Community Newsletter: Q&A: 8/25/06 Help! Windows Genuine Advantage issue
- 8/24/06 5:28 PM
shavlik netchk
by avoura - 9/4/06 4:27 AM In reply to: alternative update program by DensailriI downloaded the software the article recommends and installed it last week. the article says it is free to use for 1 year, but today the program says my licence will expire in 5 days. so not entirely a viable solution.
shavlik netchk> Think Class action lawsuit
by com2pc - 9/4/06 6:50 AM In reply to: shavlik netchk by avouraMore and More I think everyone should start contacting lawyers and see If any of them would like to take on M S over the W G A and these other issues..
Uk sufference
by cptbrian - 8/25/06 3:00 AM In reply to: 8/25/06 Help! Windows Genuine Advantage issue by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I had a mother board Failure, what a good time to buy a bare bones upgrade,Dual core the lot, but on windows XP home The WGA kicks in, no problem thinks I, will give M/Soft activation a call and see if my 16 month old XP could be applied to this new machine. A foreign sounding gentleman who was extremely hard to understand, tells me that when the mother board dies, so does the licence. Also says he several times over,"I only push buttons and no way can i do anything out of the program" implying no tolerence to the rules, not even for an OAP. PLEADING DOES NOTHING.
No wonder there are so many pirate copies out there, it is cheaper to instal one of them annualy than to buy a OEM as I did Costing me £60 and £35 To instal it. I had attempted three times to register it on line after following the insructions to disable the firewall, Yipee, 35 viruses leapt on board. Thanks a bunch M/Soft.
I had the SAME issue!
by ihop4no1 - 8/25/06 6:08 AM In reply to: Uk sufference by cptbrianSorry to hear of your problem. I was just writing to commiserate.
Here’s my story;
I flashed my BIOS and it just never came back up, rendering my motherboard useless. I ordered a new motherboard, but after installing it when I launched the machine I got a pop-up stating I needed to register my copy of Windows.
No problem, I thought. My machine was approximately 1 year old and I thought that since I bought it that it was my machine with a legitimate copy of XP on the HARD DRIVE. But after calling Microsoft, I was told that since I’d replaced the motherboard I had a new machine and that I should contact the manufacturer.
OK, eMachines should understand, so I give them a call. No go. They spouted a bunch of rhetoric that it was Microsoft preventing them from reissuing me my own license! What a load of BS! I screamed, I kicked, but all to no avail.
What I did in the end, although not quite honest, worked in my favor. I called Microsoft back, this time speaking to a different rep. This time I told them that my system failed and the included restore disk was asking for a valid license. This time they provided me the replacement license.
Anyway, I won’t be buying from eMachines or any company that doesn’t provide my own PHYSICAL disk of Windows. I have also since built my own system and obtained a legal copy of XPSP2 that is MINE, all mine. LOL
RE: I had the SAME issue!
by protagonistic - 8/25/06 9:03 AM In reply to: I had the SAME issue! by ihop4no1Apple provides a complete set of installation disks with every purchase. 
Had a very similar problem over a year ago with a . . . .
by shadowmaker1361 - 8/25/06 3:00 AM In reply to: 8/25/06 Help! Windows Genuine Advantage issue by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Dell desktop XP home system where we did not have the original system restore disk. Dell could not figure it out, even in India, Canada, and Texas. The user himself had previously talked to Dell to get the problem fixed, they extended his on-site maintenance contract, and I was ultimately able to use this with Dell to get US Austin based senior as well as on-site personnel involved.
To make a long story short, they ended up supplying their current copies of the system/support CD's, finally replaced each and every component of the system (not including the case, monitor & keyboard/mouse--all with Overnite delivery and on site support), and the problem was still not solved. By then, my consulting bill for a home user was way above what the system was worth--and with pressure, I was able to escalate with Dell to replace the whole system, with an on-site installer to make sure everything worked.
The user got the now current model of the system he had originally bought, the old hard disk data could be brought forward, and ultimately the user was back in business-Minus my cut rate fees that would have bought a new system, and many hours of agnst on everyone's part.
