The 'official' way to do this is to insert the original product CD and perform an in-place upgrade, i.e., reinstall Windows on top of itself. You'll need to re-apply all service packs and hotfixes after you do this. You can also call Microsoft directly and ask for help in this regard. They are usually very helpful. There is another method which I have not tested, which involves hacking the Registry, and which does not seem to be well-supported in Windows 2003 Server: • In the Registry, go to the key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE SOFTWARE MICROSOFT WINDOWS NT CURRENT VERSION WPAEVENTS. • Edit the key OOBETIMER. Change at least three of the binary values therein. • Close REGEDIT. • Go to Start| Run, and type c windows systems32 oobe msoobe.exe /a • This will launch the Product Activation screen. You should be able to specify a new product key on the second screen by selecting 'Change Product Key.' Product activation for microsoft software has become increasingly prevalent across its entire product line. The idea is somewhat simple: before you can use your software it must be “unlocked” by entering a registration code given to you by a microsoft registration server. ![]() In order to generate that code certain amounts of information have to be transmitted to microsoft. The format and content of this data exchange is a closely-held secret at microsoft or at least it was until a group of german software analysts deciphered the whole thing and posted all the gory details on the. The findings of this quasi-hacker group are interesting to say the least. The supposedly-secure transmissions to and from microsoft's registration servers can be deconstructed to a certain degree, enough to allow the gleaning of important details such as product ids. While this data is somewhat useless on its own, a knowledgeable hacker could potentially subvert the registration data stream and steal your code. By then registering the code for his or her own machine, a malicious hacker could effectively “deactivate” your legal copy of the software or prevent you from ever re-activating your software should you do a reinstall. The tools used in this analysis are downloadable from tecchannel, and the whole write-up with inscrutable detail can be found. Eric's opinion i can truly say that i despise product activation with a passion, even though i've never had to deal with it yet. My company has volume license copies of practically everything in the microsoft inventory, and these copies have the handy side effect of installing already activated. Oh, i have fully legal copies of xp still in the shrinkwrap, but i never intend to install from that media. I'm sure the folks in redmond don't like the idea, but i paid for the software and, as far as i'm concerned, how i install it is my business. I upgrade my hardware about two or three times a year and i've about had it with enduring inconveniences with my legally purchased software because of piracy paranoia. Now activation has been cracked. I knew it was only a matter of time before this was done. There's no scheme, no process, no program, and no method known that can't be disassembled and analyzed by persistent hackers with lots of time on their hands. Can a newer, faster key generator be far behind? Perhaps one won't be needed. MY Main PC crashed hard (motherboard) so I reloaded an Older testbed PC, until I get a new PC up and running. I reloaded up XP and added my Office 2003 Pro, when I tried to Activate the product I. When you select the option to activate Office by telephone, you may see the following error: Telephone activation is no longer supported for your product. Note: This issue impacts Office non-subscribers only—those who purchased the product as a one-time purchase. For more information, see What's the difference between. FOLLOWED BY: ================ Microsoft Office 2003 Activation Wizard Microsoft Office Standard Edition 2003. Follow these steps to activate your software over the telephone. Step 1: Select the country/region you are calling from and call the Product Activation Center using any of the telephone. Using methods outlined in the tecchannel article, fooling the activation module during the web information exchange appears possible. Such fooling could theoretically allow you to use the same key on multiple machines without rejection by microsoft. But most ominously, the tecchannel team discovered a “droplic” token in the authorization module. It appears to be a method by which microsoft could forcibly disable a running copy of windows. Could this be something that redmond is holding in reserve for unleashing at some point in the future? User comments 212 comment(s) wow (10:15am est tue jul 29 2003) big deal. All you need to not have to mess with activation is a corporate select key. There are plenty of keygens out there that do that. They've been out since the xp came out. Not only that, but there are utilities that will allow you to view the cd key for the machine you're currently using, and replace that key if you want. – by necr0 its all over for me (10:25am est tue jul 29 2003) well i made the switchits only gonna be getting worse so for now im deserting all together. My last workstation will be replaced as soon as i can get more fluid in maya ahnice – by g5 trouble on the horizon (10:35am est tue jul 29 2003) actually, i think it is a big deal. Here we have circumstantial evidence that microsquish is preparing to go on the offensive in it's quest to dominate the software industry in sales. It isn't enough that 90% of users pay for their software legally, they have to go after that last 10% by any means necessary. That's all well and fine, but if the corp thinks they can legally attack a user's system (even if they stole the software), they will. Now that their activation process is cracked, we can look forward to a new, even more convoluted registration scheme for the fy05 products. When forced deactivation is “discovered,” be ready for a whole new realm of hacks and attacks in the form of viruses, worms, trojans, etc. Designed to exploit that deactivation code and cause much hate and discontent. – by dngrsone eric? (10:41am est tue jul 29 2003) you didn't read the article too thoroughly. The transmissions to microsoft are very secure and the encryption hasn't been broken. What they did is put a hook in the routine that sends the data to divert it before it's encrypted, allowing an analysis. This can only be done locally on the machine or by exploiting some known/unknown security hole. Once it's left the machine, it's fully encrypted, and for the time being, safe. The potential for abuse comes in if either, a)the encryption gets cracked, or b)someone writes a worm or virus that starts the activation process or waits until the user starts the activation process, then remotely hooks into the data stream before encryption and diverts it to the hacker. Since the product id and now product key (a la sp 1) are now transmitted, they would be exposed. Also, the droplic, as they explained it, seems to allow you to request that your installation be deactivated and that the ms servers prepare for activation on another computer. They did not allude to ms forcibly “dropping” you at all that is an unsubstantiated conclusion. – by noob saibot bad people (10:53am est tue jul 29 2003) stop stealing win products = no problems with activation – by xhmox re: dngrsone (10:55am est tue jul 29 2003) microsoft has 500 million customers(legal). Don't you think going after the 100 million illegal is worth it? Is it their right? Should punks learn to pay and not steal things? If they catch you stealing from a store, even if it's of a value of $2, do you heavily pay for it? If your computer has $3000 in stolen software, should you pay for it? Yes, heavily. Will ms succeed? – by wd re: dngrsone (10:55am est tue jul 29 2003) “it isn't enough that 90% of users pay for their software legally”. Hate to burst your bubble but its more like 75%, and those are mostly oems – by josh i'm happy (11:14am est tue jul 29 2003) i bought an imac! – by no worry silly me? (11:25am est tue jul 29 2003) i know this is stupid, but what if you do not have the computer hooked to the internet. Does it have to be hooked to the internet to complete the install of the software. I do not install ms products so i have no point of reference. – by cynjar actually. (11:26am est tue jul 29 2003) i expect this will/may block the use of things like emulators to enable operation of office under other operating systems. If you don't own m$ windows, you shouldn't own m$ office either or would this be illegal “bundling”? – by old sampler re: noob saibot (11:26am est tue jul 29 2003) i hate to be disagreeable, noob, but i *did* read the article thoroughly. It appears you didn't read mine, though. The potential vulnerabilities lie in a lot more than cracking the encryption. In fact, by taking advantage of how com objects communicate, it's possible to intercept what's going on *after* the encryption has been decrypted by the local machine. It's precisely that method that allowed the hackers to get some of the details they revealed. You must always remember that encryption must, at some point, be decrypted locally by both ends of the communications chain. If you can get into the data stream after that point, encryption is useless. Further, if you read both my article and the tecchannel article, you'll note that there are at least three possibilities (outlined on the last page of the tecchannel article) for compromise or subversion. As for the “unsubstantiated conclusion” of the function of the droplic token, you're just plain wrong there. First, i didn't make a conclusion, i made a supposition. Second, the definition of an unsubstantiated conclusion is a conclusion that has no possible supporting evidence. The function of the droplic token is to de-authorize an existing licensed installation. If someone could masquerade with your product id they could potentially de-authorize your installation without you ever knowing about it. Right now that doesn't matter very much because microsoft isn't checking your authorization status regularly. However, suppose for a moment that microsoft *started* checking authorization status every time you did a windows update? They already do this to screen for certain winxp and win2k3 activation codes, but it wouldn't be a stretch for them to do it for *every* system, and ms has hinted that they plan on doing that sooner or later. Even further down the road: suppose ms starts checking authorization status before it'll let you manually install a service pack or hotfix? What if they start requiring your machine do “check in” once a month, or once a quarter, to make sure it's still authorized properly? Microsoft completely controls this process so they can do *whatever they want* with this process. At best they can stop you from ever installing more patches and fixes. At worst they could force you to re-authorize your machine or face shutdown. You should re-examine your use of the phrase “unsubstantiated conclusion.” – by j. Eric smith re: cynjar (11:29am est tue jul 29 2003) your system doesn't have to be hooked up to the internet to get authorized. If you have no 'net connection, ms provides a phone number for you to call in and get your authorization code. If you have no 'net connection and no phone, you're just sol. Eric smith technology (11:29am est tue jul 29 2003) u gota love when software companies spend millions trying to prevent people from pirating software and hackers seems to crack it in days no matter how advanced companies are in their coding hackers are always right behind them breaking codes. – by cpt price adjustment (11:29am est tue jul 29 2003) companies (micro$oft included) adjust their prices to take software piracy into account. Now if someone released some software package that was 100% unrippable (never, ever, ever, will this happen btw) do you think they would drop the price just