Boot Camp, Parallels and Activation issues

James Bond 007 · Jan 23, 2007

With the new beta 3120 of Parallels, now you can activate your Boot Camp Windows XP partition, boot it under Parallels, reactivate once and you can use Windows both natively and under Parallels.

But what about other softwares requiring software activation such as Microsoft Office 2003/2007 and Adobe Photoshop CS2? In the case of Microsoft Office, it appears that the activation is also tied to the hardware of the computer so if you activate it once under Boot Camp, then boot Windows in Parallels and run Office again you will be required to reactivate. Even if this reactivation is granted you probably will be asked to reactivate again when you boot Windows natively and run Office again.

Judging from the posts it appears that somebody already is suffering from this problem. The activation in the software is just a severe handicap to legitimate users. If you are using a pirated (Corporate) version of Windows XP and Microsoft Office 2003, then I bet you won't have to reactivate at all since the activation is not present.

Will Parallels be able to tackle this problem?

For my part, I am using Windows 2000 and a Corporate version of Windows XP on my Macbook in Parallels. I don't use Boot Camp and only use Office 2000 if I have to (mostly I use OpenOffice). No activation issues for me. I will avoid any new Microsoft software such as Vista and Office 2007, since Microsoft softwares nowadays are nearly all infested with this activation.

Likewise with any other softwares that require activation.

dgold105 · Jan 24, 2007

I am having this problem with both Office and Quicken. Everytime I switch between Bootcamp and the VM I have to reactivate. So far it allows me in both programs to reactivate each time but at some point I assume it will stop.

James Bond 007 · Jan 24, 2007

dgold105 said:
I am having this problem with both Office and Quicken. Everytime I switch between Bootcamp and the VM I have to reactivate. So far it allows me in both programs to reactivate each time but at some point I assume it will stop.

Yes, you will not be allowed to reactivate indefinitely for sure. And when that time comes you will be in trouble.

Joseph Papier · Jan 27, 2007

They say:
"No need to re-activate Windows each time you switch between Boot Camp and Parallels. Activate Windows only once inside Parallels and work in both environments "

Well, i installed XP in Bootcamp, rebooted into MacOS, lauched Parallels, created the Bootcamp VM and lauched it, and activated Windows.

Now when i reboot in "native bootcamp", it says "30 days to activate"... so i need to activate once in each environnement?

nycruza · Jan 27, 2007

James Bond 007 said:
But what about other softwares requiring software activation such as Microsoft Office 2003/2007 and Adobe Photoshop CS2?

These responses are not meant to be directed to 007 but are made in general terms!

WHO CARES!
If anyone really cares BUY A PC!!

Do those programs work on the Mac side? OR do they exist on the Mac side? End game!

OH you're too CHEAP to crossplatform or buy new liscence! Life's a bitch!

Oh, you want to play games! Again buy a PC!

Oh, you have that one program that cannot be duplicated on the Mac (i.e. QImage)? Well now you're being logical and I bet activation isn't a problem IS IT!!!

So, get a life! Realize what Parallels was meant for and if you want 100% hardware and software compatibility - BUY A PC!

OH sorry I forgot it was a PC! I should restate! If you want 85% hardware and 85% software compatibility - BUY A PC!

ajm

Art · Jan 28, 2007

Please... please... shut the f*** up...

We all love Parallels, i even bought it six months before i got a Intel-based mac to show my support (i did the same with Crossover Mac). Parallels is one of the most surprising company i've seen, it has given far more for my money than i ever expected.

Now we're just reporting bugs in a feature they introduced. I'm pretty sure they won't be happy until this feature (i mean Bootcamp compatibility) is fully working, because they seem to be quality-concerned. If we don't report bugs, they can't make it better... so we repport bugs. Without hate. So please, go and tell your stupid lesson to someone else.

chrisj303 · Jan 28, 2007

nycruza said:
These responses are not meant to be directed to 007 but are made in general terms!

WHO CARES!
If anyone really cares BUY A PC!!

Do those programs work on the Mac side? OR do they exist on the Mac side? End game!

OH you're too CHEAP to crossplatform or buy new liscence! Life's a bitch!

Oh, you want to play games! Again buy a PC!

Oh, you have that one program that cannot be duplicated on the Mac (i.e. QImage)? Well now you're being logical and I bet activation isn't a problem IS IT!!!

So, get a life! Realize what Parallels was meant for and if you want 100% hardware and software compatibility - BUY A PC!

OH sorry I forgot it was a PC! I should restate! If you want 85% hardware and 85% software compatibility - BUY A PC!

ajm

Are you a complete moron?
It is perfectly reasonable for a user to NOT want to activate their copy of windows all the time. Having to phone up and go through the tedious activation process is no fun.

"so get a life, an realize what parallels is for......"

What in the hell is that suppossed to mean? - parallels for mac is for allowing other non-osx OS' on your machine. If you can no longer do this as m$hit have refused to once again activate your XP/VISTA, then it is a BIG problem.

And to the OP, what i did, was get hold of a copy of XP PRO corporate, and Office 2007 (enterprise, no activation needed). I am using these until this issue gets sorted - after all i have paid for the software.
As virtualisation gets more and more widespread, it is going to become a bigger and bigger problem for microsoft, and the issue NEEDS attention.

Enrico · Jan 28, 2007

Activation Issues

Hi,
take a look at this thread, maybe my solution can work for the Win XP activation
http://forum.parallels.com/thread8044.html

Enrico

James Bond 007 · Jan 28, 2007

chrisj303 said:
Are you a complete moron?
It is perfectly reasonable for a user to NOT want to activate their copy of windows all the time. Having to phone up and go through the tedious activation process is no fun.

"so get a life, an realize what parallels is for......"

What in the hell is that suppossed to mean? - parallels for mac is for allowing other non-osx OS' on your machine. If you can no longer do this as m$hit have refused to once again activate your XP/VISTA, then it is a BIG problem.

And to the OP, what i did, was get hold of a copy of XP PRO corporate, and Office 2007 (enterprise, no activation needed). I am using these until this issue gets sorted - after all i have paid for the software.
As virtualisation gets more and more widespread, it is going to become a bigger and bigger problem for microsoft, and the issue NEEDS attention.

Yes, I know. I am also using Windows XP Corporate myself. I only raise this as I believe this will be a problem for users of said software, as you said. I use Office 2000 myself when necessary as Office 2000 does not have activation. Actually I use Office less and less as I am hoping to completely shift to OpenOffice shortly.

It is no fun to go through the activation process again and again, but it will be even less fun to be denied reactivation.

Since with Vista there is no avoiding the activation, I won't use it either on my Macbook or my PC.