Video update caused Vista reactivation

Is this a typical occurrence for video card upgrades under Windows Vista?

I upgraded from a GeForce 7300GT that burned up, to a GeForce 7600GT....and
immediately Windows said "new hardware detected" and that I had 3 days to
reactivate my copy of Vista Business or else it would stop working.

Also, I was just curious why video cards never seem to last me more than a
year. I don't play video games, and I don't over clock. My CPU case has 4
chassis fans. My office has A/C and the ambient never goes above 77 degrees
F. Yet I've gone through 3 video cards over approximately a 24 month period.
Built in obsolescence???

James

"James" anonymous wrote in message
.. .
Is this a typical occurrence for video card upgrades under Windows Vista?

I upgraded from a GeForce 7300GT that burned up, to a GeForce
7600GT....and immediately Windows said "new hardware detected" and that I
had 3 days to reactivate my copy of Vista Business or else it would stop
working.

Also, I was just curious why video cards never seem to last me more than a
year. I don't play video games, and I don't over clock. My CPU case has 4
chassis fans. My office has A/C and the ambient never goes above 77
degrees F. Yet I've gone through 3 video cards over approximately a 24
month period. Built in obsolescence???

James

If you go thru this many then you should buy one that has a lifetime
warranty. EVGA Comes to mind.

"James" anonymous wrote in message
.. .
Is this a typical occurrence for video card upgrades under Windows Vista?

I upgraded from a GeForce 7300GT that burned up, to a GeForce
7600GT....and immediately Windows said "new hardware detected" and that I
had 3 days to reactivate my copy of Vista Business or else it would stop
working.

Also, I was just curious why video cards never seem to last me more than a
year. I don't play video games, and I don't over clock. My CPU case has 4
chassis fans. My office has A/C and the ambient never goes above 77
degrees F. Yet I've gone through 3 video cards over approximately a 24
month period. Built in obsolescence???

James

Welcome to the Vista world! I was pretty annoyed a few months ago when I
had the same reactivation message after removing a stick of RAM to try and
find the answer to an instability problem.

Have all the cards failed in the same system? Maybe it's a voltage or some
other motherboard problem, I've never had a card fail, I just move them down
the food chain to family and friends when I upgrade. Do you leave your PC
switched on 24/7?
Martin

Are you using a high quality, adequate power output PSU?

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DaveW
"James" anonymous wrote in message
.. .
Is this a typical occurrence for video card upgrades under Windows Vista?

I upgraded from a GeForce 7300GT that burned up, to a GeForce
7600GT....and immediately Windows said "new hardware detected" and that I
had 3 days to reactivate my copy of Vista Business or else it would stop
working.

Also, I was just curious why video cards never seem to last me more than a
year. I don't play video games, and I don't over clock. My CPU case has 4
chassis fans. My office has A/C and the ambient never goes above 77
degrees F. Yet I've gone through 3 video cards over approximately a 24
month period. Built in obsolescence???

James

James wrote:
Is this a typical occurrence for video card upgrades under Windows Vista?

I upgraded from a GeForce 7300GT that burned up, to a GeForce
7600GT....and immediately Windows said "new hardware detected" and that
I had 3 days to reactivate my copy of Vista Business or else it would
stop working.

Also, I was just curious why video cards never seem to last me more than
a year. I don't play video games, and I don't over clock. My CPU case
has 4 chassis fans. My office has A/C and the ambient never goes above
77 degrees F. Yet I've gone through 3 video cards over approximately a
24 month period. Built in obsolescence???

James

If you are burning up this many cards, you may have a heat problem.

You could try an after market card cooler, such as those by valman,
which have worked well for me, but it is also dependant on the ambient
temperature inside your case - you may need to install a case fan.

Tom

"Kevin Weaver" wrote in message

If you go thru this many then you should buy one that has a lifetime
warranty. EVGA Comes to mind.

Yes, my new video card is an EVGA brand: EVGA 7600GT 256-P2-N615-TX R

Nicole & Tom Guymer wrote:
James wrote:
Is this a typical occurrence for video card upgrades under Windows Vista?

I upgraded from a GeForce 7300GT that burned up, to a GeForce
7600GT....and immediately Windows said "new hardware detected" and
that I had 3 days to reactivate my copy of Vista Business or else it
would stop working.

Also, I was just curious why video cards never seem to last me more
than a year. I don't play video games, and I don't over clock. My CPU
case has 4 chassis fans. My office has A/C and the ambient never goes
above 77 degrees F. Yet I've gone through 3 video cards over
approximately a 24 month period. Built in obsolescence???

James

If you are burning up this many cards, you may have a heat problem.

You could try an after market card cooler, such as those by valman,
which have worked well for me, but it is also dependant on the ambient
temperature inside your case - you may need to install a case fan.

Tom

It may not be heat. Bad power (irregular voltage input and power
supplies unable to correct the waveform) and improper wiring can damage
any hardware easily. I've had a card instantly killed by a brownout
(probably a surge coming through the monitor which was also damaged
slightly). Not enough power can be just as bad in an overloaded system
as well.

"BTNewsGroups" wrote in message:

Welcome to the Vista world! I was pretty annoyed a few months ago when I
had the same reactivation message after removing a stick of RAM to try and
find the answer to an instability problem.

Have all the cards failed in the same system? Maybe it's a voltage or
some other motherboard problem, I've never had a card fail, I just move
them down the food chain to family and friends when I upgrade. Do you
leave your PC switched on 24/7?
Martin

No, but I do use the standby mode. The last card that burned up had a
passive cooler (Asus 7300GT). When I say "burned up" I mean heat damaged. To
where it would only run for about 5-10 minutes.

The card before that was an Abit X600 PCIE-XT and the cooling fan siezed up.
I ordered a new fan from the mfgr. but it was too late. The GPU had heat
damage and it *also* would not run for more than 5 minutes at a time.

My new card (the EVGA 7600GT) GPU seems to run very cool...about 122 degrees
F (or so as PC Wizard 2007 v.1.73 reports).

"deimos" deimos@localhost wrote in message
...
Nicole & Tom Guymer wrote:
James wrote:
Is this a typical occurrence for video card upgrades under Windows
Vista?

I upgraded from a GeForce 7300GT that burned up, to a GeForce
7600GT....and immediately Windows said "new hardware detected" and that
I had 3 days to reactivate my copy of Vista Business or else it would
stop working.

Also, I was just curious why video cards never seem to last me more than
a year. I don't play video games, and I don't over clock. My CPU case
has 4 chassis fans. My office has A/C and the ambient never goes above
77 degrees F. Yet I've gone through 3 video cards over approximately a
24 month period. Built in obsolescence???

James

If you are burning up this many cards, you may have a heat problem.

You could try an after market card cooler, such as those by valman, which
have worked well for me, but it is also dependant on the ambient
temperature inside your case - you may need to install a case fan.

Tom

It may not be heat. Bad power (irregular voltage input and power supplies
unable to correct the waveform) and improper wiring can damage any
hardware easily. I've had a card instantly killed by a brownout (probably
a surge coming through the monitor which was also damaged slightly). Not
enough power can be just as bad in an overloaded system as well.

I agree entirely. An inefficient PSU can cause a lot of proplems and not
only with a video card. A lot of folks misunderstand PSU ratings and a lot
of manufacturers do not help matters. A lot of manufacturers will rate a PSU
at 450w and in reality it may be a 350w with a startup value of 450w or so.
Top quality manufacturers will list both ratings. Buyer beware.


Ed