to give the consumers a break? Yeah i think i'll keep using pirated software. I'm not hurting anybody. In fact, i'm sure all those people employed for the sole purpose of preventing piracy would thank me. Without people like me they would be out of a job. – by johny-d good one eric (11:33am est tue jul 29 2003) put that fuxor in his place! – by burn noob burn! This is a better way. (11:47am est tue jul 29 2003) – by j.p. Ricciardi even more better (12:31pm est tue jul 29 2003) – by mike ox-big what, am i on fire now? (12:47pm est tue jul 29 2003) sorry, eric, i still disagree with your interpretation of the article. Tecchannel clearly states they are parsing the com messages _before_ encryption. “as the com component uses the wininet api, “wpatracer” simply hooks into the “httpsendrequest()” function to intercept the post requests before they are encrypted, parses the embedded message and displays the tags, lengths, and values of all parameters” typically, the activation process sends post requests via the internet using ssl encryption. This encryption, unless i'm wrong, is not used by the com components locally, only when communicating with ms. Without a back door of some kind, this data stream cannot be interpretted by a hacker. Obviously, if someone does have access to your system they can get this data either before encryption or after decryption, but i'd say that's the least of your worries right now. Now, being the good sport i am i will admit the use of my term “unsubstantiated conclusion” was a bit much and overly verbose an unsubstantiated conclusion on my part, if you will. However, your supposition cannot be supported by facts from the article because they don't give you enough information. They infer that droplic is a request from your machine and not a command issued from microsoft. At least, that's all i can gather from their data. I guess it is possible a droplic type command can exist and be issued by ms, but that is beyond the scope of the article and therefore must be backed up by another source, which you didn't supply. Feel free to correct me if i'm wrong, but please back it up with facts. – by noob saibot xp activation sucks (12:51pm est tue jul 29 2003) this seems pointless other than just doing it for the sake of curiosity. 1st> the corporate key only works on the corporate version to circumvent activation 2nd> there is a exe you that will circumvent the xp called activation “winxp.activation.v1.1.english.exe” you simply install xp then reboot into safe mode and activate the exe simple enough. 3rd> there is a keygen for all the versions called the bluelist called xpkey.exe that was talked about on geek.com some time ago. I liked xp so much i paid for mine. It’s ms best os imho. The activation blows though. With all that said i say if you can afford to buy your software please do as even though the software giants make to much money i still want to see there workers employed. Also i think any one who makes money from pirated software or music should get jail. There is no reason a bussiness should not buy there software period. – by mrwindowsactivation been there, done that. (12:56pm est tue jul 29 2003) the windows activation scheme has been hacked a few days after winxp came out, long long time ago. Why is this making headlines now? I have a copy of winxp pro and officexp without the need for any activation, it doesn't even prompt me to activate. Why is someone taking credit for something that has already been done? – by copycat pirating doesn't hurt anyone? (1:03pm est tue jul 29 2003) hey, johny-d, do you run insurance scams as well? Doesn't hurt anyone. Do you steal from retail stores? Doesn't hurt anyone. Probably not, because your chances of being caught and prosecuted are much greater. Why shouldn't software companies have that same right? Who cares about activation anyway? I bought and installed my copy of xp without any trouble. Activation was transparent. I've even changed my hardware around a fair bit and still no troubles. – by bored re: noob (1:19pm est tue jul 29 2003) noob, what we have here is a misunderstanding, not a disagreement. We are actually saying the same thing. The wpatracer object, as you quoted, specifically “intercept[s] the post requests before they are encrypted.” thus, it *is* possible to get at the data and *not* have to break the encryption first. Yes, it does require local access to the machine, but this is trivial for most hackers to accomplish. You mention that “without a back door of some kind, this data stream cannot be interpretted by a hacker,” but a back door is precisely what i'm talking about when i speculate on how this can be hacked. Although i didn't state it (because i considered it to be obvious), anyone listening in on the conversation between your pc and the ms registration server will be unable to do much of anything without cracking the encryption first, so in that much you are correct. However, that's not what i was referring to and i hope i've made that more clear this time around. As for droplic, you say that “they infer that droplic is a request from your machine and not a command issued from microsoft,” and you're entirely correct. However, you fail to see how an attacker can use this to their advantage. As i stated, if someone can snag your product id, they can masquerade *to the ms reg server* as if they were you, thus issuing the dreaded droplic command themselves and then conveniently appropriating *your* license for their use or distribution on a warez list. As i stated, this would have very little impact on your already-authorized copy of xp. However, if you try to do a reinstallation it would cause you problems. My long-range speculation, though, was about possible uses for droplic. There's no reason whatsoever that microsoft can't blacklist your product id and keep you from running windows update or installing service packs. They've already done this with widely-known “pirate” keys, so it's obviously possible. Further, we know that microsoft can push out new versions of the windows update utility and perhaps even an entirely new version of product activation as well. People who refuse to install the update could be banned from downloading any other updates. There is absolutely nothing stopping microsoft from issuing a droplic themselves, internally, and then forcing your machine to re-authorize at whatever intervals they demand if you plan on getting any more updates to your machine. The software industry as a whole is making a massive push towards a subscription licensing model, simultaneously moving away from the “buy it now and upgrade it later” model. I see product activation holding a very prominent spot in this overarching scheme, and i speculate there's more going on behind the scenes than any of us know. Eric smith re: eric. (1:56pm est tue jul 29 2003) “buy it now and upgrade it later” also brings to mind another possibility. Remote activation (whether by internet or phone) can be used for force users to upgrade by simply saying “we don't support version mm.mmm anymore, please upgrade to version nn.nn under windows bbb” and just not supply an activation. Puts a different twist to “activation” doesn't it. – by old sampler i still don't see what the big deal is (2:04pm est tue jul 29 2003) so someone's going to find out my product id then put it on a warez distro list? Why would they have to do then when there's already xp corporate select keygens? Hell if someone can get local access to your pc, they could run that utility i mentioned to steal your key and install xp on their machines using that key. Btw guys, product ids and installation keys are separate things. Bottom line, if you're a legitimate license owner, you should have no problem proving this if you get droplicked from microsoft. – by necr0 re: necr0 (2:26pm est tue jul 29 2003) you don't see what the big deal is? Consider this. Microsoft has a list of all valid product id's. The keys produced by the bluelist group, while valid to the activator, are *not* in microsoft's database (unless the keygen just happens to generate one that conincides with a real key, but that is an amazingly low probability). If microsoft started cross-checking valid keys with product id's, all the bluelist keys would get shut out. Ms is planning on doing this. They've already stated it back when the xp keygen was originally released, and many people expected it in sp1. This is why *real* keys would suddenly become far more valuable. And, yes, product id's and installation keys are two entirely different things, but the product id is generated *from* the installation key. Eric smith well (2:41pm est tue jul 29 2003) there are so many good keys out there not being used. Most large companies get corporate select licensing with microsoft for office, windows, visio, etc. They use their corporate select keys (which disables the hassle of activation) on master pc images (powerquest or ghost) and that same key gets cloned on to each workstation even though the workstations come with their own licenses from the oem. One would think this would be a huge source for a black market of legitimate keys. Far more plausible than stealing someone's key, just for it to get disabled by ms. – by necr0 still using win2k (2:42pm est tue jul 29 2003) just don't use windowsxp, or don't use microsoft oses. Freebsd rulez, babeee!!! – by amigalover if someone (2:43pm est tue jul 29 2003) had physical access to my pc other than me, they'd steal it. It's a dual p3 with 1gb rdram, and a 64mb ddr ati dual monitor video card, 5.1 surround sound and 4 creative labs speaker system, not to mention about 10 thousand dollars in installed software and 120gb wd(western digital) hard drive. Stealing the product key would be the last concern in my mind at that point. However it still should be a concern. There has been a way around ms's activation key for a while, but it's been somehow flaky. I tried it once and it didn't work, but it worked for some other people. It had to do with modifying the binary data of the oob regkey. Either way, i always thought the product activation was a poor attemt to protect windows from being pirated. They have to think of something else. – by wd hey bored!! (2:53pm est tue jul 29 2003) you ever download an mp3? You ever dub a movie? You ever fast forward through commercials after recording a tv program onto vhs? Comon now, don't lie.:) so welcome to the land of fraud. Maybe we oughta get something going together i drive a 2001 civic coupe, silver. I'll be driving down barrington st. Tomorrow @ 4:30 when i get off work. When i turn onto springgarden you punch it and get me side on man with a good looker like me and a thief like you we could make a fortune.:d – by johny-d re: wd (2:58pm est tue jul 29 2003) “either way, i always thought the product activation was a poor attemt to protect windows from being pirated. They have to think of something else” i think that's where they're trying to go with palladium. They want to make the hardware be in control of what software is allowed to run. It doesn't really matter though. Someone will make a modchip for palladium that will let you run whatever you want. – by necr0 wd (2:59pm est tue jul 29 2003) did you look all day for a place to show off your system specs? I wouldn't use windows if i had to pay for it from my own pocket. – by daenku32 interesting points, eric (4:11pm est tue jul 29 2003) conceivably, someone could mask your product id to send a droplic request to ms on this we both agree. However, the much easier task, as the article states, would be to make up a product id from scratch and if it happens to be the same as someone who purchased xp legit then they are screwed. However, you stated from your take on the article that a hacker could “potentially subvert the registration data stream and steal your code”. As we both agree, doing this without local access or a back door is currently impossible. But if you have local access, you don't need to intercept anything! The product id is listed in system properties and the key can be obtained with any number of free utilities from the internet like showkey.exe. Why would a hacker go through the trouble of messing with the activation wizard at this point? You are correct on one assertion: microsoft has enormous potential to abuse this system and bend us all over for some manly loving. If they hadn't been involved in all the anti-trust litigation, they might have already. – by noob saibot me the man (4:20pm est tue jul 29 2003) to:i've got a dual p4!! Dual xeons suck [had too many apps now work]. Pirating helps in a way to:apple suckzzz a t1 is nothing these days. I downloaded 3 mandrake 9.0 cds in 3 minutes. Can you say saturated oc-3? – by bandwidth_kid re:by i've got a dual p4!! (4:28pm est tue jul 29 2003) hmm, i've made a couple of enemies i guess on this board. Oh well, i like everyone anyway. Actually those specs are not anything special given that a p4 of last year at the very least will kill my pc in performace just like that. My computer is old, but it's worth it quite a bit(to me). I was just making a point. Necr0 palladium is being touted as the next big thing in “trusted” computing. Will it work? Probbably for a while. Here's what they said it will do. ——————————— 1)the system purports to stop viruses by preventing the running of malicious programs. 