What! My copy of Vista is not genuine???

BBBAAAHHH!!! Now it's fragging my drivers! It keeps saying that it's installing this driver...over and over again.

And for everyone's viewing pleasure...

 

Well, you probably need to get that figured out quick, because Vista will eventually (after 7 days I believe) default to a very low-profile mode where you will only be able to access IE7 for half an hour, and then the system will shut down. Or just back everything up now and switch to Linux.

While I really respect your "maturity," I can honestly say I've never had this problem with Ubuntu. I'm not saying that because of this that it's a "better" OS, just that it's different. It's fundamental design (open source) means I will never have to deal with this, and if night_2004 is severely upset by this situation, he may find the same to be true for him.

But whatever your feelings on Windows vs. Linux, please don't bash other forum members; it really is in bad taste. Even if the posters of this thread were indeed bashing Vista, that is no excuse to in turn bash them. It puts a really bad front out there for new users, and this really is a wonderful place to get a lot of information. I, like many other users, were simply trying to educate fellow users of what's really behind Vista, as not everyone knows the things or have done as much research as us. And these are things that everyone should know before upgrading to Vista, including the possibility that they may be inadvertently (through mistake or design) be accused of piracy by Microsoft.

 

Keep us in the loop night_2004, although I'm optimistic you should be able to get the issue resolved without having to reinstall.

 

I'll follow MS's advice and troubleshooting. After that, I'm going to image the drive tomorrow night and see if that helps. If not, one reinstall to see what happens. After that, I'll probably switch back to XP or over to Linux. I need this PC to function.

I can dual boot into XP right now, so if I have severe problems I'll still be okay. But MS will be getting a request for a refund if my OS locks down.

 

Well, I'm back to XP for now. After using my scanner to create a PDF, it turns out the scanner driver (Vista version) corrupted the file and it didn't work. I'm tired of it not working.

Going back to XP for a little while.

 

Thanks for the whining Zellio lol

you basically whined about us whining, sounds like a hypocrite to me

and dont insult our "maturity" cuz we dont do things YOUR way

if someone wants to complain then go ahead and complain, if ppl never did then things would never be rectified or brought to the attention of those in the know and those in the not.

besides the grievances are quite genuine, this is a human error but one that couldve easily been avoided by MS in the months they must have had ensuring Vista was stable and worked properly. one reason I see why they ddint figure this out is because it doesnt affect them cuz in the end they know they have a near monopoly on operating systems. so it doesnt matter if they annoy ppl with these bugs that potentially disable PCs and anger customers, the money's already in their accounts and you cant return Vista once you've used it eh

night i take it all their "solutions" didnt work, cant u use one of those activation cracks temporarily til they sort a fix for ya?

 

None of them worked, and I've emailed some additional info to MS that was requested. The vendor I got it from is getting involved too, since they don't want this to reflect negatively on them.

I've got until about the end of the week before Vista goes into "screw-you" mode, so I've got a little time. I have yet to attempt to reimage the drive...I need my computer right now. I cannot spare the two hours it will take to image my drive. That's tomorrow's project.

A program that MS sent me indicates that it is an "Invalid License" problem, and not some corrupt Vista file somewhere.

Activation works, but it does not register that Vista is genuine. Not too sure why I get one but not the other.

It's a little surprising how much attention that this thread has gotten since I started it...amazing.

 

heh maybe cuz its a "it cud happen to you" kinda problem. you paid for something legally and you get treated as if the money you spent was monopoly money.

why dont u image the drive overnight if such a thing can be done with the program you are using.

Also have u tried using a change key program and either reinputting ur key or installing a random one from a keygen? anything cud help temporarily fix it cuz it cud take ages to sort out and u cud find urself reinstalling vista in the end anyways.

 

Monopoly money...hmmm.

The image process should take 2-3 hours at most (a lot of hard drive to image...about 45GB). It's Acronis True Image, but I'm new to it. If I make a mistake, it'll take me 2 days to reinstall everything I need for school. That means after my stuff is due tomorrow.

