Technet /Msdn Subscribers - Get keys into EXCEL

Hi there

For those of you who have MSDN or the last few days of TechNet and you want to keep your Keys for your downloads in a nice easy file do the following.

1) on the subscriber Product keys page chose EXPORT to XML
2) Save as an XML file
3) Now open with EXCEL
4) Save as xlsx
5) Now you've got a nice easy spreadsheet.

My final TechNet day is tomorrow so I'm grabbing my keys and other things I might want like some servers !!!

Cheers
jimbo

Hi there

I don't think so -- it's a pity as MSDN is FAR TO EXPENSIVE for individual users who just want to learn about servers or try out all sorts of Software.

The problem was that Ms was FAR TOO GENEROUS with the initial program - giving people almost unlimited access to quite expensive software with 10 multiple use keys was really silly -- no wonder a load of that stuff made its way out to the wild.

The best we can hope for now is I think quite a generous "Preview" system where people can test / play with all sorts of software for up to 180 days -- that should be more than enough.

The current system is obviously not good for "HOME TESTERS" -- especially if you want to try say Windows in a VM and you have to activate it immediately. At least with Windows 7 and earlier you had 30 days before the product had to be activated so even in that period you could try it out on all sorts of configurations.

I'm sure the majority of people on these boards have more than ONE computer !!!.

Ms also gets a lot of FREE testing from people like us -- we don't have to request a period when we can re-boot a test server or plug in a new piece of hardware. We can just DO it.

Cheers
jimbo

Kari said:

Jimbo, my last TechNet subscription expired in January, April if you count the 90 day extension Microsoft gave to all subscribers when they announced the death of TechNet:

I of course had saved the product keys but it seems to be unnecessary, I can still log in and get the keys from TechNet page:

Hi there

Useful bit of info !!! but if you didn't know it then it seemed to be better to save the keys. !! It only took a few secs to save in the spreadsheet.

I'm primarily interested in the SERVERS. I might just grab VISTA just for running it in a VM but that's about all I need these days as I've downloaded everything else I *might* need.

Actually Windows XP 64 bit edition is great as a VM !!! never messed around with that before and you can still load 32 bit drivers too if you want to run old scanners etc,

Thanks again for the info.

Cheers
jimbo

Yep. Don't think that good deal will be back anytime soon. To bad for us and Microsoft also. I was happily paying the small cost for having any operating system I needed to use to fix a persons maleware nightmare or whatever. I like to think there is something like that coming back to us soon but I am a dreaming. Good luck to all Charlie

Indianatone said:

Is there any chance M$ will have a change of heart and restore the Technet system? They are only hurting the very people who unofficially support support their products as well as those small businesses that do. Another way of cutting your nose off to spite your face.

Nope, not going to happen. Reason being...Microsoft already offers free eval copies of the stuff that most people would have been testing with anyway. 90-180 day trials are more then enough for the type of testing that would need to be done. Those who were using it longer, were mostly using their "eval" licenses in their own "production" environment...which was NEVER the point of the Technet program to begin with.

For those with more of a legit business concern, we can do MSDN subscriptions. For example, the OS only subscription which provides all versions of the OS's is around $699 a year.

My subscription expired over a year ago and my keys that I claimed are still available to me. Just cant download anything or claim new keys.

Jim