2)the system will store personal data within an encrypted folder. 3)the system will depend on hardware that has either a digital signature or a tracking number. 4)the system will filter spam. 5)the system has a personal information sharing agent called “my man.” 6)the system will incorporate digital rights management technologies for media files of all types (music, documents, e-mail communications). 7)additionally, the system purports to transmit data within the computer via encrypted paths. I am sure that ms will try to incorporate some anti piracy type mechanism in there. Will they crack it eventually? I think being the biggest software company in the world has its price to pay, and having your software pirated is the biggest one. Maybe there's no “solution” to that problem. – by wd re: noob (4:42pm est tue jul 29 2003) “why would a hacker go through the trouble of messing with the activation wizard at this point?” pure malevolent spite. After all, that's the motivation most of the script kiddies use in the first place. You're right that there are easier ways to obtain the keys. However, this is one more hole in a list of them, and that is never a good thing. The fact that somebody can potentially interfere with the activation process itself is unsettling. Eric smith bigger problem (4:46pm est tue jul 29 2003) i'm more worried about the dropkick module i've found. – by be afraid blow me (4:49pm est tue jul 29 2003) wossssssssssshhhhh! – by steve/xs only important to ms fans (6:49pm est tue jul 29 2003) w2k is the last ms product most will buy. Even if palladium comes to wintel, other mobo makers will pass. Ms can fud linux but the future is inevitable. – by wd someone is using (7:09pm est tue jul 29 2003) my nick name. I intend to complain to the moderator, who will block the ip address, if this keeps continuing. If there's something you need to say, please talk to me, no need to behave like a child. Please do not use my nick name, here or on other posts. – by wd i'm scared to post anything (7:55pm est tue jul 29 2003) in case j. Eric smith or noob saibot writes me a long reply!:) – by wally palladium (7:56pm est tue jul 29 2003) the palladium would get banned in china. Do you think the chinese will alow a spying tool which holds data which they cannot access, be installed in there country. Secondly microsoft will never produce a uncrackable operating system. The majority of people in the 3rd and 2nd world only use microsoft products because they can copy it. If they cannot copy it, they will all switch to linux. Thirdly the palladium would mean microsoft can blackmail any company that wants to produce drivers for there operating system. Every driver would have to be licensed, all of a sudden companies will have to pay microsoft money so they can have there drivers licensed. – by dryfoot re: wally (9:51pm est tue jul 29 2003) don't be. Eric smith heres some tricks i use (10:30pm est tue jul 29 2003) just install service pack 1 every thirty days to extend the trial period, or put win xp on one partition, and put your partition on another partition, every thirty days, reformat that partition and reinstall win xp. Your computer will feel like new forever. – by win xp user look out! (10:58pm est tue jul 29 2003) that light at the end of the tunnel is linux, not billy gates with a miner's lamp!!! The next big thing will be on linux working on it now yeah f u gates – by c++ coder another thought (12:09am est wed jul 30 2003) so they want us to buy the software, activate it by registering it with their servers that they can frankly do just about whatever they want with. What's next, will they require the cd to be in the drive too? – by insanex to insanex (1:53am est wed jul 30 2003) you can take your cd out?? – by carpel alternatives (12:32pm est wed jul 30 2003) as i'm reading through these posts, one thing strikes me as somewhat humorous – everyone's bitching about how much they hate microsoft and how much xp/office suck so they don't want to pay for it. If you don't like it in the first place, why the hell are you using (stealing) it? Grab a dist of linux and staroffice, pay the same as you did for your pirated crap and be legit and m$ free! Or parhaps you just subscribe to the childish view that it's “cool” to be on the wrong side of the law or to “stick it to the man”. Or maybe you just like to bitch – by hobnob comments from ms? (1:22pm est wed jul 30 2003) any comments from micro$oft on this yet? – by bill gates sucks whiners (3:36pm est wed jul 30 2003) just because you can do something, does it mean you should? There's just too many miscreants in the world, working only to crack, hack, and otherwise make illegal dealings. If you want the world to get better, crack down on the hackers. I can hack a car in no time flat. Just cut the brake line. Should i do it? Because its not nice and it could get me thrown in prison. This is just the constant whining from generation linux. If its not free, steal it. If you can't make it work, steal code from sco. – by linuxhater generation linux (10:40pm est wed jul 30 2003) hackers aren't particularly the problem. Just because some people like or prefer linux doesn't make then criminals either. I'm a linux noob & have been toying with it for a few years now off & on, i am sure micro$haft's days are numbered & no apple is not the answer! If software companies don't want people to steal there software, they should make it more affordable & stop raping people, then maybe more people would buy it, but not especially. I have a couple of programs that i use once in a blue moon that were copied from a friend & i don't have a problem using them for free because like i said, i only use them once in a blue moon. Another 5 years or so from now, linux will rule! – by redhat rules! Linux hater (3:20am est thu jul 31 2003) as in the early days, when i want a legal copy of ms-dos m$ told to buy min 100pcs, now they sell but the price is not nice, i use legal software if possible and private sometimes an illegal copy for a short period of time, or for testing, but know i am serios looking at linux, cause activation on new systems is a mesh (have to phone because internet activation did not work, or reinstallation did not activate – by hans49 so, you're an idiot. (10:40am est thu jul 31 2003) you can upgrade your pc all year. Product activation will never get in your way, but then you'd know all about that if you had actually tried it. And another thing. You're not using your “legally purchased software,” you're using software you stole from work. I assume by putting your name on this pos article, you are, in fact, admitting to piracy. So you're ignorant and a thief. – by paul redhat rules (8:17pm est thu jul 31 2003) linux will go the way of ham radio's and the ham radio operators. They used to hang out in basements, sucking on packs of cigarettes, and spinning yarns about the time an actual ufo contacted him. Said he was a trucker, dropping a load in a wisconsin truck stop, but aliens are good at disguising their voices. So, 5 years from now, when your wife tells you to get that dusty, old linux junk out of the basement, don't feel bad. There's an alien in wisconsin still waiting after 20 years for his “good buddy” to come back online. – by linuxhater hans49 (8:21pm est thu jul 31 2003) sounds like your problem's between the chair and the keyboard to me. – by smackdaddy he|p! (1:41pm est mon aug 18 2003) this is all well and good i appreciate the knowlage here, but i cant afford £200! I admit xp is good, ive had no probs so far, but i have 20 days left and i couldnt give 2 shits to mr fat microsoft bill gates himself cheers any links or help would be appreciated cheers. [email protected] – by aj101 take a step back and lqqk. (11:57am est tue sep 02 2003) microsoft will always be there to stick it to you, weither it is w.p.a. Or some new setup to prevent piracy. Maybe if microsoft got off their high horse and realise that america is in a depression, and $200 for a copy of xp is considered reasonible only by them. It's time for a change. Apple sux, and linux is still too new to become the majority, so we are held by the balls by microsoft, and they know it. So they charge unreasonable amounts of money for their software because they can, not because of piracy! Ms just needs to get the point that people just don't have as much money anymore as they did when win95 came out. Businesses are closing, mom-and-pop shops being replaced by inhuman corporations. If they actually made windows xp cost $49 @ any store, maybe piracy would slow down alot, and it makes everyone happy. In the trend of pcs cost dwindling downward, ms products are skyrocketing upward just my perspective – by 2lazy solved (5:07pm est sat oct 18 2003) i finally got the crack for windows xp professional sp1 version 2002 build 2600,if any needs it im me at whittier862 using aim. Or e-mail me at [email protected] – by lakeside piracy (10:45am est thu oct 30 2003) if micr$oft would drop the price and make it affordable for everyone, there would be no piracy at all.i cannot afford to pay microsofts prices for thier products its rediculios what they charge.make it worth it for everyone to buy and everyone would buy it.its the same thing with the riaa make music affordable and people wont want to pirate software because, would'nt it be nice to own the original copy of all your software and music i would. Drop the price so i can afford to buy it. – by mike need advise (11:09am est thu oct 30 2003) im useing windows 2000 on a home computer sometimes ill be doing something and a worning come up that i dont have administration rights here is the thing i have the right and would like to disable the dame thing i dont need it on my home computer. – by mike activation. (5:22pm est wed nov 05 2003) xp activation is a pain in the ass. I understand why they put it in their but the fact you could easily install windows on to other computers was great. As long as a household owns a copy of the software i beleive that any computers in that house hold should be able to use the product. Remember with win98 someones computer could totally be messed up and they needed a reformat of their hdd but they only had a system recovery and it wouldnt work right. All you had to do was install windows to get it up going. Or if you had some old machines you ran everyonce in a while, you could have windows on those and not run in to a problem. But if you make software easier to use with a crack then by doing it the legal way people will crack it. (obviously regardless it will be cracked but i beleive less people would use a crack) – by