wrote:
On Thu, 21 Sep 2017 11:34:10 +0000, wrote:

Hi,

Today (09-21-17) I installed WinXP SP2 on a new HD. As in the past,
I used the telephone method to "Activate" Windows.

I had NO problems "Activating" Windows using the telephone
system.

John

Is that one of them crank telephones with a rotary dial?


I think the crank was for operator-assisted calls.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telephone_magneto

The dial based ones drive...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pulse_dialing

Strowger swtches, but also work with universal line cards
on digital switches. If it didn't work with a digital switch,
the phone company could not have charged $2 to $3 a month
for "touch tone" service :-) The existence of dial phones
was a source of revenue from all the Touch Tone customers,
as you could "ding them for the 'service'".

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strowger_switch

And I have a hand-held Touch Tone pad, which you hold up
to the mouthpiece of your rotary phone. You can send Touch Tone
tones, after placing a rotary call with it. So if you did happen
to have a rotary dial phone (no crank), there's a device
to make you compatible with the Real World. If you needed to
send Touch Tone beeps to Microsoft, there's a device for that.
And you have to be holding it right, too.

This particular example, even has memory for memorizing
frequently used touch tone patterns. I can't remember what
mine was for (it definitely didn't have a memory for frequently
used numbers and just had the keypad section), but I must have
used it for a short time for something.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/vtg-1993-Rad...#ht_255wt_1118

If you were well equipped from the era, I don't see why it
would not work. Even a manually operated switchboard, if
you held your Touch Tone battery operated pad up to the
Mouthpiece, you could activate WinXP SP2.

Paul