I've re-entered the key, reset everything, booted to safe mode, and nothing has helped so far. Random keys won't work, and that would probably screw some other user so I'm not doing that.

If I have to reinstall Vista, that'll be my weekend project.

 

Have you tried applying this hotfix?

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/KB931573

 

Well, good luck with it. I really don't understand why you would want to reinstall Vista after this fiasco. I would just stick with XP at this point. Unless you have some kind of need for Vista, I'd just be happy with XP. $0.02

 

Yup...you cannot install it on a non-genuine copy of Windows. Catch-22

 

I'm working on an article for NBR right now about Vista...that's why I need it. But after this experience, I do think that my bottom line is going to be 'stay with XP.'

Vista has some nice features that I like, but it certainly isn't worth this trouble if it isn't easily fixed.

 

actually, it was NOT the first time that m$ boo.booing on WGA
http://blogs.msdn.com/wga/archive/2006/10/05/WGA-service-outage.aspx

there was a tip in there to work around the issue, i cannot confirm it since i did not have the issue :-(

cheers ...

 

Well, that appears to be a possible cause for this problem. However that fix is for XP...I've manually deleted all the WGA references that I can find, however something tells me the super-DRM Vista has a few more I don't know about.

Most likely, I've got either a corrupt WGA data file somewhere or my CD emulators screwed it up (I did install them and a few other things the day this started happening). Imaging should fix it, as would a reinstall. If I'm right.

If I image/install and the problem persists, MS is going to have another major problem on their hands. I don't appreciate losing functionality that I legally paid for...just another example of how DRM hurts only the consumer.

EDIT:
It looks like there are a lot of problems that could cause this, ranging from changing your graphics card frequency to just using the standard OEM image that HP, Dell, etc install on your computer. Amazing how much crap is going on right now with this problem!

http://blogs.zdnet.com/Bott/?p=221
http://forums.microsoft.com/Genuine/ShowForum.aspx?ForumID=1004&SiteID=25
http://www.digg.com/software/Vista_...ows_Genuine_Advantage_False_Positives_Problem

I think me needs to just go back to XP. Vista has until the weekend, and then I'm going back if I cannot solve it.

 

so i take it that the only way to make it legit again is for m$ to give us poor souls a new activation code. working with vista since the start, i must give these developer blokes a big MINUS, m$ must have outsourced this portion of code to somewhere where they r paying ONE (1/2) peanut for the work

do keep us informed on how ur issue is being solved, should u decide to play with vista further. Re.install to me is not a way out, since it will hit u again once that update comes back

cheers ...

 

the only clean way to solve this issue is for m$:
. to shoot down a piece of utility (one still can surf the net) letting the legit owner to re.enter his/her coa
. then letting the system go thru a FIXED/WORKABLE WGA (windows update) check again to update m$ UN.corrupted database

but then again, simple thoughts/ideas never work with m$ complicated software developers - they would be out of a job when any pieces of apps works so well

cheers ...

 

Wow...I imaged the drive to a point in which there wasn't a problem. I'm now genuine, and I'm activated. Aero's back, and I'm no longer in reduced functionality mode.

Something software wise must have been the problem. Either Vista's activation servers at Microsoft were problematic, or just something funky happened on my PC. Daemon was the last thing that changed my computer, so I'm going to urge caution when using emulated hardware on Vista. But I could have also had some corrupt files that could have caused this, as some activation threads have said was a possibility.

But I've been running a genuine OS for the last 30 minutes now...and I hope this doesn't happen again.

Bad Microsoft...and definitely a little bit of a worry. For if it happened to me, it could happen to everyone. And not everyone has imaging software. But for now, problem fixed...but I only won the battle.

 

The problem isn't fixed, you've just reduced the symptoms. The problem is that Microsoft treats you like a criminal just for using their product that you paid for, which doesn't sit well with me.

