HELP: MSDN subscriber faces screwed up RFM on Vista RC1 install, how to fix?

[Ken Fine]

I have a messed-up situation involving an RC1 installation of Vista on a
dev machine. I know there is an easy way out if someone can give me the
right answer.

The laptop has Vista RC1 installed on it. I want to install Vista Ultimate
atop this installation, but life is very hard for now. Why?

In a nutshell, I can't initate the upgrade process from the Windows Shell:
I'm barred from access due to the expiration of RC1. It is refusing to
activate. Worse, attempts to enter "reduced functionality mode" do not raise
any kind of browser or other prompt. From reading around on the net, there
are a bunch of ways that you can "break into" RFM, but these hacks depend on
access to the web browser that RFM raises.

I attempted to throw in the towel by initiating a clean install, but there
is not enough disk space to do this (!). My options are to wipe the whole
disk or clean off pieces of the old install.

There's nothing sleazy going on here: I'm an MSDN subscriber, the equivalent
of what used to be called MSDN Universal. The expiration of RC1 has NOT been
extended using command-line statements. I am entitled to have a working
install on the laptop. The issue is that I can't even start the upgrade
process from the shell.

If there is a magic activation number I can use to get at my shell for ten
minutes or so, that would be sufficient. If there are command-line
statements I could execute to give me shell access or otherwise start the
upgrade, that would work too.

I called MSDN support and the help was atypically worthless: they pointed me
to a webpage that showed upgrade vs. clean install options for Vista
versions over the RCs. Not helpful.

Any help out there?

 

[Carey Frisch MVP]]

Sorry, there is no workaround for your dilemma.
The expiration date of May 31, 2007 was hard-coded
in the beta versions. See the following for more info:

Windows Vista Beta 2, RC1 and RC2 set to expire:
http://windowsvistablog.com/blogs/w...s-vista-beta-2-rc1-and-rc2-set-to-expire.aspx

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

:

I have a messed-up situation involving an RC1 installation of Vista on a
dev machine. I know there is an easy way out if someone can give me the
right answer.

The laptop has Vista RC1 installed on it. I want to install Vista Ultimate
atop this installation, but life is very hard for now. Why?

In a nutshell, I can't initate the upgrade process from the Windows Shell:
I'm barred from access due to the expiration of RC1. It is refusing to
activate. Worse, attempts to enter "reduced functionality mode" do not raise
any kind of browser or other prompt. From reading around on the net, there
are a bunch of ways that you can "break into" RFM, but these hacks depend on
access to the web browser that RFM raises.

I attempted to throw in the towel by initiating a clean install, but there
is not enough disk space to do this (!). My options are to wipe the whole
disk or clean off pieces of the old install.

There's nothing sleazy going on here: I'm an MSDN subscriber, the equivalent
of what used to be called MSDN Universal. The expiration of RC1 has NOT been
extended using command-line statements. I am entitled to have a working
install on the laptop. The issue is that I can't even start the upgrade
process from the shell.

If there is a magic activation number I can use to get at my shell for ten
minutes or so, that would be sufficient. If there are command-line
statements I could execute to give me shell access or otherwise start the
upgrade, that would work too.

I called MSDN support and the help was atypically worthless: they pointed me
to a webpage that showed upgrade vs. clean install options for Vista
versions over the RCs. Not helpful.

Any help out there?

 

[Ken Fine]

Thanks for the reply, Carey, but I think you might be mistaken. Why? Because
on my other development laptop computer, I was able to upgrade to Vista
Ultimate sometime in late July/early August. It too had entered the mode
where it randomly reboots after two hours.

This is frustrating: I was alerted to the RFM well in advance of the death
date, but I wasn't told that there would be no way to upgrade to a licensed
copy, nor that different systems would display different behaviors in this
regard.

Somewhere somehow there is a hack around this, and I will keep looking if I
can't get a MSFT-sanctioned solution. IMHO there needs to be a workaround
for legit developers with legit MSDN subscriptions. Developers have an
interest in testing new products like RCs in near-production, and it is not
good to lock them out of their work.

