Microsoft KB Archive/936758

= How provisioning packet polling occurs on Windows XP Home Edition for Prepaid Computers and on Windows XP Home Edition for Subscription Computers =

Article ID: 936758

Article Last Modified on 7/31/2007

-

APPLIES TO


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

-



INTRODUCTION
This article describes how provisioning packet polling occurs on Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition for Prepaid Computers and on Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition for Subscription Computers.

In this article, computers that are running Windows XP Home Edition for Prepaid Computers are known as &quot;prepaid computers.&quot; Computers that are running Windows XP Home Edition for Subscription Computers are known as &quot;subscription computers.&quot;



MORE INFORMATION
Polling occurs when a prepaid computer or a subscription computer uses the Internet to download subscription confirmation packets from a provisioning service.

Polling on prepaid computers
On prepaid computers, polling occurs automatically after you connect to the Internet and after you try to do the following:
 * You submit the product key during activation.
 * You use the Add Computer Use Time Wizard to submit a token.

The computer continues to poll with a specified frequency.

If your computer is not connected to the Internet
If a connection to the Internet continues to be unavailable after a certain period of time, you are prompted to connect to the Internet again. If you decide to connect the computer to the Internet, polling happens immediately. If you decide not to connect the computer to the Internet, you are notified that the system is about to expire. Eventually, you are logged off the computer, and the system is deactivated.

For example, you are notified that the computer will enter Limited Access Mode. In Limited Access Mode, the system has access to a reduced number of features for a short time before the computer goes into Hardware Locked Mode (HLM). If the computer does not download a provisioning packet by the time that the computer runs out of usage time, the computer will eventually enter HLM.

After the provisioning packet is downloaded and after the subscription is successfully confirmed, or after prepaid time is added, the PLNotify.exe program notifies the user that computer time is prepaid.

Subscription computers
On subscription computers, polling starts immediately after you connect to the Internet and after you do the following:
 * You submit the product key during activation.
 * You manually confirm a subscription.

The process is automatic. Polling for a provisioning packet will stop if an Internet connection is available and the poll is successful, even if the polling does not result in a provisioning packet download. These actions are executed every time that the computer is restarted.

If your computer connection to the Internet is not perpetual and if your computer is not in its initial activated use period, the state of the Internet connection will be checked five minutes after you log on to the computer.

If your computer is not connected to the Internet
If there is no connection to the Internet, the computer checks for an Internet connection every five minutes and every time that the computer starts.

Scheduled polling actions
The polling process includes the following scheduled actions:  Every day from eight days before subscription expiration to five days before grace period expiration, Window tries to poll for a provisioning/subscription confirmation packets. The PLNotify.exe program notifies you if the poll fails. If there is no Internet connection, the computer prompts you to connect to the Internet.

Note The grace period is the time period during which a product or service will remain functional before the user or customer must license, register, renew, or otherwise (re)activate their product or subscription. Window tries to poll for provisioning/subscription confirmation packets at the following times:  Every day from seven days before grace period expiration to sixty minutes before grace period expiration. Twenty minutes before grace period expiration, Ten minutes before the grace period expiration

The PLNotify.exe program notifies you if the poll fails. If there is no Internet connection, the computer prompts you to connect to the Internet. Two minutes before grace period expiration, the PLNotify.exe program prompts you to save your work. The program notifies you that you will be logged off in two minutes.</li> One minute before grace period expiration, the PLNotify.exe program prompts you to save your work. The program notifies you that you will be logged off in one minute.

Note Subscription expiration and grace period expiration is always at 00:00 (midnight) UTC on the specified date.</li></ol>

<div class="references_section">