 

Yes. Someone paid for a product and got treated like a thief. Ohnoes.
Funny thing is, apparently someone *still* finds it neccesary to defend this. How about saying "Ok, MS screwed up here, they shouldn't have done that".
I could respect that, but saying "They screwed up, that's fine, cos others have screwed up too" is just pathetic.

Tell me, what exactly is the relevance?

Has anyone ever said "Doesn't matter that Steam accidentally screwed my account, because they're not the first to do it"? I haven't heard of anyone do this. You might, but to the rest of us, it's still wrong.

And then the bank has to offer compensation. Does MS give you anything as compensation when they screw up?

No, you are looking for any reason you can to praise MS. Microsoft screwed up. If that is not a reason for criticism, then I don't know what is. Not all of us are as selectively blind as you.

No, it is not CALLED HUMAN ERROR.

It is called "Valuing our flawed and inefficient schemes for minimizing piracy higher than actually giving customers value for their money".
That is not human error. It is not accidental, Microsoft knew that their anti-piracy schemes would misfire occasionally, and they said "doesn't matter, so what if we piss off some of our legit customers. We don't care about them, we care about the illegal ones"

I'm over 18. I've got a credit card. I've got a job. And I have not made personal comments in this thread. You have. I have not fanatically defended a giant corporation's failure. You have acted like the most immature fanboi. I don't think you're one to speak about "maturity".

If I get ripped off by the grocer, yes.

It was more than that. It was also the decision that "it doesn't matter about such errors". They knew perfectly well in advance that this would happen.

And the solution could just be to inform people of the problem. Maybe even to tell Microsoft that it sucks. In other words, do precisely what is going on in this thread. I fail to see the problem.

The way to solve the problem is to make sure people know it exists. Within and outside Microsoft. MS needs to learn the extent of the problem, and the effect it has on their *legit* customers. And potential customers need to know what issues they may run into.

Just how is your blind fanboyism better? How can you, among all your whining and immaturity, attack this for "not trying to find a solution"?
All the posts in this thread, except for yours, have been constructive in trying to solve the problem, in a multitude of ways.
You are the only one who blindly wails "There is no problem, you're imagining things because you hate MS". That is not constructive. That is not a solution. That is not mature. And it's sure as hell not responsible.

 

I agree with Pita... the problem is not fixed. WGA is still on your computer, and that is a huge problem. I'll just rest easy knowing I don't have to pay $400 to have MY data be stripped from me on MY computer. To each his own I guess.

I also agree with Jalf. Fanboyism is becoming a disease on the Internet these days.

 

Jalf's got a good point there. I'm not trying to be a fan...I like Vista though I'm a little ticked about the problem in the first place. It gets one more chance from me (since I do have it working now that is), but if this repeats itself I'm not even going to bother trying to fix it.

@notebook_ftw: This is a great reason for people to just keep their data on a separate partition and/or back it up. Something goes wrong, even if it isn't the OS treating you like a thief, and you may still be okay. LiveCD anyone?

But, regarding the WGA: yes, that annoys me to death. I cannot stand UAC as several of my programs cannot even cope with it. But I seem to remember a time when XP's WGA was discovered to "phone home" on a regular basis. There was a public outcry and Microsoft did finally take that "feature" out of WGA.

Now, both Windows versions do check authenticity when updating the software and what not...but I disagree with it. They don't need to continually check it at all. Only if there's been a change in the motherboard or some other major component of a PC that cannot be replaced without it essentially (or most likely) being a new PC. Something like a DVD emulator or printer that is constantly being disconnected/reconnected shouldn't trigger the check. A motherboard change or processor change...definitely check it. Video card change...maybe. But I heavily disagree with re-validating every time Windows updates runs. I don't have a problem with the Update Program checking the current status, but constantly re-evaluating the PC is wrong...look where it got me. Once the OS and user have been proven innocent, they shouldn't be charged with a crime again. Anyone heard of double jeopardy? WGA should only run when there's due cause...like the changes that I mentioned...and not just because MS says so. That is wrong...and you'll definitely find a critic here when it comes to that.