I later got agreement from the Austin tech folk that the problem was probably (lol at my suggestion) that the user bought the system at the end of a product cycle and it was propogated with XP Home basic version. MS issued a mandatory update to SP1, and Dell (believe it or not) discontinued all media supporting the original OS release and only had SP1 support available. Since they could not support the original OS (MS sure doesn't support it) they finally agreed to deliver the new system and ensure it was working as advertised.
The moral, if the seller/manufacturer cannot immediately diagnose and fix the problem, demand that they replace the system with something that works and makes the user whole (assuming the user is under some type of warranty). Don't waste anymore time or dollars.
If you or the user are still unsatisfied, cut your losses, salvage the usable parts or the system, shop carefully and verify warranty and service coverage, and buy the core parts of the system you need to make it work. If you are not techinically inclined, you might want to consider a local independent computer store that will stand behind their work. This should be well below the cost of a new system, and you will be well ahead of of the dollars curve with a more current configuration.
RE- Windows Genuine Advantage issue
by remaster-it - 8/25/06 3:13 AM In reply to: 8/25/06 Help! Windows Genuine Advantage issue by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Many OEM systems come with preinstalled windows, with the key on the case of the system.
If the recovery disks are damaged or the recovery partition is damaged lost (i.e. HDD replacement) the manufacturer may be able to supply replacements, sometimes replacement recovery disks may no longer be available. In which case a STD XP disk can be used to reinstall the O/S, using the key on side of the case.
The Windows Genuine Advantage issue can appear at this point after running the updates. (Can also happen with some OEM recovery disks, after Mainboard replacement both with and without DMI / bios updates).
The suggestion of contacting Microsoft... using the Phone activation method, will normally get you over the problem.
I tend to Re-install the OS using an XP HOME with SP2 slipstreamed cd). On the occasions that I have contacted Microsoft, they have been very helpful with oem products
When contacting Microsoft, they will require the place of purchase and the make of the system.
Here's what I did.
by bookmonger - 8/25/06 3:44 AM In reply to: 8/25/06 Help! Windows Genuine Advantage issue by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I had a worse problem several months ago. It was resolved at the last moment. Don't EVEN get me started ! Resultant from that fiasco, I made certain to have several copies of both the product key, and the product ID. Sure enough, about a month ago I hit the same problem as is being addressed. I could not update, the Microsoft Update site would not let me update.
Anticipating that very very soon I would next get the ''You have X days remaining to validate...'' message, I beat them to the punch. The machine was running 2x 1GB of PC 2100 RAM and a 250GB hard drive (C: ). I pulled one of the RAM sticks (it's running much better now) and added a spare 15GB hard drive (F: ). The moment I powered back up, the validation reminder popped up.
Entering the numbers did no good, so I called Microsoft. Believe it or not, the Microsoft employee was very easy to understand. (no accent) It was a very short and direct call. I explained that I had removed some RAM and added a second hard drive. He gave me the new numbers, I entered them, and was good to go. I then went back to Microsoft Updates, and had no problems at all.
The entire experience was infuriating, but until Linux can replace Windows I'm stuck. [I use a 1440x900 resolution monitor, and Abit Guru only does XP] It would have been much worse if I hadn't separately save the information from the previous misadventure.
To recap, I would try making radical changes to the system, call Microsoft, and revalidate the installation. If you don't have the previously mentioned numbers, you can download (free) Aida32 install it, and use it to get the numbers. It worked for me. It might work for you.
Don't Pay again
by onkaluelarnold - 8/25/06 3:45 AM In reply to: 8/25/06 Help! Windows Genuine Advantage issue by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I feel an atavistic revulsion to the idea of paying twice for something that is broken by design. WGA is becoming infamous for flagging legit copies as phony and has also been allowing pirated copies to pass as legit. For something this malign, the suggestion to reward Microsoft by buying another copy of XP just feels incredibly wrong.