spiderman windows update (4:49am est fri nov 07 2003) is there already a way to continue using windowsupdate.microsoft.com if you installed sp1 and the update tells you your key was invalid?! – by shdw xo (1:50am est mon nov 10 2003) yeah, im in japan on a project and my new xp laptop crashes (pre sp1) because of some xp bug so but its an oem version of xp so i couldnt use the restore feature to recover my lost data. So sony blames ms and ms blames sony finaly i get on the phone long distance to america and ms says “the best thing ” would be to purchace a retail copy of xp. Whadda bunch of assholes. – by mouseball xo (1:52am est mon nov 10 2003) yeah, im in japan on a project and my new xp laptop crashes (pre sp1) because of some xp bug so but its an oem version of xp so i couldnt use the restore feature to recover my lost data. So sony blames ms and ms blames sony finaly i get on the phone long distance to america and ms says “the best thing ” would be to purchace a retail copy of xp. I tell them to fuck off and download the crack. Im pissed off so collect cracks bundle them all my ms software then make them avaliable on my file sharing service. – by mouseball anyway to get around activating your copy?? (4:11pm est thu nov 20 2003) i do not want to activate the copy i bought last week. Is there anyway to crack or patch it? – by cynical rufus peace of mind (9:07pm est thu nov 20 2003) my advice for all in pc land is to get a pigybank and have yourself trained to put one dollar a day in it for every time you need a new ms pain in the butt. – by kat_kat ms is going down! (12:16am est sat nov 29 2003) yeah, anyone who's ever gotten a handle on linux claims that microsoft's days are numbered: all 12 linux users agree on this point. I love ms software, and i'm clever enough not to pay for it. I sing it's praises widely, and insist that my employer buy nothing but the best from ms, all the time. I'm sure bgates can live with this situation: i train on free versions, then we buy legit. He gets paid, i don't go broke. Me likes:) – by realist activation isn't worth it (12:08am est sat dec 06 2003) i bought my xp pro 2600 at school. Was excited because they give such a good deal to us students. Take it home, put on old puter since new has home edition, but it didn't come with very good instructions. I installed to wrong drive which only had 2 gigs. So, now won't let me reactivate. I read up on the calling procedure and what a pain in the ass. I'd rather search for a crack. Not to mention, but you're wasting your time arguing about it and worrying about it. This has been going on for a long time with all programs and will continue. When you think about, it has it's advantages–it contributes to the intelligence of people and their children. I guess it comes down to being greedy or giving. – by christina s**t ahead (6:32am est tue dec 09 2003) looks that the bad part is just around the corner. I bumped into this article and now i am genuinely worried. I'm a newbie. Is there any knowledgeable one here who can explain which% of truth is in that article? – by lut sp1a (11:53am est sat dec 27 2003) need help i was installing sp1a for my xp system but it could complete the installation bcos supposedly my product id is invalid. I did have a valid id which i used in installing xp in the first place. How can successfully install sp1a or sp2 if ms have it? – by abu i agree iut, (4:49pm est sun dec 28 2003) tcpa are the scariest group around. By use of palladium and the “fritz-chip” they (microsoft, ibm, hp, compaq++) hope to eventually control more and more of internet and copyrighted material. Some even claim that they can use this to give usa “”total”” control of the worlds computers containing this technology. Question is: would you let ms-headquarters have full access to your computer??? – by the_bongman screw this monkey. (12:43am est sun jan 04 2004) when w2k support goes away, i'm going to be an all linux shop i don't like the idea of getting bill gate's perission whenever i upgrade something on my pc. Btw: a message to adobe, we will not be upgrading the 6 stations running registered & paid for copies of design collection to the latest release unless you also remove activation. Where’s the anti-activation group? I want to sign up. – by robin even atleast one for me!!! (9:35pm est fri jan 09 2004) i want crack for windows activation.from where i could get that – by nested rana for sale (9:48am est thu jan 15 2004) want the source for win xp? – by nucleic acid idiots (12:58am est mon jan 19 2004) ms people can read what ur talking about – by 101001 fuggin m$ (2:14am est mon feb 09 2004) i was dupped into buying ans oem version of wxp for the three pc's i built to sell with the thought that i would be able to buy additional keys and be legit.wrong i was thoroughly stuffed on the phone by polite but arrogent m$ employee who basiclly to me to go get f**ked. I now sell pc's with redhat9 installed and offer linux training to my customers hey m$ go get f**ked p.s. I got around your activation by shutting off your wonderfull services and setting the system clock back.i also was able to update:p – by ansuz now in 2003 (2:49am est fri feb 20 2004) received complimentary copy of office 2003. Nice lines, but again requires activation. Again, no chance of me doing that. Again, on the lookout for a patch / crack. Maybe it is time for star office. – by again and again solution (4:30pm est sun mar 07 2004) maybe if ms and it's god came down off of their high horse and dropped the price.there wouldn't be any need for hackers to try to gain access. And the upsside would mean more people would be legally using ms. But then again it's not about what is fair in the corporate world.it's how fast youa can get everyone's money! ( kinda like the the one who dies with the most toys wins!) and for such a 'wonderful' product like windowswhy is it even the ms tech support will tell you it's a bunch of garbage and that they don't recommend it??? – by dbella xp sp1 problem with update (4:58pm est sat mar 13 2004) i have a copy of one of the original cracked cds, and it updated just fine until sp1. It is the only update i cannot install since it says “invalid key”. Can anyone assist. I'm not about to pay $300.00 for a full-version of xp! I have a copy of suse, redhat, and freebsd linux if i need to make the switch. All are good, but they need to support more software products. – by cheaper ms or bust interesting thread (7:47am est sun mar 14 2004) while searching the internet for ways to build activation-free copies of windows xp home and professional, i stumbled across this forum, or whatever it is. I find many of the comments either redundant, ignorant, inexperienced, or genuinely dumb. Fact #1: regardless of the price of the product (considering it will always be at least $5) someone will always want to get it for free. Piracy may decrease slightly with the falling prices of practical software, but it would be hardly noticable. Fact #2: microsoft oss are without a doubt the most practical solution for any end user. I love linux, and i believe that it has a great future. If ms screws up enough, it may even take the lead (this would be quite a ways into the future). However, if you want to be able to use the most software, play the most games, and get the most supportms is the only way to go. Fact #3: the dumbass that said apple is the future should be stripped, beaten, tossed into the street, and never allowed to lay another finger on any computer anywhere. These glorified paper-weights now called macs were slightly better with image and video editing for a timethat time has long passed. I use some legal software, some pirated. Granted it is theft. I am in no way condoning theft, nor am i saying that piracy is completely wrong. I used a pirated copy of several adobe products (for example), many of which exceed $500 for a legal copy. This is a price that i simply cannot afford. I make do with a pirated copy, knowing that i am completely unsupported and risking getting caught. It's a risk that i choose to take. This is not an excuse, by any means, but if i cannot afford, and would never buy the product, and i'm not stealing anything tangibledoes it actually hurt the company that produced the software? I don't get here much, so if you have any responses, please e-mail them to me at [email protected]. Take care all, hope i summed up most of the thoughts of those capable of saying something origional.how the hell do you spell originalorigonalwhatever. – by maskedpotato[e] btw (7:53am est sun mar 14 2004) i just spotted another comment that struck me as either dumb, or inexperienced. The activation process is no nightmarei install 20-30 copies (legal) in a given month. I have no problems because i trust my distributor, and i have never had any activation, whether done over the phone, or on-line, that has taken more than 5 minutes. My concern is more with just how far ms will go to try to stop piracy.just a thought – by maskedpotato[e] rohit (3:06pm est mon mar 15 2004) hello – by rohi price (12:30pm est thu apr 01 2004) the major question is the price. The only 2 windows os i paid are windows me for $50 only, and windows xp comes with my new pc. If the price of windows is not much expensive, everyone would paid for it to avoid the trouble for getting a crack. In the normal case, if something is selling for a unfair price will create black market for sure. Microsoft is a monopoly in the computer's market and bill is the richest man in the world. They shouldn't set the price of the windows as expensive as they are. Similar to the movie market. Few year ago, the price of a video disc is really expensive. Everyone just copy or rent it but not to buy it. And now the price of the video disc dropped to a fair level, the black market almost gone. It points out the price drive people chose black market instead of getting a legal copy. If microsoft sets the price too high, they are forcing people to get the crack or just using windows 2000. I believe no one like monopoly. – by eric the real work-around (1:31pm est thu apr 01 2004) it's time that the best programmers in the world got together and built a real os. Windows has a pretty face, but under the hood is a load of s**t. If you look at what ms products do that nothing else does, you might be impressed. But i'd rather look at what they should do but don't. A company the size of ms should be putting out much better, much more innovative products. One very simple example: i spent 4 hours de-fragmenting and error-checking my harddisk last night. My computer very rarely uses the processor to it's full capacity, or even close. Both tasks could run continually as a background process, taking advantage of all those wasted cpu cycles. If anybody is interested in working on an open source os to rival windows in both pretty and power, e-mail [email protected]. – by james a. Curtis pirate software (12:54pm est sat apr 10 2004) stealing is as american as apple pie. Come on longhorn, give me what you got – i'm waiting. Give me and the world a wee bit of time and we'll build as many goddamned dog-houses and bird-houses i/we can with any hammer i/we can – with any 1 hammer. And no, i won't buy another, nor will i pay for multiple uses of the same one. – by achoo xp activation (9:35am est sun jul 04 2004) if microsoft sold windows xp home and pro at a reasonable price, everyone would buy it why have a cracked copy when a genuine copy was cheap? – by ian windows xp activation keygen (9:40am est sun jul 04 2004) does anyone know of an activation keygen, where you type in your code and generate an activation code from a keygen?? – by ian if i had a hammer. (7:37am est fri jul 09 2004) interesting analogy, achoo. I hate activation too, but your hammer is copy-protected by the current laws of physics, isn't it? Ain't no way several people can use one hammer at the same time. – by softbelly i'm due back on earth any minute (3:28pm est thu jul 29 2004) in