At least in the short run, I've got to have Windows. I cannot deny that, but in the future I will be wary of another Windows purchase. I'm going to wait until the bugs are out, and until the community has found all those WGA issues, before I decide to purchase it. If it's too much trouble to upgrade Windows...well, that's when I'll meet Linux. But that's another battle and another OS to learn, not to mention a whole new batch of programs that I'm not familiar yet and whose programming I do not trust. All my current programs, I know them...I know Norton (yes, they suck), my games, and some of my utilities that I cannot do without. There may be Linux equivalents, and I'm sure there are...but I don't trust them yet. I don't trust MS either, but at least my stuff works right now. Why fix what isn't immediately broken? At least when you're a college student who cannot spare much (if any) time to learn something new that isn't part of a class.

Anyway, that's my $0.02.

 

While I agree with you to an extent, I have to mostly disagree (surprise, huh?). I understand that being a college student doesn't leave a lot of time... I'm an engineering student that goes to school year round; I get about 3 weeks break in July and 4 weeks in December. That's it. Right now I'm on co-op working full time... I've put in 13 hours overtime just since last Friday. So time is definitely an issue when you're a busy college student.

However, I have to disagree with the statement of "Why fix what isn't immediately broken?" Windows is broken, and it does need to be fixed. Accusing it's legally paying users of piracy and watching all of them closely making sure they don't install something or do something that Microsoft deems unfit is bull. The problem isn't when Windows checks for all these changes, it's why it does it in the first place. Being in the United States, I believe in a innocent until proven guilty, but apparently Microsoft feels differently, and the fact that they are allowed to do these things is an injustice in and of itself. Forget the ethics behind it, this shouldn't even be legal in the U.S.

As for not trusting Linux software, I really don't see that to be a problem. The fact that it is open source is reason enough for me to trust it, because anything that comes out that's open source would be immediately be examined by somebody, and any inconsistencies or anything else would be published. The closed nature of Microsoft means you have to trust Microsoft; something I could never do, especially if what happened to you ever happened to me.

That all being said, I also am a proactive user; some people aren't. I just can't sit back and take these things in. Microsoft is putting their foot in the virtual door of 90% of the computers in the world. They're giving themselves the power to spontaneously disable computers all around the world, and positioning themselves to justify it (possibly even to themselves) that it's about piracy. I'm sorry, but if you want to stop piracy, go after the pirates, don't go after the consumer. The fact that people pay Microsoft to do this is what worries me even more. They have so much crap in Vista that is so detrimental to the end user that they should be disbanded and prosecuted for it. They're even forcing hardware manufacturers into hardware-enabled DRM such as HDCP, signed Vista drivers, and integrated TPM. I hope the EU grills them on this like they've grilled them in the past (though Microsoft has done little to meet the requirements of court-enforced action). These hardware features are closed source and proprietary, meaning that when it gets to the point in a few years where all hardware is designed for Vista, you won't even be able to run other OS' on the hardware because you can't get drivers for them. They've given themselves the right to disable manufacturer's drivers. It's ridiculous. These are powers that no company should have.

I respect Microsoft for what it's done for the computing world; but on the other hand, they're getting a bit too big for their breeches, and they need to be taken down a notch. The fact that people continue to trust (and in fact praise) Microsoft despite all the evidence out there is absolutely ludicrous to me. How can they put out software that has such a blatant disregard for the end user and people still buy into it? Something needs to change, and quick, because I'm beginning to get severely worried about where they are taking the computer world. I just wish more people could see what so many of us here keep trying to say. And what's worse, most of the people on here are even more educated than most home users. And that worries me even more.

Anyway, that's my $0.02

 

However, I have to disagree with the statement of "Why fix what isn't immediately broken?" Windows is broken, and it does need to be fixed.

