product key

[Mike]

I guess I've been duped. I recently had high speed internet installed and
they upgraded xp home basic to xp pro. They installed counterfiet software.
I went to Windows product update tool , typed in my product key and they said
that key is not assigned to my system. Is there anything I can do?

 

[Pegasus \(MVP\)]

I guess I've been duped. I recently had high speed internet installed and
they upgraded xp home basic to xp pro. They installed counterfiet
software.
I went to Windows product update tool , typed in my product key and they
said
that key is not assigned to my system. Is there anything I can do?

You need to discuss the matter with the company that
performed the upgrade. Why did you actually go from
XP Home to XP Pro?

 

[Mike]

You need to discuss the matter with the company that
performed the upgrade. Why did you actually go from
XP Home to XP Pro?

I discussed it with them and they admitted that they installed counterfeit xp pro. Now that it's done I would like to know if there is anything I can do to get my legitimate xp home back. I would rather not deal with them anymore.

 

[Pegasus \(MVP\)]

You would have to re-install your original WinXP Home version,
using your own WinXP CD and the product key that came with
it. You would also have to re-install your various applications.

Alternatively you could lean on the company and get them to do
this work for you since they caused the trouble in the first place.
Whether this is the best course of action is another question.

 

[Mike]

You would have to re-install your original WinXP Home version,
using your own WinXP CD and the product key that came with
it. You would also have to re-install your various applications.

Alternatively you could lean on the company and get them to do
this work for you since they caused the trouble in the first place.
Whether this is the best course of action is another question.

Yes, but this computer came with xp preinstalled by the seller and the product key is attached to the computer and I received no cd when I purchased the computer. So I guess I will have to buy a new copy of xp home

 

[Pegasus \(MVP\)]

If you did not get a WinXP CD when you purchased the computer
then you would either have received a recovery CD or a procedure
to restore WinXP from a hidden partition on your disk. Check the
supplier's manual for details. Note that the restore process could
wipe your hard disk, including your EMail files.

You can also install Windows from a copy of a WinXP CD,
provided that it is the same type, i.e. "OEM" in your case. This
is perfectly legal as long as you use your own product key.

 

[John H Meyers]

this computer came with xp preinstalled by the seller
and the product key is attached to the computer
and I received no cd when I purchased the computer.

Does that computer have a vendor,
and does the vendor have a phone number?

So I guess I will have to buy a new copy of xp home

I would guess it to be cheaper to buy a "restore" CD
from the original vendor, but YMMV.

--

 

[John John]

I would tell them that unless they repair the damage they did that I
intend to take legal action against them. If they failed to properly
address the issue I would then follow up on the threat and take legal
action against the company. I would pay the small fee required to file
an action in small claims court. You may not end up getting much from
small claims court but you can't lose much more than the filling costs,
and the company who installed counterfeit software on your computer will
get free publicity!

I would also tell them that I intend to report them to the piracy
department at Microsoft, and I would follow up on that! Microsoft may
take a somewhat more lax approach to piracy by individual home users but
they take piracy by companies very seriously, and they take piracy by
companies that install/sell pirated software on third party computers
very, very seriously!

Then I would tell them that I intend to call the local paper and TV
station and ask them if they could report on the piracy that the company
engages in, more free publicity! And of course I would follow up on
that too!

So in the end, I would ask them if they think that it is worth it for
them to have to deal with the consequences of not fixing my computer to
my satisfaction! It may be a lot of effort and a bit of work to follow
up on these actions, but it would sure be satisfying to see them squirm
as a result of my efforts!

Out of all the above, the easiest one to follow through is to report
them to the piracy department at Microsoft, it will not take much effort
on your part and it may cause them immense well deserved legal headaches!

John

 

[Alias]

I would tell them that unless they repair the damage they did that I
intend to take legal action against them. If they failed to properly
address the issue I would then follow up on the threat and take legal
action against the company. I would pay the small fee required to file
an action in small claims court. You may not end up getting much from
small claims court but you can't lose much more than the filling costs,
and the company who installed counterfeit software on your computer will
get free publicity!

I would also tell them that I intend to report them to the piracy
department at Microsoft, and I would follow up on that! Microsoft may
take a somewhat more lax approach to piracy by individual home users but
they take piracy by companies very seriously, and they take piracy by
companies that install/sell pirated software on third party computers
very, very seriously!

