PRB: You Cannot Activate Visual Studio .NET Trial Edition by Telephone (322951)




This article was previously published under Q322951

SYMPTOMS

When you try to activate Visual Studio .NET Trial Edition, the printed documentation and the information that appears onscreen during the activation process state that you can activate the Trial Edition by telephone. This information is wrong. You can activate the Trial Edition only through the Internet activation procedure.

RESOLUTION

There are two possible resolutions for this problem:
  • Connect to the Internet to complete the activation process.

    -or-
  • Install a version of Visual Studio .NET other than the Trial Edition.

STATUS

This behavior is by design.

MORE INFORMATION

You can activate the Trial Edition on only one computer, and you can reinstall the program as often as you want to on that computer during the 60-day trial time period. You cannot extend the trial time period by removing, and then re-installing the program.

If you change the hardware configuration of the computer significantly during the 60-day trial time period, the program may not reactivate successfully.

The following text, which appears in the printed product documentation, contains the information error:

"You must accept the enclosed License Agreement . . . Product Activation is required for continued use of the product, and may be done by Internet or telephone."

The following text, which appears on the screen during the installation process, also contains the error:

"If you are not already connected, the Microsoft Visual Studio Activation Wizard will use your default Internet connection to process your information. Or, you can connect to the Internet manually and then continue with the wizard. If you do not have access to the Internet, choose the option to use the telephone."

If you do not have a connection to the Internet readily available, you may receive the following error message:
"A communication error has occurred. Your request cannot be processed at this time. Please try again later, or select the Telephone option to speak with a Customer Support Representative."

REFERENCES

For additional information, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

320396 INFO: Activation Is Not Required for All Versions of Visual Studio .NET

Modification Type: Minor Last Reviewed: 7/6/2005
Keywords: kbprb kbsetup KB322951
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