What I meant was that at least Vista fulfilled my needs at the time...provided this doesn't happen again. I could burn my CDs, listen to my music, get on the internet and check my email, play the occasional game, and in general live my life. XP fulfilled them a little more, and with less trouble...which is why I'm uninstalling Vista tomorrow. I'll go into the 'why?' in a minute.

Forget the ethics behind it, this shouldn't even be legal in the U.S. I definitely disagree with MS's current WGA policy. But as our lovely government isn't going to do much to combat piracy itself, I do think MS needs to do something to protect their main cash cows. But it really needs to be more of a, we think you have a problem, please call within the next 30 days or then we'll do something. I recently read an article in favor or MS giving CS tech's the ability to give temporary 30 or 60 day licenses and product keys solely for the purpose of overriding WGA until a solution is found. I like that.

As for not trusting Linux software, I really don't see that to be a problem. The fact that it is open source is reason enough for me to trust it, because anything that comes out that's open source would be immediately be examined by somebody, and any inconsistencies or anything else would be published. The closed nature of Microsoft means you have to trust Microsoft; something I could never do, especially if what happened to you ever happened to me.

I trust that what programs I have now work the way I want them to. The Linux equivalents will undoubtedly be just as good, if not better, and there's always the option of tweaking the code yourself if you need to. But I don't have the time to learn the new apps and try and figure out how to change the settings and policies of programs to more closely match what I'm used to. At least in my computing world, trust is established with a program by it's long term stability and ability to fulfill my needs. I trust XP and Office 2003, don't trust Vista and O2007, will never again trust a Norton product, etc...

When time allows, my Vista partition is becoming an Ubuntu partition...and I'll start experimenting until I'm familiar enough with the OS and it's equivalent applications to use them just as effectively as XP's.

I'm sorry, but if you want to stop piracy, go after the pirates, don't go after the consumer.
Agreed, but how would you feel if WGA suddenly would transmit your location if it was determined you were running a non-genuine OS? What if WGA sent it period, so MS knew who the good guys were?

Just throwing a monkey wrench here to start a little discussion on the extent of WGA and security that Windows should have.

They have so much crap in Vista that is so detrimental to the end user that they should be disbanded and prosecuted for it. They're even forcing hardware manufacturers into hardware-enabled DRM such as HDCP, signed Vista drivers, and integrated TPM.

HDCP: Yes, it's bull.
DRM: Yes, it's bull.
In the case of HDCP and DRM though, MS isn't standing up to the recording studios, movie makers, and what not.

Signed Vista drivers: cannot blame MS for wanting to avoid driver issues. Almost all XP problems are now related to shoddy drivers, and MS doesn't want history to repeat. If there's an unsigned driver I need to use, Vista does allow for it...but it isn't encouraged for the average user.

Integrated TPM: Last I checked, that's a good thing. It allows us to lock down our computers for security, encrypt the hard drive so a stolen drive is no useable, and things like that. I haven't found a single aspect of TPM that hurts the user...but I'll be looking that up now that you mention it.

These hardware features are closed source and proprietary, meaning that when it gets to the point in a few years where all hardware is designed for Vista, you won't even be able to run other OS' on the hardware because you can't get drivers for them. They've given themselves the right to disable manufacturer's drivers. It's ridiculous. These are powers that no company should have.

Blame the hardware makers for not releasing the drivers...not MS. As for MS disabling drivers, I'm sure the hardware makers could sue and win if that ever became the case. By the time XP is no longer in production, Vista will (hopefully) be stable and (I'm wishing) WGA fixed. By then, old hardware will probably need replacing anyway, and if not that's what a Virtual Machine is for. Even MS realizes that and released Virtual Machine 2007 to compete with VMWare.

Anyway, on another topic...
Vista is showing it's teeth at me again. I'm not getting WGA problems now, but a lot of my drivers will not stay installed and I'm finding myself having to reinstall them every day or every few days. I don't like it.