reality, piracy is wrong. You can't call something yours if you didn't earn the dollars to buy the thing. Being a software developer, i also am of the opinion that as developers we not only have a right to be paid for what we've had to endure in order to learn the trade, but also for whatever products we make in the process. Do lawyers charge? What about doctors? Do you pay for your big mac?, or just casually beat the clerk into submission with a brute force attack? When do you decide that you are right and shamelessly throw your morals away? Personally, yes, i use some pirated software. Yet i also own 5 copies of 95, two 98's, an nt workstation, an me, an xp pro (still in shrink wrap) and an xp upgrade. Add to this my 5 1/4 floppies (3 sets) of win 3.1 and my dos 6.22 and i've got at least a grand of microsoft's products. When does mr. Gates say that i'm allowed to use a single copy of whatever i want on a single machine (my desktop)? All my other computers and servers run linux or bsd, for which there is no charge, no liscence and no activation. Further, liscence agreements (at least when they first came out), used to allow for an archival and the dedicated operation on any one given machine, provided that two copies were never in use at the same time. I think that is fair. I use a pirated copy of xp pro sp1, even though i own one, and while concerned with the possibility of worms and the like, can still sleep at night. Also, although there hasn't been any talk of it (except from sun who has alluded to the future re:java), virtual processors similar to how the java virtual machine works, will end all talk, debate, and argument about which platform to use because a virtual computer will be able to run any program, from any platform in any which way you'd like. Finally, for the really stubborn who still say they're right. An infinite monkeys on an infinite terminals for an infinite number of years == shakespeare, ms server nnnnn, and everything else inbetween where have all the good hackers gone? – by tim de vries heh (6:14pm est tue aug 03 2004) i say: fvck em', and their law. – by p h o b 0 z copy protecting hammers (3:55pm est mon aug 09 2004) yeah, you may not be able to have more than one person use the same hammer at the same time, but they dont even want you to give the hammer to somebody else unless they get paid for it. Copy protections for the most part are a huge pain in the a$$. For example a few years ago i came by a real win98 disk. Unfortunately i did not have the system that it came from, nor the manual it came with (somebody had pitched all of it) upon calling microscrew they politely told me that they disc was a coaster basically, and that to have it and not the rest of the docs was a form of piracy, and they wanted to know where i got it from. (presumably to send somebody a nasty note, or a summons.) not to be redundant, but yeah, between price and heavy handed tactics it's no wonder that people pirate their software. Personally i finally got scared, not so much of the trusted computing nazis, but of microscrew someday start using spyware to check up on people. It's a wonder that ppl haven't tried to apply the mmmmm.4th amendment in reguards to illegal search and seizure. If the gov't is limited, what gives lord bill the right? > i switched to redhat to avoid the trouble. – by emerald wolf hey (4:31pm est wed aug 11 2004) let us ask how many times did windows steal software item or ideas from other people and sell that to the users, i think if m$ want everyone to buy it then maybe they should pratice what it is shoving down down to the users! – by nvk microsoft's monopoly (8:55pm est sun aug 22 2004) i live down the street from microshaft. They completely subvert normal business in the area of softare and computer hardware. This firm costs jobs in the us, lots of them. Microsoft costs jobs (it hurts the economy stupid) 2. They illegally collude (constantly) 3. They illegally conspire (without end) 4. They artifically raise the price of software to amaricans, canadians, germans, brits, frogs, etc. They massively keep good products from other firms off the market if this was 1965, and the monopoly laws were still enforced on at leasted a small scale, microsoft would have been split up. Judge penfield jackson did order just that. But ms is so powerful, they dont like a court out come so that judge is removed, and they get what they want. – by melinda gates f**k microsoft to hell (7:00am est thu aug 26 2004) f**k microsoft and f**k bill gates (actually i am sure satan is f**king his arse as we speak). Oh an f**k all the software companies that continue to write software that will only work on windows. Ps i'm not prejudice so you all can get f**ked as well – by sobolwolf i need a nap.... -)~ (11:41am est sat sep 04 2004) i just read every comment on this page........ – by burned-out trip back in time (2:51am est wed sep 08 2004) i just read over every one too. The highlight was from around aug of last year when some guy was talking about his dual p3 system! With his 2 120gb hard drive! What a long thread now the standard is around 2 250gb drives and even that is getting small. Dual p3s, no overclock a p4 to 4ghz(alx). I like reading old/long lasting forums. Its like traveling back to the begining of time. I know there is a site that you can see different sites from different times in their existance, like yahoo in 96 or the first google page. I forget the url though, hope everyone is still doing well. = – by steve i hate ms (5:40pm est wed sep 08 2004) when for no reason at all it doesn't like my activation code (which is legal) and i spend an afternoon fighting with it. If bill and his nerdy friends can cost me 2 days work, while i try to figure out why his crap doesn't work – why can't i sue him for my time? If i steal his piece of sh*** sw – he can charge me. – by bill grates the good hackers (8:39am est mon sep 13 2004) ah yes, tim. The good old days. When software worked first time, almost every time. Most of today's so-called hackers would freak at the early days of cracking software. Things like modifying your hardware, to allow access to self-booting software on disks with strange formats. There just isn't that level of skill around these days. Equally, there obviously doesn't need to be – copy protection, activation, etc. And it has been allowed to become a joke for two reasons: 1) the end user now just accepts major defects and bugs in software as standard. This from the same people who will squeal like a stuck pig if their new car has a slight rattle?!? 2) hardware has become so far ahead of what is required that programmers have become sloppy. Like the hackers who wouldn't cope back in the good old days, these “professional” (well, i suppose they are – they get payed for it they're just not very good at it) programmers couldn't cope with writing efficient, reliable software within tight constraints. As for the debate about what os to use – i am writing this on a pentium 200, with 64mb of ram. I run ms-dos 6.22, win 3.11, and have not had a crash/lockup/program refusing to run for more than three years. No re-installs. And yes, i can burn cds (and dvds), watch movies, and get surround sound from my beloved machine. Just a little home tweaking by an old hacker. – by old fart ms has the power why? (5:38pm est fri sep 17 2004) because far too many americans vote republican. – by mp linux (3:13am est wed sep 22 2004) i agree with the few posters that have mentioned linux or apple. Macosx is very good if you are not a computer power user and/or if you have a lot of money to spend. Otherwise, linux, with far more control than, suse, mandrake, or especially, redhat will give you. – by circuitsoft “1 days left” (2:59am est thu sep 30 2004) “winxp.activation.v1.1.english.exe” searched in google has landed me with a trillion greek sites which dont do crap and two viruses whihc were stopped by my pirated norton anit-virus. I guess its about time i started backing up my music and crap and start over. Btw its that bloody sp2 which has given me all this crap. Screw ms – by muz pay for xp? (5:19am est thu oct 14 2004) not in my lifetime. – by nonyabusiness intreging (7:47am est fri oct 22 2004) well very interseting read, im a bit of a n33b when it come to the net, but iv been around computers since the days when u had to boot off a 5 1/4 inch floppy to start ur comp. I 3'd dos every thing was striaght and simple.i even had the recalled dos 6.2, i now have xphome(copied of course, nvr paid for any os)i have tried 2 diff activation cracks both have mad me reinstall win after the 30days. As for the updates from micrcoshiet i nvr dl any of then and nvr will. So i have no probs with any1 having unauthorized actization of most software.i respect those who respect meh, and im willin to bet that ms doent care for me except how deep my pockets r. I have no trust for ms in any shape or form. Another thing to think off as about 5 years ago i was chatin to an uncle(owns comp. Company) and we got on about comps and were they were heading, and he stated something that got my attenion. Back then they had created a fibre-otpic comp but had no way to store info as light. Now if these types of systems got up and runin world wide, i thinks that they will have to rethink everything that has to do with software of any kind. But as it has been stated b4 in this topic, no matter how much ms spends on protection it will b only a matter of time b4 some 1 cracks it no matter how good u r there will always b some1 better. Fact of life – by raylytheous miffed, my data does not belong to m$ (11:21pm est fri nov 05 2004) if the cost was reasonable, lets say $30 there would be no problem. Im a tech, and dirt poor at that, i need to be able to install on multiple systems, or have an affordable means to use licenced copies. I use autocad at work, and there really just isnt anything like it on linux. I bought four copies, and ive been using them onmultiple systems, by cracking them. Sp2 installed fine, and 30 days later i find out that i no longer have access to my own files,, serves me right? Well, i can just buy another copy, and learn to live of ramen. I cant even afford ramen. – by joseph behrens limits, not totally explicitly said, but limits, probably too much (1:18pm est sat nov 13 2004) what? If i add a component i have to re-register? Is it true that after some times you register, you can do it no more? Or even that the win xp copy last only for some time and then becomes invalid, unless you crack it? Speaking about potential ways to force customers to buy a new product identical to the old one. Just a few words: i licensed (or if you like it more, i bought, but it's technically imprecise) a product, not rented! Why have i to re-buy it after i legally bouth it one time? I know why, it's the licence, but it's defintily not fair. If the limits de-facto put on win xp use are true, it is a rental. It disgusts me the way that the industy is being monopolised by m$. I have had a situation where i have had to reinstall win xp (because of faults in the o/s) more than 3 times, microsoft want me to buy a new cd because they refuse to activate the product again i have reinstalled my version of win 98 so many times i have lost count. I can see why people priate software, i have used pirated software because the company that produced it were bought out by apple and they stopped all pc support. And they still want me to buy the product? The answer is no. You will never stop this from happening. Perhaps if things were run a bit more like the linux / unix community where people actually help each other and develop for each other. Would it kill microsoft? No, it would probly start to gain them some respect. This is just another way of shafting the public. Will anything be done? This is a disgusting breach if civil liberties. Perhaps if companies like m$ were not so totalitarian this would not be an issue. But as we all know that aint happening. Everyone