Microsoft KB Archive/943309

= When you run the Add Computer Use Time Wizard, no additional computer usage time is added on a computer that is running Windows XP Home Edition for Prepaid Computers =

Article ID: 943309

Article Last Modified on 10/10/2007

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APPLIES TO


 * Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition for Prepaid Computers
 * Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition for Subscription Computers

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SYMPTOMS
This article describes symptoms that you may experience on computers that are running one of the following operating systems:
 * Windows XP Home Edition for Prepaid Computers
 * Windows XP Home Edition for Subscription Computers

Note A computer that is running Windows XP Home Edition for Prepaid Computers is known as a prepaid computer. A computer that is running Windows XP Home Edition for Subscription Computers is known as a subscription computer.

Prepaid computer
When you run the Add Computer Use Time Wizard, no additional computer usage time is added, even through the prepaid token is redeemed.

Subscription computer
A subscription confirmation may not be automatically confirmed after the provisioning packet is created.



Prepaid computer
A race condition occurs when a request for a token redemption transaction fails on the provisioning server. The client does not keep the information about the last token that was redeemed. The client cannot resubmit the token redemption request if it does not receive a provisioning packet after the first request.

The race condition is caused by the timing events that occur in or between software components. The timing events are typically associated with synchronization errors that provide an opportunity for one process to interfere with another.

Subscription computer
A subscription confirmation may not be automatically confirmed because the scheduled automatic poll does not occur. If the computer is not connected to the Internet during the scheduled poll, the scheduled poll and successive polls will not occur.



RESOLUTION
A supported hotfix is now available from Microsoft. However, it is intended to correct only the problem that this article describes. Apply it only to systems that are experiencing this specific problem.

To resolve this problem, contact Microsoft Customer Support Services to obtain the hotfix. For a complete list of Microsoft Customer Support Services telephone numbers and information about support costs, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

http://support.microsoft.com/contactus/?ws=support

Note In special cases, charges that are ordinarily incurred for support calls may be canceled if a Microsoft Support Professional determines that a specific update will resolve your problem. The usual support costs will apply to additional support questions and issues that do not qualify for the specific update in question.

Prerequisites
No prerequisites are required.

Restart requirement
You must restart the computer after you apply this hotfix.

Hotfix replacement information
This hotfix does not replace any other hotfix.

File information
The English version of this hotfix has the file attributes (or later file attributes) that are listed in the following table. The dates and times for these files are listed in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). When you view the file information, it is converted to local time. To find the difference between UTC and local time, use the Time Zone tab in the Date and Time item in Control Panel.



STATUS
Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed in the &quot;Applies to&quot; section.



Other issues that are fixed by this hotfix

 * Error messages are no longer displayed when a time lag between data requests and data delivery prevents you from adding computer usage time.
 * The Add Computer Use Time Wizard error messages have been corrected.
 * False error messages that ask you to reinstall Windows XP Home Edition for Prepaid Computers or Windows XP Home Edition for Subscription Computers have been removed.
 * The Standby Notification dialog box now appears in the Windows Logon dialog box when there are two or more users logged on to the computer. This behavior keeps the computer from going on standby while a user responds to the notification.
 * A slow Internet connection no longer creates a delay in displaying the Add Computer Use Time Wizard.
 * When a prepaid computer finishes a pending transaction in Limited Access Mode, you now see a confirmation page that tells you that computer usage time has been added. The page that was previously displayed was blank.

Changes that were made by the January 2007 server update
A server update was applied in January 2007 that made the following changes.

Note These changes apply to all prepaid computers and to all subscription computers regardless of whether the computers are running this hotfix.
 * The number of available download tries for a single prepaid or subscription provisioning packet, such as a configuration packet or a bootstrap packet, was increased from 5 to 50.
 * When you restore the operating system on a prepaid computer or on a subscription computer, you no longer have to reregister the computer by using the solution provider or the billing agent to successfully activate the computer. You can restore and reactivate a computer up to 50 times before you have to call the solution provider or the billing agent. The Windows activation process remains unchanged.