My printer, with it's default driver provided by MS, just doesn't work the way it should. 75% of the time, I'll send the command to print something...but the printer just gives an error. No reason, and no solution...until I reboot and then suddenly my printer is working...until that document is done and the printer refuses to work again. I'm sick of it. Definitely driver issues here.

My HVR950 tuner drives have to be reinstalled every few days, because Vista looses them. Ridiculous... To top it off, Hauppage says the drivers should work for x64 as well...when I tried out x64, those drivers refused to install so i know that's total bull. x86 Vista drivers are buggy as well.

My scanner at least works the way it should.

Then to top it off, explorer.exe is starting to crash again...and frequently. These, combined with the driver install issue, were the first things to happen before Vista managed to corrupt something to make it non-genuine the first time. I do have reason to believe that it will happen again, and that's why I'm going back to XP.

Now, I just have to see if MS offers refunds...I want my $70 back.

On another note...
Remember how I mentioned that MS contacted me to help trouble shoot the issue? Well, I emailed them back the first time...said none of their steps solved the problem...and I haven't heard back from them in over a week. Figures.

I finally solved the issue, as mentioned before, but MS certainly didn't help. Just another reason why I want a refund.

 

Oh, I just have read about your problem, what a bother.
I think it's better to get rid of Vista until service pack 1 arrives.

 

That is exactly what I'm recommending.

 

You can delete your own post by clicking 'Edit'. There is an option for deletion, simply check the box.

Night, I'm sorry to hear about your trouble, sounds like a nightmare. I recently installed Vista and I understand some of the problems you are having because I experience them, too (mainly driver issues). I hope you have a smooth XP install after your trouble with Vista. Good luck with the refund too... you'll need it.

Matt

 

Don't worry.... it's not a genuine operating system either.

 

Night_2004,

As you may know, I've told people to stay away from Vista for about a year- 18 months until it is stable.

Your experiences seem to be exactly in line with what I expected from this new OS.

On MS and the activation el-crap-ola, etc... I can't even put into words how much I detest MS for all the backdoor things they've done in the past... I don't trust them... On all the anti-piracy crap.. the more MS raises the price of the OS, the more people are going to try to pirate it.... Me thinks $499? is too much for Vista Ultimate...

To me it's nothing more that a "plus" pack that should be no more than $50 extra.

In addtion I think DRM is bad and it's only going to get worse..

(Everyone should read thru this)

http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=3529

The above being said I too like you have been sucked in... I just put Vista on a XP install to see what all the fuss is. Pretty and all and does have some "pluses" but I'm having a hard time swallowing what the long term effects of all that DRM crap-ola, and the probing they do on your system....

I'm to the point of going to Linux and have been trying out several liveCd distros..
(Last time I tried out Linux was about 10 years ago!!!)

Linux has come a LONGGGG way since then guys!!! totally automated install.... picks up the correct video card drivers... very nice....

Just as a FYI: I tried out a distro called Pclinux2007 (rev3)

livecd-TR3.iso
690 MB (723,943,424 bytes)


Just as a WARNING, be VERY careful on these Linux distros to verify that the FAN is running!!!

After running Pclinux2007 (rev3) for about 30 minutes, I noticed the left hand side of the unit was VERY HOT.... After shutting down, I used my other machine to google the problem.

May be fixable in a hd install... don't know,:

http://daniel.graziotin.net/2006/12/02/hp-nx6325-and-friends-thermal-problems-solved/

http://www.wolframschenck.de/nx6325.htm

ATTENTION: ACPI management is broken on the nx6325 (and other HP's as well) with a standard linux installation. Using ACPI, you will most likely overheat your CPU because the CPU fan won't turn on properly. After the initial installation, you should start your notebook with the kernel option acpi=off until you applied a solution to the problem. This will turn the CPU fan on regardless of load. On the downside, you won't be able to access the battery state, and worse, your dual-core CPU will only use one of its cores, but it won't overheat... During the installation (started with ACPI support), I enabled in the bios "Fan always on with AC adapter plugged in", and of course, I plugged the AC adapter in

*******

Read some other posts that say other HP models are affected... So make sure those fans are working!!! Note also I read that under some linux distros after going "to sleep" that the fans won't work right...