should move to open source, and help develop that software for the consumer built by the consumer! – by the monkey capitalism (12:05pm est mon dec 20 2004) i think you all are missing a very big point. We live in a capatilistic society, m$ is a giant because we made it one. If you dont like m$ quit buying their products, you are only adding to the cancer. If you are against activation, why did you cast your money vote by buying a software that requires it. Quit fueling the system you hate so much. – by simple economics how to avoid registration (4:19pm est mon dec 20 2004) here's the dilema: i have purchased a copy of windows xp for my computer here. It is registered. I have my old computer, which i have formatted and placed xp on. It is not, and will not be on-line. It is my gaming computer. How do i, or what might i do to eliminate the 14 days left for regisration notice i keep getting? If i have bought this product, i should be able to use it on any pc “i” own. Just like if i have a carb for my race car, i should be able to use it on my street machine. – by bud8andbills countdown (4:27pm est mon dec 20 2004) or 13 days, or 12 days and counting hey microsoft, here's a solution with all your money, if you see a copy on a pc not registered, go to the home, business, etc and ask them to produce the sales receipt, booklet and information that is given when the product is purchased well i'm sure you can figure the rest from there. – by bud8andbills painful (5:41pm est tue dec 21 2004) it appears through numerous posts that i am not the only one who has a problem with this activation garbage. I used to be the archenemy of software fraud, hackers, and freeloaders. Now as i sit here holding a legitimately purchased copy of my windows software, i have begun to reconsider. At my current position i am less than 40 feet from the computer i originally intalled this operating system on. It cost me over a hundred clams, and after its sole installation, has become essentially useless. In a world where millions of copies of illegal software are exchanged daily, one would think corporations would keep from harming their loyal and legitimate customers. May all microsoft executives burn in hell, like the thieves they are. – by -to become a thief- re-activation for no reason? (10:53am est thu dec 23 2004) i have had a registered version of xp on my desktop for 9 months. I've made absolutlely no hardware changes, but did download the service pack about a month ago. Suddenly i'm being asked to activate. Does anyone know if this is normal or could it be some type of worm or virus? – by matt windows headache (6:07pm est mon dec 27 2004) hi to all of you out there. I recently bought a computer in july brand new with windows xp home edition on it. After a few weeks the whole system crashed and the recovery cd did not work. So i found a copied version of my girlfriends xp pro and installed it. Everything read fine and setup was ok. I do not have a activate warning but when trying to download the usb 2.0 driver that came with the computer it states that i first need sp1 downloaded. Now when running windows update it downloads what appears to be sp1 components since they appear in the system software area. But i still get the message you need sp1. When i attempt to install sp1 or sp2 it says my activation key is invalid and refers me to howtotell.com. Another thing is this activation, i followed the steps in getting to the activation area and there is not even an icon for activation. I am still new at computering so i could use some help. If the copy i have of xp pro is pirated then could someone please help me to get it to recognize my registration key. Any help would be the greatest. Thanks to who responds. – by microsoft hangover using pirate version.:s (11:02am est sun jan 02 2005) hi i am one having problem with accessing my notebook from activation windows. As it was installed by others what shall i do? – by mon activation crack almost impossible to find (2:08am est fri jan 14 2005) omg where is the crack for activation. The above link mentioned by a friend is a freaking virus.i looked for this supposed crack for 15 days straight with no luck. I only have 15 more days then its light out for me.when i search for the crack all i get are viruses.i swear if i didnt have my symentec virus scanner i'd be in deep shit now. I've just installed this piece of shit of my new comp and they wont let me activate it. I am not calling them back and end up arguing with them for 40 mins and getting denied. And fuck the assholes who think i should buy 4 diffrent copies to put on my 4 computers which i fucking own. If this is what people consider stealing or pirateing well then i am all for it. Sign me the fuck up.please if anyone knows where to find a crack please post it here. And if i dont find the crack i will just keep rebooting after backing up my files on my auxilary hard drive until i find a crack that works. And fuck microshit for the stupidest idea they ever come up with. Because there is no fucking i'm seppending 300 dollars to buy 3 additional fucking freaking copies of thier xp cd's. Bill fucking gates is rich enough. – by pissed at ms how to do the crack (3:09am est fri jan 14 2005) use morpheus or any other p2p and search for microsoft activation crack and download wpa_kill.exe. Install it and that it you got the micrshit activation virus patched. No more 30 days warning. – by help/on/the/way take it easy guys theres an easy fix for this (1:51am est fri feb 04 2005) hey just mess with wpa registry and change it from 30 days to 23290424 days first start then run then type regedit my computer hkey_local_machinesoftwaremicroso ftwindowsntcurrentversionwpaeven ts and mess with one of the numbers of the obetimer and save it. It will extend your days a lot and if necessary do it all over again when days run out ok.!!remember only change one of the number!! For example change 54 to 50 thats it. And remeber this wont work unless you uninstall security update for windows xp (kb841533). This is really not a security update. All this does it make sure you dont mess with the obetimer. Ok i hope this helps you people. If not like the guy above me suggested download a crack from a p2p server like kazaa or morpheus ok>:-) enjoy – by friendly hacker don't try any of these solutions (2:26am est sun feb 13 2005) just tried to go through the obetimer and it appears that m$ has thwarted that option by changing the file. No kb841533 in the updates section. With sp3 listed there all files start with kb88. Do not, i repeat, do not use a p2p. You will spend hours getting rid of all the malware, adware, spyware etc. What a bunch of fuckers. Since the earliest days of software development open source was the way the way. Give a man a fish and he wont be hungry that dayteach him how to fish and he will go hungry no more – by foxholeunderground a good place to start (1:55am est mon feb 28 2005) a good start for learning assembly launguage – by foxholeunderground hatin' on the hackers. (9:30am est wed mar 02 2005) i wish i was as gifted as a hacker! U haters hate they cracked xp? You just think anybody doin it stole it. I bought it and didnt expect it to jam me up like shareware!we should all be able to reinstall our xp as many fuckin times as we pleze. U think its dishonest,its the suckers like u that actually buy their bull. I would luv 2 get sexy and hard with a hacker an innocent genius cute male hacker,im hella cute and think hackin is hot. Ok,thanx – by melanie morons (1:37pm est thu mar 03 2005) lol with win xp, you call the number you say you bought a new hard drive and are reinstalling it. Then the guy from india says “how many computers is this currently installed on?” you say “1” he gives you activation code. Worst case scenario – they make win update check activations every time lol big deal, you just wait a week between updating comps and when they see you're getting the same updates your claims to having new hard drives will look legit, the dudes dont care they give u the key right away. Everyone is paranoid as shit. If microsoft locks you out for not buying the software? Well isnt that the risk of using something for free that you're supposed to pay for. This whole string makes me laugh, the fact that you think you're copy will somehow be forcibly deactivated my microsoft if you have a legit version is beyond laughability. Get a fuckin job and buy more licenses if you care so much god damn wannabe programmers livin at home with thier moms at the age of thrity crying about “im having trouble pirating” waaahhh its just sad. Get a job, a girlfriend. Aint seen nothin yet, brother. – by anarchist-angel can i get a ride to redman (1:51am est wed mar 30 2005) do i hate bill...hell yes. I think activation is bs. But i also like the shit load of money that man makes me every year. If it wasn't for ms i would get paid the but load of money every year. And linx...yeh right. If you have lost you f$$$en mind. I would not move all my bussiness on to something that is a) free (i know i can call ms or mcse and get the problem fixed.) oh yeh drop the pipe your making all the crackheads look bad —slimshady – by slimshady windows xp (7:43am est wed apr 20 2005) fucking sucks ass i need a regastrashon code please – by rob know what (12:58am est sun may 01 2005) after reading this very long thread of posts i think i opened my eyes o_o i think i realized that it's time to buy linux or some form of it. Wow, will i like it more, feels like it. Would i want to be very good at linux, yes because being good at m$ software lets you down. You'll never be ahead no matter how “certified” you are. Seems like no matter how much i study there's always something wrong with m$ and it's products. Like the monkey said, linux is a community, that's so sick, let's get down to some real business. Well the only, and *only* reason i may buy another copy of windows is so i can play all the games i own on my comp. If the same games i play on win are also supported by linux, goodbye m$, you just lost another customer. Bill gates has enough money already, it's comin out the wazoo. Ever realize his first name is bill, like a dollar bill or a million dollar bill. He's out for the money honey! And second his last name, gates, it's like he has opened his own “gates” of oppurtunity to dominate the industry. Anyways, i'm totally feeling the dislike-ment in these threads ever since i came across this activation mess and started on the google search to get around it. Best to luck to all others with the same problem. – by o_o cannot start winxp, activation period expired! (7:33am est wed may 04 2005) how now? Reinstall from scratch? (repair installation does not work) – by superdude cannot start winxp, activation period expired! (7:33am est wed may 04 2005) how now? Reinstall from scratch? (repair installation does not work) – by superdude f4ck1ng wimps (10:03pm est mon may 23 2005) i hope you die – fuxk microshit – fack their users. There is no excuse. Ms is the software nsdap. – by wimpkiller ms windows xp – is “great” (10:23pm est wed jun 01 2005) “kids” if you can't handle winxp “keep out or come to mummy” go and play in your sand hole because windows xp is the best and mr b gates is the man. If you can't operate simple things no matter who you are (where ever you work) close your eyes and cover your backside – it will only get plastered every time you whinge – only real users use windows xp without problems – freak n whingers can't! So appreciate every piece of technology i am sure you yourself cannot produce a product like that no u can't! Apply yourself in a positive manner and take a constructive approach use your windows xp the way it should be used whether activated or non-activated or cracked (oooh!mmmhhh! – did someone say crack, period expired buy tempons etc), i'd say cover up daddy is here – to stay! I can only hope there is a successful & a happy win xp user listening! – by bigdaddy re: eric (11:52pm est fri jun 