I almost thought I was getting kicked out from my PC earlier. When I booted it I got a message along the lines that “the hardware configuration has been considerably altered since Windows was verified on this computer”. That’s kind of interesting. Yes, I have changed hardware in the computer, but that was only adding a hard disk and a DVD-burner. And I reinstalled Windows two months ago, and then the verification went just fine, and I havn’t changed anything since then.

So, I start the activation thing, only to find out that there’s no activations left for my product key.

Next step, phonecall to Microsoft, where a machine asked me to enter the installation ID. Of course I got one digit wrong. What are the chances of that? I mean, it’s only a tiny 42 digit affair… I really must be retarded to get that wrong.

Well, at that point I’m glad that I’m being transferred to real living person. But of course I forgot one thing… being put on hold. So I had to spend 15 minutes listening to crappy pop music, Ricky Martin or something and other similar somethings. I wonder what was up with all the static and noises, by the way – it sounded like they got the music from an untuned radio in an auto-workshop. Has some bright record industry type come up with the suspicion that people would call support centers only to make bootleg music recordings?

When I finally get connected I get to talk to a Norwegian person. Well, I’m Swedish and our languages are similar – actually, I even think it’s quite attractive when spoken by women – but after being faced with the threat of being thrown out of my own computer, there’s enough differences to make it something you don’t need to end up with at the end of the telephone maze. Thankfully, that was the end of the problems.

But I think the main problem is that there was a problem. It feels so wrong having to to through all that to use a software license I own. If I had used a pirate version it would probably never have happened. But here I am, being punished by annoying verification systems for having bought the product.