 

[On XP + Vista Complaining about Hardware Changes]

&

Interesting, guys. Never had this problem with XP...I have had over five personal desktop computers and I have serviced many other(s) at home, for family and at school...never had XP complain with some major hardware changes and additions. It's really sad to see M$'s antics though.

LOL! Both of you...you...jokerz...

 

Glad you're checking out Linux. It has come quite far in the past few years. If you want great hardware support, check out Ubuntu or Sabayon as well. I hope you get the acpi problems worked out. Be sure to let us know in the Linux fourm.

Well, from everything I understand, it was a bit more lenient than Vista is. Add in the fact that WGA wasn't added to XP until about a year and a half ago, and I can see how you could miss it. On top of that, WGA is still an option for XP; if you don't download anything from Microsoft's website or update the computer regularly (or deny WGA when it attempts to install), chances are it's not on your computer. Vista users have no such freedoms.

LOL. I am teh jokxor.

 

Sabayon? will check it out....Ubuntu seems to work, haven't double checked it to see if the fan is working.

Have no clue on what to look for, what Linux programs may be out there to monitor fan speeds /temps..

Unit got pretty toasty, to the point I'm considering taking the unit apart to put some new thermo-paste on the cpu just to be on the safe side.

Next problem I forsee, is since I've let the "wife" play her Vista card games is running the windows versions of those games via linux. Vista is pretty you know...

(I sort of like it, and at the same time dislike how they've "dumbed" it down... Look what they did to disc defragmenter... No progress bar, status bar,.. when it finishes, it doesn't tell you so (may have missed it) hard to tell if "it's working"... I want the defragmenter to give a report, give me a report when it finshes.... for all I know during the defrag it crashed...


Then we have the Vista firewall allowing ALL outbound connections free reign... I was looking forward to having a firewall intergrated into the OS... My line of thinking on that is the OS mfg should know the OS better than third party companies???

(Think I have that problem fixed http://www.komando.com/tips/index.aspx?id=2973

How hard would it be to have a "option" to turn the firewall ON, and have it "ask" whenever a program first accesses the net, ask whenever the program has changed? MS used the excuse of "out of box" expericance, their corporate customers not wanting the firewall, support issues, anti-trust, etc... I don't care,, I want advanced options. If I block ALL apps, and something trys to dial OUT, I want to know....


I'm also having a problem dealing with how much they've dumbed down the interfaces on everything, Ok if you want to dumb it down, OK, but have a option to turn advanced functions on MS... I may be wrong on that, just seems everything is moved around alot... I feel like I'm using a Mac?

.

PS: For those wanting the eye-candy of Vista, there are some programs out there which will make XP look like Vista..

Addtionally for those "thinking" of checking out Linux, but want Vista type "eye-candy"... Google Ubuntu + Beryl

Check out these videos:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dlhD_4pK4MM&mode=related&search=#

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YKEcz_OTTBk&mode=related&search=


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p0HLtNydndU&mode=related&search=

How to install, configure Ubuntu + Beryl
http://lhansen.blogspot.com/2006/10/3d-desktop-beryl-and-xgl-on-ubuntu-edgy.html

 

And meanwhile my Mom has had to re-activate XP because she put a new video card in, as the integrated Intel had huge driver issues.

An anecdote doesn't make it true for everyone. The problem is that it's true for SOMEONE, and especially for someone who bought it legitimately. Would you be happy if you car decided to not start because it randomly decided you weren't the one who owned it, even if you held the title in your hand?

 

Well, at least her activation worked. That means that MS isn't accusing her of piracy when it's a legit COA!