03 2005) sorry for such a dumbass question but the tec website is all in german, any way to find the english version. I dont seem to see one. Thanks – by rudedog please people (7:30pm est thu jun 30 2005) i believe this link is the english translation of the tec website piece. Since i don't read german, i can't be certain. The comment i wanted to make was that yes, some do see this as being exactly the same as stealing some item from a retail store. A better example for a majority of the public is burning a copy of a music cd which, even though just as illegal, does not result in any lost sleep for anyone not directly involved in the music industry. People in the mainstream have been copying their friends’ music as far back as reel to reel tape in the fifties but with the invention of cassettes, those numbers ballooned to millions. Everyone pretty much knew what someone was doing when they bought a five pack of blank cassettes. Now with the cd, it is hundreds of millions. Who really feels that all those millions of cds being sold by the fifty pack are being used for backing up data. Kids are being busted for downloading while their parents are simply buying a pack of fifty cds from costco and burning copies of their friends, music. The reason no sleep is lost is because the greed of these businesses is laid bare on a daily basis for the world to see. If it cost me less than a quarter to burn a copy of a $17 cd. Think how much less than that it cost sony. The percentage of that huge profit margin that makes it down to the artist (who was pretty much the sole reason it was purchased in the first place) is so small that i can not think of a word to describe it. Greed is the word that comes to mind but, this is so far beyond greed that possibly pornographic would be a better choice. I think people can identify with shareware authors and the amount of money they lose from people who have never paid for the product but microsoft, please, their control over the world's software market dwarfs anything the “robber barons” of the early 20th century could have ever dreamed of. The reason ms can sell us what is essentially a beta product as a finished one is they totally control the market. You would think a bit more of the profits could go into security upfront so people's lives are not destroyed by hackers with their credit card numbers. With the xp activation process, ms has now shown us how well they can secure their software if they really want to. They owed it to the world population to at least make their software a little more secure before it hits the shelf with more hype than hollywood. The world now sees what ms can accomplish when they get serious about security. Too bad that seriousness does not extend to the average joe buyer of xp who may never clear his name because his kid needed broadband. The fact that our friends at ms are the absolute weakest link in the chain in our fight against terrorism means things are only going to get worse, much worse. Ms of course draws the line in their contribution to the fight for its nation’s security at the point it starts to hurt their bottom line. – by geechee annoyed with ms (4:39pm est wed jul 20 2005) well i'd like to call myself a happy winxp user, but i just simply can't. I've always had a legal compy of a windows os throughout the years but it seems to always give me problems. And since ms has gone on thier security spree, its only givin me more. A bit ago, a reformatted my harddrive and reinstalled windows. Upon activating windows (which is always annoying with any product but i can see the need to do it) i was told that my key was invalid because i had activated it too many times. Every time i reformatted my hard drive, i activated it using that key. Now lets say i reformat my hard drive once a day because for whatever reason, i enjoy doing it. After about what, 10-20 times, ms is gonna get upset about it because they think im giong from computer to computer installing it. The fact is, i obtained the product legally, and i should be able to do what i want with it wether it's installing it on my computer once and losing the cd, installing it on my computer every day, placing the cd in a microwave so i can enjoy a light show, or installing it on all of my computers. Besides, when you buy broadband internet access, you dont need to purchase a line for every computer, why should you with this. Microsoft sells its products for too much, and give too much hassel afterwords to all users, legal or illegal. Being treated like that, who wouldnt want to save a little money and crack a windows copy? Its a way to save money. And its not like i'd be taking something physical from them like a car, i'm only getting a copy of something. They still have it, just now, so do i. How would it affect them if i didnt use a computer at all versus getting a cracked copy and using it for myself? Either way, they arent making money off of me and i'm not cutting into there tremedous profit they make every time one of those $200 cds are sold. It would just be nice if they stopped hasseling everyone so mucheven though they can with thier monopoly they hold over the software company. It's just not right or fair. So what do we do? We rebel, as we always have done in the past as humanity. And eventually, they are going to fall i'm sure. Look at past tyrants like the music companies. All these napster like programs have just made it amazingly easy to get music because the record companies have been rubbing us in the dirt with thier prices. And besides, they dont get any satisfaction out of us listening to it or not. Just like ms. Why not rebel and crack.hack.stack those cds of stolen software and.smack ms in the face? – by ketterkat sex (8:40am est sun jul 31 2005) – – by sex you don't wanna know (9:31am est tue aug 02 2005) norton antivirus is a rippoff man i created emergency disk cause my pc infected and norton antivirus didn't find anithing cause it's full off crap you c an't turn protection on ther's errors in live update error in e_mail protection man and if there cache frase is the best virus solution it stink. Seeing as how it's been leaked (i have a copy) i have come to the conclusion that they want us to pirate. – by pirating cuz poor! Xp (11:18pm est thu jan 05 2006) i hear ya'll saying how its right for them to be able to make it so you can only install it on one computer but it's really not right. I got xp and i have 3 computers, that mean im suppose to fork out $300 to put it on each of my computers, i dont think so. I would gladly steal some keygens off someplace like limewire or somthing instead of paying for 2 more keys that i dont need. – by kraig thanks (8:13am est sun jan 08 2006) this is an excellent site thanks for the information! – by andy dorks (12:03am est tue jan 10 2006) you guys have entirely too much time on your hands to be bitching about micro$oft – don't any of you have jobs? (or a life?) buy it, steal it, stick it in a bag and shove it up your patootie – who the hell cares – do you honestly the mr. Gates gives a damn? Do you honestly think he is losing sleep over it? No – the only people who are losing sleep over it is you all! -in the land of idiots, ignorance is king – by loaded you don't get it (6:18am est sun jan 22 2006) thats not the point of this though. The issue here is why we have to put up with m$'s bull shit! I refuse to pay $300 smackers for a god damn program. It”s rediculis! Micro$oft doesn't worry about piracy. The money they loose doesn't even dent them. And lets really think about this. I have a ligit copy of windows and a not-so-ligit copy of xp pro on another pc. The only reason that i have the ligit windows is because it came with my online purchase. Now if i didn't download my windows xp pro, i wouldn't have it. I have no intention of buying it at all. So what is m$ loosing? I'm not buying it anyways. If vista was damn imposible to crack i would switch to linux or just use my old xp. If vista isn't piratable i will be using my xp machine until i die. But the truth is i have every intention to buy vista. But some don't. What do those people do? What can those people do? If m$ wants to give out free copies of windows to the poor thats great, but i think the poor will have to download it. M$ really doesn't care about piracy, if they did they would drop all prices about $100. I would fork out 100 for a pro version of xp and 75 for a home. Then they could just have a multi-computer license deal where it's like $200 for a 5 computer license and add $25 for every additional computer. Then have a special package for corporate and school systems where it is 500 dolars for unlimited use. There are many solutions for pirace. M$ doesn't care. Just look at them. Meh, hasn't stoped me. – by loyal fan of me other options (10:51pm est sun jan 22 2006) just wanted to remind ppl that there are other opetions as well. Linux for instance – by lin user since 98 microsoft (7:11pm est mon jan 23 2006) i think the question is, when will microsoft lower thier prices to a more reasonable level? As soon as this takes place they may see an increase in people willing to buy them legitimatly! Lol – by pedro 2 year old thread (3:07pm est thu jan 26 2006) wow, did anyone notice that this discussion goes back to 2003, thats a good thread! – by ukviking computer systemen (11:34am est sat jan 28 2006) – by computer systemen windows xp (7:01am est tue feb 07 2006) how to crack windows xp activation – by alok what a thread! (3:45pm est wed mar 08 2006) i guess i will throw in my two cents, or maybe three of four. First of all, all of you all need to invest in a spell checker!!!! And take some english classes so you can learn how to speak correctly so people can understand you. Next, i have to agree with foxholeunderground and with bigdaddy. If you don't like microsoft, then don't use microsoft. So now the next complaint is, “but there's nothing else that will play my games.” i say ahhhhh! Why don't one of you whiners fork out some bucks to pay a programmer to write an os like windows that will run ms games and applications the way you want. Because you couldn't afford it. So why not get all the whiners together and have fund raiser? Tell those who contribute to getting the os written will have free access to the software and then sell it to the general public for like $50. Then everybody will be happy! – by youbunchofwhiners windows xp home sp2 (3:11am est fri mar 10 2006) hello there i have problem with windows xp home sp2 activation because i have copied cd, not original and if my computer online, do i have trouble with that i mean do microsoft can hack me and they know me not buy original cd windows xp home sp2 i'm in indonesia and i don't have money to buy original cd. Is so high price to me and all my friend – by poor n dumb fortihacker (9:00am est sat mar 11 2006) email:[email protected] i just like spam! I'm collocting junk email – by japhspam fortihacker (8:03pm est sat mar 11 2006) email:[email protected] i just like spam! I'm collocting junk email – by japhspam hacker (11:53pm est fri mar 24 2006) i just like spam! I'm collocting junk email – by japhspam can i change my ativation key (5:41pm est sat apr 01 2006) i have already installed win xp2 on my computer, but it was not legal copy,now i have a legal copy can i just change the key and reactivate which would prevent me from reinstalling win xp2 – by worried re: what a thread! (11:24pm est thu apr 06 2006) youbunchofwhiners you obviously have no idea. I do not like windows for the simple fact its advertised and marketed as the great os but in reality it was one of the most buggiest hole ridden os on the market which unfortunatly all software makers and writting for this platform. I upgrade at least twice a year and it aweful trying to talk to them and get it re-activated. If microsoft focused on quality codeing then more people would buy it. For the os itself i would say its at least double the cost is should be if microsoft didnt