Then I would tell them that I intend to call the local paper and TV
station and ask them if they could report on the piracy that the company
engages in, more free publicity! And of course I would follow up on
that too!

So in the end, I would ask them if they think that it is worth it for
them to have to deal with the consequences of not fixing my computer to
my satisfaction! It may be a lot of effort and a bit of work to follow
up on these actions, but it would sure be satisfying to see them squirm
as a result of my efforts!

Out of all the above, the easiest one to follow through is to report
them to the piracy department at Microsoft, it will not take much effort
on your part and it may cause them immense well deserved legal headaches!

John

And, if when the OP goes to the store to follow your advice and the
manager takes a baseball bat out and starts beating the OP on the head,
what is your advice?

Much cheaper to buy a legit copy and a lot less time and effort.

Alias

 

[Colin Barnhorst]

Not a good idea. If the OP intends legal action he should get a lawyer and
let him handle communications with the company. If he doesn't intend to
take such action then making idle threats is not a good idea and won't work.
He should just ask the company if they intend to fix it and if not contact
Microsoft with the information and request a Genuine Windows kit. He would
need to provide the information about the company etc.

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

I discussed it with them and they admitted that they
installed counterfeit xp pro. Now that it's done I
would like to know if there is anything I can do to
get my legitimate xp home back.

Unfortunately, there is no way to downgrade from Professional to Home.
The only way to do this is by a clean installation, which means
backing up all your data, reinstallation XP Home, reinstalling all
your applications from the original media, and reloading your backed
up data. That's a fair amount of work.

I would rather not deal with them anymore.

I certainly understand your reluctance to deal with them, but they
caused you this problem and should be responsible for fixing it. If
you don't want to do all this work yourself, one choice is to get a
different *reputable* company to do it, then send the original company
the bill. They'll probably refuse to pay it, but if you let them know
that you'll report them to the authorities if they don't, you might be
able to win that battle.

 

[Colin Barnhorst]

Sorry, I forgot the link.
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/932301/en-us

 

[John John]

And, if when the OP goes to the store to follow your advice and the
manager takes a baseball bat out and starts beating the OP on the head,
what is your advice?

Much cheaper to buy a legit copy and a lot less time and effort.

If I were to just shut up and do that, which may be the easiest way out,
I would certainly not hesitate one bit to take two minutes to send an
email to the piracy department at Microsoft! The the company will not
know where the complaint came from and they will not be dealing with me,
nor will it be on my dime, they will be dealing with Microsoft lawyers!

John

 

[Colin Barnhorst]

The common sense thing to do is take advantage of the Genuine Windows
Advantage Kit (link in my other posting), provide MS with whatever info they
request, and move on.

 

[VanguardLH]

in message

I guess I've been duped. I recently had high speed internet
installed and
they upgraded xp home basic to xp pro.

And "they" is who? Aliens in a UFO who call themselves "They"? No
ISP installs any operating system.

They installed counterfiet software.

Get in your interstellar craft and go chase after those aliens called
"They".

I went to Windows product update tool ,

And what "tool" is this? There is no such software utility included
in the default install of Windows. Perhaps you meant that you went
through the validation process.

typed in my product key

Looking more like you were attempting to validate your install of
Windows and has nothing to do with Windows *Update* site.

and they said

And now a different entity is "They".

that key is not assigned to my system. Is there anything I can do?

Go through the validation process again which will lead you to a
contact at Microsoft where you can purchase the Windows Genuine
Advantage Kit (which is a legit copy that you order from Microsoft).
This presumes that you, for reasons you have not explained, cannot go
after the first unidentified "They" that installed the counterfeit
copy of Windows.

http://www.microsoft.com/genuine/downloads/faq.aspx

For the cost that Microsoft charges and the delay in getting the WGAK
copy of Windows, you might as well as go somewhere else to buy an OEM
version for cheaper and get it faster. Seems peculiar that you are
unwilling to go after "They" to get a legit copy (which also means
they must provide the installation media). If "They" is some local
computer shop, simply inform them that you will be contacting the
State Attorney's Office to inquire how to best procede against
charging them with fraud (by installing counterfeit software) and
theft (by preventing you access to your prior legit copy of Windows)
and also will contact the FBI (but which require some indication to
the FBI that the shop has been involved in more the $25000 in theft
through counterfeiting). They may decide that giving you a
shrink-wrapped retail version of Windows is cheaper than having their
business shutdown and possibly all their equipment confiscated as
evidence. And don't just bluff. Tell them what you will do and if
they don't correct the problem then go do it.