 

Again, it's still nothing that should happen. Why should she have to call to prove she gave money to someone? Why is that check even wasting her time, and computer processing time? She bought the computer to work on it, not to spend time proving she bought the machine.

 

Read thru this blog guys...

I don't see anything good long-term comming out of Vista...

Windows Vista Content Protection - Twenty Questions (and Answers)
http://windowsvistablog.com/blogs/w...-protection-twenty-questions-and-answers.aspx

Sounds like "protection" for the Hollywood types, and a way for MS to get a cut of the action ($$$$), so to speak.... with the consumer being the loser.

.

 

Wow...MS finally got back to me about this! They asked me what program I used to capture the screen shots of Vista, and what screen saver I was running and where I got it from.

How was that related to activation and genuine software?

 

Probably because some of those programs may hook into "protected" areas of the OS, thus tripping the WGA switch. Never can be too careful with those screen savers...

 

And the funny thing...they are both ones included with Vista. Looks like someone is tripping over their own shoelaces.

 

Ah... if you read page 97,337, sub paragraph 3, section 7 a, and 16 c of the EULA you are not allowed to take screenshots..

(Just kidding, been reading the Windows Vista Content Protection - Twenty Questions (and Answers) blog)

http://windowsvistablog.com/blogs/w...-protection-twenty-questions-and-answers.aspx


Will say this though:

1: I hope you have allot of time on your hands to deal with MS.
2: Don't expect your $70 back, or should I say the time it's going to take to get that $70 back. They might in the end refund the money... but it may take $1,000 worth of your time.

That being said I hope you do get a speedy refund, without them making you jump through too many hoops.


.

 

Just read the article there (and many of the comments). I already knew pretty much all of it having read the article to which that blog is a response. One thing I did get from the blog though:

Microsoft has turned avoiding the "actual question" into a sport.

 

ROTF...like that even matters. Maybe they just thought your screen saver was so cool they needed it for their selves.
Tim

 

Zellio, yours posts are slowly becoming less and less out information and more and more about flaming people.

If we didn't bash this inanimate object then how do we expect it to get fixed? It's not open source so we can't fix it ourselves.

If you can think of a way to fix this that doesn't involve complaining to the manufacturer, I'd like to hear it.

 

Well, it look like they know as little as I do about this problem.

Oh, and BTW...I'm officially using XP as my main OS again. That solves the problem.

 

Wrong thread Lys

*Points to thread above this one

 

His post was originally in this thread, then he deleted/moved it. I'll just copy my post over now.

 

Um file a Better Business bureau complaint against microsoft. If everyone who's having this problem with Vista files a complaint, and microsoft makes no attempt to amend this problem (it probably won't...what's a couple hundred thousand customers to them?) it may be the basis for a class action lawsuit against micro$oft.

 

I feel for night_2004 on this problem, hopefully MS will patch WGA back to XP levels for purposes of activation and validation to avoid future headaches. No one should have to reinstall their primary OS more than once in a day.

 

And remember, WE HAVE THE POWER. We're the consumers. WE HAVE THE POWER TO PUT MICRO$OFT OUT OF BUSINESS. They don't have any power without our money. We're basically giving them the power to be big brother. JUST STOP BUYING MICRO$OFT'S STUFF!!!!! YOU'RE GIVING THEM THE POWER TO OPPRESS YOU!!!!! If a company pisses me off, I boycott it PERMANENTLY. If enough consumers followed this rule, well we'd be doing a lot of things ourselves, but we're rewarding companies that sell excellent products and provide excellent services, which is what capitalism should be....the whole theory is that government isn't necessary because consumers would simply vote with their money.

 

Incredible...MS recommended I reinstall the OS. Now it will not activate at all...stating that the product key is already in use. Gee, I wonder who is using it...? I'm really loving the Vista-purchasers-are-thieves-mentality...and I'm about to completely abandon my hopes of setting up a XP-Vista dual boot.