have such a strangle hold on the market place. – by meh vista (5:59am est sun apr 30 2006) i am using a genuine version of windows xp oem version. I have never changed any part of my computer. I like to clean my hard disk regularly. I am a very old person. Every time that i have to activate xp i have a nervous breakdown. I press the wrong numbers on the telephone or type in the wrong numbers on the keyboard then i am passed on to a further representative who asks me if i have a genuine version of xp. Then i press the wrong numbers all over again because the representative speaks too quickly or i can't understand the representative's accent. My question is will vista be easier to activate? Thank you most kindly for your help. – by derekjanet@btinterne activation (12:12pm est sun apr 30 2006) question! If i paid more for a version of windows xp that bypassed the activation process, with the proper intention of only using it for the one computer that i use, would that be morally wrong? I would not be gaining financially in any way or using xp cd on another computer. Or is it morally wrong for microsoft to force honest persons to use activation leaving them with no other choice? I have offered to send microsoft my finger prints over the internet as security if he'll allow me to bypass the activation process. – by derek microsoft does not tolerate libel (3:36am est sun may 07 2006) all your ips have been logged via the moderators and you will all be recieving contact by our lawyers within the next three weeks. What you are doing here is illegal and i demand you cease and desist immeadiately or face quick and swift just from the law. Also, using the ip log we have recieve from your friends at geek.com, we've issued droplic requests to all of your systems. You should see the results in less than a week. Thank you for your time, gentlemen. Have a fun weekend. – by william henry gates hm. (2:22pm est wed may 10 2006) you mispelled immediately moron. – by spellchecker microsoft should by this (4:03pm est wed may 10 2006) is for sale in ebay – by magic when piracy isn't necessarily theft (9:28am est wed may 31 2006) fixing windows problems on my own and friends' pc's caused by bill's dodgy software emporium has cost me so much time and effort that were i to charge for that, microsoft would owe me a small fortune. If i were to use pirated microsoft software, it would simply redress the balance a little. Bill might not find that morally acceptable, but then he wants to have his cake and eat it. Most people just want equitability. – by jimbo stealing (5:07am est mon jun 12 2006) stealing windows is like accidently seeing your female flatmate naked. You know it was wrong, and you feel kind of bad, but there is a little buzz in it! Much better than paying for it, or even paying for windows. – by there comes a time. Xp-sp2 (11:51pm est mon jun 12 2006) derek. Why would you want to get involved in another of msoft's debacles? For the person looking to 'legalize' their copy of xp – search for keyfinder.exe – latest version allows change of key. Also, search msoft's site for their key changer which is downloadable for free. For the rest of you – this thread stretches across 3 years and doesn't get anything accomplished – i'm impressed that a subject could be hashed for so long and the discussion do so little. – by msi4mfr suse linux (4:12pm est thu jun 15 2006) the best stable os & free! – by deutschsuse nerds!!!! (10:15pm est sun jun 18 2006) you are all filthy!!! – by michiko unreal (1:05am est tue jun 27 2006) i bought a box about a year ago with xp on it, already activatedtonight when i turned it on to play wow, i get a box that says, “windows must be activated in order to log on.”. And now i have to wait till the morning to call microsoft and wait another 4 days before i can play my gamedoes wow run on nix? – by mikael anarchy baby (6:06pm est wed jun 28 2006) it's the only way to go, think about it do you really think that bill doesn't know we're stealing his shit. The spanish have a saying “you can't steal from a thief!” he stole it to begin with. – by master of your mothr windows (6:33pm est fri jun 30 2006) viruses are built to fuck up windows, mac doesnt have this problem i have noticed after going on a school system, why cant bill just create something decent that cannot be infected by a virus like the people at apple have done. I also noticed the “kiss-ass” web page on microsofts site, it seems that they have found out people are using linux:) (note the smiley face) instead of windows, i dont blame them, windows always has some resort to screw its users and another thing, viruses mess with system files, so why cant we? – by killbillnow! Activation (2:09am est tue jul 04 2006) hey i have installed and activated my windows but it is popping up saying i hav to activate, when i log in. Wat should i do – by b-r-a-d bump. This is the best burn ever! (1:51am est mon jul 10 2006) re: noob saibot (11:26am est tue jul 29 2003) i hate to be disagreeable, noob, but i *did* read the article thoroughly. It appears you didn't read mine, though. The potential vulnerabilities lie in a lot more than cracking the encryption. In fact, by taking advantage of how com objects communicate, it's possible to intercept what's going on *after* the encryption has been decrypted by the local machine. It's precisely that method that allowed the hackers to get some of the details they revealed. You must always remember that encryption must, at some point, be decrypted locally by both ends of the communications chain. If you can get into the data stream after that point, encryption is useless. Further, if you read both my article and the tecchannel article, you'll note that there are at least three possibilities (outlined on the last page of the tecchannel article) for compromise or subversion. As for the “unsubstantiated conclusion” of the function of the droplic token, you're just plain wrong there. First, i didn't make a conclusion, i made a supposition. Second, the definition of an unsubstantiated conclusion is a conclusion that has no possible supporting evidence. The function of the droplic token is to de-authorize an existing licensed installation. If someone could masquerade with your product id they could potentially de-authorize your installation without you ever knowing about it. Right now that doesn't matter very much because microsoft isn't checking your authorization status regularly. However, suppose for a moment that microsoft *started* checking authorization status every time you did a windows update? They already do this to screen for certain winxp and win2k3 activation codes, but it wouldn't be a stretch for them to do it for *every* system, and ms has hinted that they plan on doing that sooner or later. Even further down the road: suppose ms starts checking authorization status before it'll let you manually install a service pack or hotfix? What if they start requiring your machine do “check in” once a month, or once a quarter, to make sure it's still authorized properly? Microsoft completely controls this process so they can do *whatever they want* with this process. At best they can stop you from ever installing more patches and fixes. At worst they could force you to re-authorize your machine or face shutdown. You should re-examine your use of the phrase “unsubstantiated conclusion.” – by j. Eric smith – by l-style activation code expiration (4:41pm est fri jul 14 2006) one item of interest that has not been discussedif you format your disk and reinstall six times i think they told me you have to call them and get a new number. I have toyed around with mine and reinstalled several times and if you go up to six times you can no longer get updates. Now personally, i think that if i bought the operating system and they have it on record and having been activated i shouldn't have to go throught the arduous task of calling them!! I guess microsoft thinks that the operating system never has to be reinstalled. It's inevitable after some point in it's inability to address all conflicts. – by mecca53 need a product key (1:49pm est wed jul 26 2006) so there is no way i can get a product key without paying for one? *crying* – by searching. Office product key code (3:43am est wed aug 16 2006) i'd like to know why when i just bought a new computer, which already had xp installed, also came with ms word, and i bought and installed works, i have home publishing etc. I've been using all for some time. Tonight a huge box came up asking for the product key code. Which now is not the same one i have. Whats up with that? – by confused big comment on m$ pricing. (4:09pm est wed aug 16 2006) windows is going to cost too much until there is some actual competition out there. If the linux users want to see more people jump on the linux bandwagon, there needs to be more useful desktop applications designed for linux. If there was a way to interperet windows api calls and direct x in linux, we would have a start at running windows applications in linux.but thats just wishful thinking. M$ can afford to pay developers to program as a career rather than in free time. 40+ hours per week per person writing new code for thier os is hard to compete with in opensource land where there aren't all that many jobs. So long as m$ is the main os, developers will continue to develop for only windows. In turn, m$ will be that much more powerful and hard to break away from. And for the record, i'm not all that happy with capitolism. I rather not see corporations have the type of power they have. – by dj beer post above is wrong (9:11pm est tue aug 22 2006) it isn't as much as long as ms is the main os, but which is easiest to make money off of. – by craig what ever (10:28am est mon aug 28 2006) hey this is bill gates and saying all your computers will be gunuine – by bill gates$$ windows api (2:48pm est fri sep 01 2006) we just need to get windows api programs up and running so none of us have to use windows again – by nunya windows xp pro (1:18pm est fri sep 22 2006) i have an illegit copy of windows xp pro. I recieved the get geniune windows annoying pop-ups and followed instructions in a blog to deal withsuccessfully. The other day windows prevented me from logging on, saying i didn't have the correct authorization codecan't boot up in safe mode either. Any up to date threads that anyone knows of, as all of the ones i have found so far ar outdated and aren't applicable to fix my problem. Thanks – by j-dawg customer service my @$$ (8:41am est thu sep 28 2006) after going through the whole automated bs with a legal copy of wxp pro i still had to deal with a customer service rep. That only confirmed i had a legal retail copy and then was passed after waiting a long time to a tech support who when finally picked up said nothing and just hung up. So again ms proves its worthless for any type of actual customer service and tech support. Both online and on the phone what a waste of money. All i wanted to do was reinstall an os i legally owned.the way i see it ms is frauding the consumer getting rich off products that malfunction. If it was made right the first time they wouldnt need so many hotfix updates. – by terribly annoyed sex with german girls (7:49pm est mon oct 09 2006) do like welsh men i welshman i like german girls – by tim jones. If you want to stay legal, you’ll have to pay Microsoft for the Windows system, but you can at least blow Microsoft off when it comes to your office productivity and go to openoffice.org and download the absolutely free office suite that is positivley as good as MS Office and directly opens and saves all MS Office file types. It has a word processor, spreadsheet program and a presentation program. If you haven’t checked it out, you will be amazed at the funcitonality. Once you try it you’ll never go back to Microsoft again. Most people will never know they’re not using office. And did I mention it’s FREE.
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