 

[Twayne]

And, if when the OP goes to the store to follow your advice and the
manager takes a baseball bat out and starts beating the OP on the
head, what is your advice?

Much cheaper to buy a legit copy and a lot less time and effort.

Alias

First of all, that won't happen and second of all, it'd be great to have
them arrested for assault and battery if they were stupid enough to try
anything like you would do.

--
Twayne

Tired of MS Office and their shananigans?
Try this free replacement:
http://www.openoffice.org

 

[Twayne]

The common sense thing to do is take advantage of the Genuine Windows

Advantage Kit (link in my other posting), provide MS with whatever
info they request, and move on.

I disagree because that not only lets the pirates off scott free, but
they will continue to screw up other's computers with pirated software.
I'd hit BBB Online and MS Piracy to start, and go from there. Pirates
deserve jail time.

--
Twayne

Tired of MS Office and their shananigans?
Try this free replacement:
http://www.openoffice.org

 

[Twayne]

Not a good idea.

Yes, small claims court is a good idea and exactly where such an action
belongs. MS may well go further though.

If the OP intends legal action he should get a

lawyer and let him handle communications with the company.

A lawyer isn't necessary and neither is full blown proof. Small claims
courts go by a "preponderence of the evidence", not legal precedents,
etc..

If he

doesn't intend to take such action then making idle threats is not a

No one recommended making idle threats; you're injecting that yourself
in an apparent attempt to sidetrack things.

good idea and won't work. He should just ask the company if they
intend to fix it and if not contact Microsoft with the information
and request a Genuine Windows kit. He would need to provide the
information about the company etc.

Which is exactly what several others have recommended. But no one
recommended any kind of idle threats nor the expense of a lawyer for a
small claims court; all you need are the records and computer details,
possibly a computer expert/guru if you're lucky to help with the
testimony. Witnesses aren't even required to wait outside the room;
they can be present for all of it.




--
Twayne

Tired of MS Office and their shananigans?
Try this free replacement:
http://www.openoffice.org

 

[Twayne]

Must be a lot of pirates in here; just ignore it and let it go away, eh?
Sounds like the opining of a pirate to me.

in message


And "they" is who? Aliens in a UFO who call themselves "They"? No
ISP installs any operating system.


Get in your interstellar craft and go chase after those aliens called
"They".


And what "tool" is this? There is no such software utility included
in the default install of Windows. Perhaps you meant that you went
through the validation process.


Looking more like you were attempting to validate your install of
Windows and has nothing to do with Windows *Update* site.


And now a different entity is "They".


Go through the validation process again which will lead you to a
contact at Microsoft where you can purchase the Windows Genuine
Advantage Kit (which is a legit copy that you order from Microsoft).
This presumes that you, for reasons you have not explained, cannot go
after the first unidentified "They" that installed the counterfeit
copy of Windows.

http://www.microsoft.com/genuine/downloads/faq.aspx

For the cost that Microsoft charges and the delay in getting the WGAK
copy of Windows, you might as well as go somewhere else to buy an OEM
version for cheaper and get it faster. Seems peculiar that you are
unwilling to go after "They" to get a legit copy (which also means
they must provide the installation media). If "They" is some local
computer shop, simply inform them that you will be contacting the
State Attorney's Office to inquire how to best procede against
charging them with fraud (by installing counterfeit software) and
theft (by preventing you access to your prior legit copy of Windows)
and also will contact the FBI (but which require some indication to
the FBI that the shop has been involved in more the $25000 in theft
through counterfeiting). They may decide that giving you a
shrink-wrapped retail version of Windows is cheaper than having their
business shutdown and possibly all their equipment confiscated as
evidence. And don't just bluff. Tell them what you will do and if
they don't correct the problem then go do it.

--
Twayne

Tired of MS Office and their shananigans?
Try this free replacement:
http://www.openoffice.org

 

[Colin Barnhorst]

The user needs to get his Windows up and running again. Leave catching the
crooks up to MS Legal and the police. If the user wants to provide info to
MS that's great, but his basic need is to get his Windows back in shape.