy a copy of XP from a shop
and then install it themselves. Activation is a method for Microsoft to
prevent people using the same copy of XP on multiple PCs.
As Dell built and set up your new PC and they activated XP as part of
the process. In actual fact, OEM copies of XP don't need activating
(Dell's don't at least) but the principle is the same.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

T. Denford wrote:
> On Thu, 17 Mar 2005 07:01:53 -0500, Joan Hansen wrote:
>
>
>>If you have the modem installed, usually the activation is connected and
>>completed by a phone number. Not by an ISP.
>>
>>Joan
>
>
> But he doesn't have an internet connection !?!? Am I missing something?

I'm not sure what Joan is saying here, as I've never done activation,
but the Internet is not the only way of communicating between your PC
and the outside world. You might, for instance, connect directly to a
Microsoft system for product activation.
In the times before the Internet you had lots of bulletin board systems,
offering various services, rudimentary web-page equivalents, forums,
messages, etc. Some were small one-man-band efforts, and some were
pretty big and with lots of content, e.g. Compuserve. To access each one
you would dial it's phone number individually, and be connected only to
that system.
All this is history now, of course, for most purposes. Apart from
anything else it's pretty slow. It can still be done though.
Businesses can still do similar things with greater speed by using
leased lines etc.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

"T. Denford" <tdenford@removethisgmail.com> wrote in message
news:11grhn8wunuef.s3kuxn43myep$.dlg@40tude.net...
> On Thu, 17 Mar 2005 12:44:11 GMT, Tom Scales wrote:
>
>> "T. Denford" <tdenford@removethisgmail.com> wrote in message
>> news:1nksjkmi78p8t$.4qt72xqds8un$.dlg@40tude.net...
>>> On Thu, 17 Mar 2005 07:07:11 -0500, joe_tide wrote:
>>>
>>>> You won't have to do anything on-line or on the telephone. When you are
>>>> asked that, just skip it or say you will do it later.
>>>
>>> OK excellent. Thanks. Will it keep reminding him though?
>>>
>>
>> No, Dell's come preactivated.
>>
>> Tom
>
> Thanx Tom. So registration is not required compulsory?!
>
> --
> T. Denford.

Absolutely not. Registration and Activation are not the same thing.
Registration is entirely optional.

Tom

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

T. Denford wrote:
> On Thu, 17 Mar 2005 07:01:53 -0500, Joan Hansen wrote:
>
>>If you have the modem installed, usually the activation is connected and
>>completed by a phone number. Not by an ISP.
>>
>>Joan
>
> But he doesn't have an internet connection !?!? Am I missing something?

I don't think that's a factor when registering because the registration
program will dial a special, usually 800, number to reach the
registration/activation server. I'm pretty certain (that's less than
100%, BTW) you don't need an ISP to register/activate products.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

"T. Denford" <tdenford@removethisgmail.com> wrote in message news:13f3ami6c2gsp.taody15nxfdl.dlg@40tude.net...
> Just purchased one of these from the UK Dell site for my brother. He
> doesn't have an internet connection!

> Is there anything else we may need to do online?

Maybe this was mentioned and I missed it, but... it is very common,
quite possibly the norm, for systems to arrive without the latest software
updates. So that system you ordered may lack some Windows updates,
some Office/Works updates, some other app updates, the latest antivirus
definitions, etc. Which raises two issues... a) could he be burned by not
having the latest security updates, and b) could he be burned by not having
the latest bug fixes and enhancements.

If the computer is never connected to another and he doesn't install or
copy anything onto the machine (via floppy, usb drive, optical media, etc)
and he doesn't boot from any of those dvices, lacking the security updates
shouldn't be an issue. If/when he does go to do one of those things, he'll
need to keep in mind that his system isn't up to date and be extra carefull
about exposing himself to potential threats. I don't know how the trial
versions of antivirus [related] apps work... whether they totally stop
working when they expire or whether they continue to function with just
the older definitions. But it would be better to be running an outdated
antivirus app vs none at all. As for enhancements and bug fixes, I can
only guess that he probably won't run into an issue, and he could cross
that bridge if/when he comes to it.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

"Sparky Sparticus" <Sparky@sparticus.galaxy.org> wrote in message
news:Nln_d.3075$1i1.1277@fe08.lga...
> T. Denford wrote:
>> On Thu, 17 Mar 2005 07:01:53 -0500, Joan Hansen wrote:
>>
>>>If you have the modem installed, usually the activation is connected and
>>>completed by a phone number. Not by an ISP.
>>>
>>>Joan
>>
>> But he doesn't have an internet connection !?!? Am I missing something?
>
> I don't think that's a factor when registering because the registration
> program will dial a special, usually 800, number to reach the
> registration/activation server. I'm pretty certain (that's less than 100%,
> BTW) you don't need an ISP to register/activate products.

Assuming, of course, you have a modem (none of my machines do).

Then you just call and speak to a rep. It's never taken me more than 5
minutes.

But, as we said, it's not necessary on a Dell.

Tom

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

On Thu, 17 Mar 2005 11:36:18 +0000, T. Denford wrote:

> Just purchased one of these from the UK Dell site for my brother. He
> doesn't have an internet connection!
>
> Can someone please explain what will happen when the machine is booted up
> for the first time out of the box? Will we need to register/activate
> windows online or is it already activated/registered? Can this be done over
> the telephone?
>
> I am not familiar with Win XP product activation/registration although I
> have just been told they are not the same thing. Can someone please explain
> the difference?
>
> Is there anything else we may need to do online?
>
> He is not planning on using the PC to connect to the internet for the
> forseeable future and we're wondering whether this will cause him a major
> headache?!?!
>
> What are the issue please?
>
> Many thanks for your time.

Thanx everyone for your thoughts and advice.

Much obliged!

--
T. Denford.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

Tom Scales wrote:
> "Sparky Sparticus" <Sparky@sparticus.galaxy.org> wrote in message
> news:Nln_d.3075$1i1.1277@fe08.lga...
>
>>T. Denford wrote:
>>
>>>On Thu, 17 Mar 2005 07:01:53 -0500, Joan Hansen wrote:
>>>
>>>>If you have the modem installed, usually the activation is connected and
>>>>completed by a phone number. Not by an ISP.
>>>>
>>>>Joan
>>>
>>>But he doesn't have an internet connection !?!? Am I missing something?
>>
>>I don't think that's a factor when registering because the registration
>>program will dial a special, usually 800, number to reach the
>>registration/activation server. I'm pretty certain (that's less than 100%,
>>BTW) you don't need an ISP to register/activate products.
>
> Assuming, of course, you have a modem (none of my machines do).

Of course, that was the premise (see Joan Hansen's post). As you pointed
out, the telephone still works.