Sorry, there is no workaround for your dilemma.
The expiration date of May 31, 2007 was hard-coded
in the beta versions. See the following for more info:

Windows Vista Beta 2, RC1 and RC2 set to expire:
http://windowsvistablog.com/blogs/w...s-vista-beta-2-rc1-and-rc2-set-to-expire.aspx

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

:

I have a messed-up situation involving an RC1 installation of Vista on a
dev machine. I know there is an easy way out if someone can give me the
right answer.

The laptop has Vista RC1 installed on it. I want to install Vista Ultimate
atop this installation, but life is very hard for now. Why?

In a nutshell, I can't initate the upgrade process from the Windows Shell:
I'm barred from access due to the expiration of RC1. It is refusing to
activate. Worse, attempts to enter "reduced functionality mode" do not
raise
any kind of browser or other prompt. From reading around on the net, there
are a bunch of ways that you can "break into" RFM, but these hacks depend
on
access to the web browser that RFM raises.

I attempted to throw in the towel by initiating a clean install, but there
is not enough disk space to do this (!). My options are to wipe the whole
disk or clean off pieces of the old install.

There's nothing sleazy going on here: I'm an MSDN subscriber, the
equivalent
of what used to be called MSDN Universal. The expiration of RC1 has NOT
been
extended using command-line statements. I am entitled to have a working
install on the laptop. The issue is that I can't even start the upgrade
process from the shell.

If there is a magic activation number I can use to get at my shell for ten
minutes or so, that would be sufficient. If there are command-line
statements I could execute to give me shell access or otherwise start the
upgrade, that would work too.

I called MSDN support and the help was atypically worthless: they pointed
me
to a webpage that showed upgrade vs. clean install options for Vista
versions over the RCs. Not helpful.

Any help out there?

 

[Jane C]

Hello Ken,

I'm afraid that you have gone past the 'date of no return' regarding
upgrading from a pre-release version of Vista. From the link Carey posted,
the final hard-coded cut-off date was 28 August:

After 31 May 2007, customers who continue to use pre-release versions of
Windows Vista will be able to log in for 2-hour sessions to retrieve data.
After 2 hours of use, the PC will automatically reboot without providing the
opportunity to save data. The opportunity to log in normally for these
2-hour sessions will only be available until 28 August 2007.

 

[Ken Fine]

Hi Jane, and thanks. This explains the behavior and my experience.

I think Microsoft is not thinking on this one and I am not happy with its
choices here: I say that being generally very supportive of MSFT developer
tools on- and off-line. The target for RCs is developers. I don't understand
why they would antagonize their developer base with this kind of
irreversible cutoff. On one hand, you can argue that I had plenty of warning
(though the last and most draconian of the deadlines was never communicated
to me; I was working on a second larger laptop since I didn't travel for
some months.) On the other, you can argue that developers are generally
exempt from the usual restrictions and the licensing on products like MSDN
support that contention.

Here's a case where I have a valid paid upgrade in hand and I can't use it.
I'm looking at a total rebuild of my primary development laptop and
re-installation of all of my apps, settings, and webs because of an
arbitrary hardcoded deadline and the want of a few days . It's a complete
waste of my time and energy.

Patch, please, young men of Redmond. One idea: validate against MSDN
subscriber ID. You'll make everyone else mad but at least you won't destroy
developers' ability to wrok.

-KF

 

[Ken Fine]

My ultimate resolution to this issue is being effected now. After some
poking, I figured out I could boot to safe mode. I useed RegEdit to display
the RC I was running. I was running RC2. Microsoft says that only a clean
install is possible going RC2->RTM. Some online report making it work --
sort of -- but I'm not going to chance it. Am nuking my old installation as
we speak.

Going into Safe Mode at least allowed me to clear off enough disk space to
do the clean install.

In the future it would be cool if Microsoft could give devs a means of
bypassing the lockout experience, which wasted a lot of my time.

-KF

 

[Frank Saunders, MS-MVP OE/WM]

I can't understand why anyone would want to develop for or test on RC1 or
RC2. They are different from RTM and the work would potentially be
worthless. The warning about cutoff dates was clear in the documentation if
you read it, which you should have because you agreed to it when you
downloaded and installed.

 

[Peter Foldes]

Actually the freebie run out and now the pants pocket is almost or completely sewn tight,

 

[Frank Saunders, MS-MVP OE/WM]

Actually the freebie run out and now the pants pocket is almost or
completely sewn tight,


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