If you can, try using a different OS. You'd be surprised at how many people could switch to Linux or BSD without noticing any change in the way their computers function (except for the near-total lack of viruses and spyware, of course).
Also, in the future, if you buy a computer with Windows pre-loaded, ALWAYS get a real install CD from the manufacturer. The trend of manufacturers to include just a "restore" CD that will blow away all of your personal data is a nasty one. The even stranger "feature" that some manufacturers have of not even including the CD at all, but just a second partition with the install files on it, makes even less sense. What happens if the HD fails?
I realize that the latter suggestion is useless until you are in the market for a new computer, but seriously consider the former suggestion before you contemplate rewarding MS to the tune of 90 bucks for creating such horribly broken software.
re-don't pay again
by ezeze5000 - 8/25/06 4:10 AM In reply to: Don't Pay again by onkaluelarnoldThis is the first answer that has made sense yet.
I have been using linux for my day to day work for a couple of years now.
I switched my kids PC's to linux also. I have had zero virus on all of my linux machines for 2 years.
Just think of the money I have saved on virus protection alone!
I tried the live distros first to see if I thought I could use linux.
To see the latest linux distro's look here: www.distrowatch.com
Linux is OK..sometimes
by paoconnell - 8/25/06 6:20 AM In reply to: re-don't pay again by ezeze5000Linux will work just fine if all you need to run is Linux applications, or Unix applications that are Linux compilable.
For the rest of us, Windows or OSX are the operating systems we need to run our applications.
Not for everyone
by onkaluelarnold - 8/25/06 5:38 PM In reply to: Linux is OK..sometimes by paoconnellI agree that Linux doesn't have the application support that Windows does, but for most people it's irrelevant. Think about your non-techie friends. Unless they play the newest 3d accelerated video games, they probably don't use any programs that don't have equivalents in the open source Linux distros.
I, personally, use Linux only in my DVR currently. I did use Linux as my only OS for a year, in 2000. It worked well, and I was quite happy with it. Now, I use Windows because of some of the programs I use but also because of the pain of configuring WiFi in Linux (don't blather about NDISWrapper, I don't have time for that sort of stuff any longer).
If I were using my computer on a hard-wired network, I'd at least have a dual-boot configuration with Windows as the non-default. Looking at the details emerging about Vista, I may not use any newer version of Windows beyond XP.
For those who use email, web browser, a little word processing, and maybe manage simple home finances, free software can replace 100% of their proprietary needs. Don't write off open source, but don't assume it's a panacea either.
Not quite for everyone...
by 3rdalbum - 8/27/06 1:50 AM In reply to: Not for everyone by onkaluelarnoldI agree, Linux is not for everyone.
There are people who have not learnt to use a computer; they've only learnt to use Windows. These people are dependent on everything staying the same, and they're willing to buy Windows to satisfy this. Heck, they're even willing to buy or subscribe to anti-virus and anti-spyware software to prevent themselves from having to learn anything new!
That's almost the only excuse for putting up with all the bollocks that my Windows-using colleagues have to deal with: "I can't learn anything else". The other excuse is if you're on dialup or an unsupported wireless service and you can't afford to buy compatible equipment.
If there's a program that only runs on Windows, there's no Linux-equivilant, and you can't get it working on WINE or Crossover, then dual-boot; but make sure that Windows never gets the opportunity to send a single packet to the Internet, or you could have your WGA problem all over again.
Happily dual-booting since Jan 06.
what?
by tekoholic - 9/3/06 8:30 PM In reply to: Not quite for everyone... by 3rdalbumMy notebooks are both dual-boot, and I haven't booted windoze in months... The new VMware Server (free) eliminates the need, entirely...
Check again...
by tekoholic - 9/3/06 8:06 PM In reply to: Not for everyone by onkaluelarnoldwireless support, although not perfect, is far better now. And, all of what is not, as with winmodems, is the fault of the hardware manufacturer, and nobody else. Buy real h/w, problem solved...
5 desktops, 2 notebooks, all running Ubuntu 6.06, and wi-fi...
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