"Software counterfeiting"

[Guest]

So after 2-3 years of using this computer, I start it up today and it sais my
windows is not genuine. So I call them and they say the reason it's giving me
this message is because I installed professional on a home computer and I
wasn't supposed to, and then I honestly couldn't understand what the guy was
saying, then he told me to go to a website that was supposed to help and said
thank you for calling microsoft and hung up. I had already seen the website
he gave me 5 or 6 times... and it's a 35 dollar charge for e-mail help.

Does anyone have any advice?

 

[JS]

Did you recently upgrade to XP Professional from XP Home edition?

JS

 

[Guest]

No, when I built my computer I bought XP Professional and installed it
myself, I'm almost positive I haven't upgraded anything.

 

[JS]

If you built the computer did you purchase an OEM version or Retail version
of Windows CD?

JS

 

[RobertVA]

So after 2-3 years of using this computer, I start it up today and it sais my
windows is not genuine. So I call them and they say the reason it's giving me
this message is because I installed professional on a home computer and I
wasn't supposed to, and then I honestly couldn't understand what the guy was
saying, then he told me to go to a website that was supposed to help and said
thank you for calling microsoft and hung up. I had already seen the website
he gave me 5 or 6 times... and it's a 35 dollar charge for e-mail help.

Does anyone have any advice?

You're not really giving people enough information to allow them to help
you. You don't indicate if your XP Pro is a full retail, upgrade sold at
retail, generic OEM, OEM system recovery disk or volume license
version. IF your XP Pro is an OEM version, you don't indicate if it is
locked to your computer's BIOS. You don't indicate if you ran the WGA
Diagnostic or what messages it displayed. You don't indicate if the
Microsoft operator made his diagnosis out of the blue, based on your
description of your installation history or based on you relaying WGA
Diagnostic output to him.

Also you haven't indicated if you made any additional calls to the toll
free number to determine if another operator or a supervisor would be
more cooperative.

 

[Lem]

So after 2-3 years of using this computer, I start it up today and it sais my
windows is not genuine. So I call them and they say the reason it's giving me
this message is because I installed professional on a home computer and I
wasn't supposed to, and then I honestly couldn't understand what the guy was
saying, then he told me to go to a website that was supposed to help and said
thank you for calling microsoft and hung up. I had already seen the website
he gave me 5 or 6 times... and it's a 35 dollar charge for e-mail help.

Does anyone have any advice?

Search in this ng for threads with the term "WGA" (without quotes).
After you sift through the politics, you'll find various suggestions for
how to deal with this Microsoft-created issue.

 

[Carey Frisch [MVP]]

Please follow this simple troubleshooting procedure:

1. Download and install the MGA Diagnostic Tool:
http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=56062

2. After running the MGA Diagnostic Tool, click
on the "Windows" tab and then click on "Copy to Clipboard".

3. Next, visit the following website and create a post in the
"WGA Validation Problems" forum and paste the
results of the WGA Diagnostic Data in a detailed post.
http://forums.microsoft.com/Genuine/default.aspx?SiteID=25

4. A WGA troubleshooting specialist will analyze the data and
recommend an appropriate solution.

--
Carey Frisch
Microsoft MVP
Windows - Shell/User
Microsoft Community Newsgroups
news://msnews.microsoft.com/

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

:

| So after 2-3 years of using this computer, I start it up today and it sais my
| windows is not genuine. So I call them and they say the reason it's giving me
| this message is because I installed professional on a home computer and I
| wasn't supposed to, and then I honestly couldn't understand what the guy was
| saying, then he told me to go to a website that was supposed to help and said
| thank you for calling microsoft and hung up. I had already seen the website
| he gave me 5 or 6 times... and it's a 35 dollar charge for e-mail help.
|
| Does anyone have any advice?

 

[DanS]

If you built the computer did you purchase an OEM version or Retail
version of Windows CD?

JS

It doesn't matter if it was an OEM CD or a Retail, if the OP had purchased
a legitimate XP, this is another case of WGA gone bad.

 

[Leythos]

It doesn't matter if it was an OEM CD or a Retail, if the OP had purchased
a legitimate XP, this is another case of WGA gone bad.

And you don't know if they did purchase a legit copy.

Why is it that people just assume WGA went bad when most of the posters
with problems have been shown to have pirated copies of XP installed -
so far.

 

[antioch]

And you don't know if they did purchase a legit copy.

Why is it that people just assume WGA went bad when most of the posters
with problems have been shown to have pirated copies of XP installed -
so far.

Hi Leythos
No, we do not know yet - lets see if he comes back to his post or not.
Though I have noticed that a few of these 'indignant posters' tend to be
never heard from again.
Strange that - I wonder why?????????????
Antioch

 

[Noozer]

And you don't know if they did purchase a legit copy.

Why is it that people just assume WGA went bad when most of the posters
with problems have been shown to have pirated copies of XP installed -
so far.

Sorry, but I don't see any evidence that most posters have pirated copies. I
DO see that most posters don't know what they have. From the info we've
seen, they could ALL be legit XP owners.

 

[Leythos]

Sorry, but I don't see any evidence that most posters have pirated copies. I
DO see that most posters don't know what they have. From the info we've
seen, they could ALL be legit XP owners.

In every thread I've watched, the information given/presented seems to
clearly indicate they have a very questionable copy of XP, at best.

 

[Ghostrider]

In every thread I've watched, the information given/presented seems to
clearly indicate they have a very questionable copy of XP, at best.

Unless one is buying at outrageously, ridiculous low prices
or from a person who has "pirate" or "counterfeiter" branded
across the forehead, there is very little one can assume about
the legitimacy of the Windows XP that is being delivered. Are
you suggesting that all copies of XP should be considered to be
questionable until they are proven to be otherwise "genuine"?

 

[Leythos]

Unless one is buying at outrageously, ridiculous low prices
or from a person who has "pirate" or "counterfeiter" branded
across the forehead, there is very little one can assume about
the legitimacy of the Windows XP that is being delivered. Are
you suggesting that all copies of XP should be considered to be
questionable until they are proven to be otherwise "genuine"?

No, I'm suggesting that people look for the signs of a pirated copy, the
normal indications that they could be purchasing a bogus copy or getting
a pirated copy from a friend. There are many warning flags, you can't
tell me that you don't know any of them.

 

[DanS]

Are
you suggesting that all copies of XP should be considered to be
questionable until they are proven to be otherwise "genuine"?

That is M$'s stance !!

 

[jt3]

I would say that a lot of them aren't aware of the implications of an OEM
copy of XP.

Certainly, I wasn't, coming from win98, which was pretty benign, compared to
all the stuff with WPA, and now WGA. Clerk just sold it along with the mbd,
case, CPU and memory, saying it's a much better deal--you just don't have MS
support. Except for the 'just', it's not a big misrepresentation, and
probably something he wasn't all that aware of either.

It's stretching credulity that most of the small shop builders have been
installing pirated copies, and given all the noise, it's hard to believe
they'd have been ignoring the requirements for builders, either. Some
cases, no doubt can be explained by someone doing something in their
basement, or garage, but you seem to automatically assume every poster with
a problem with WGA or activation is crooked.

Which is not to say that people were not used to simply treating a copy of
an OS as an infinite chain, but there can't be all that many people out
there doing this more than once or twice--how many computers does the
average person need to try to keep in order before he goes stark raving mad,
anyhow? Seems to me there's enough paranoia of all sorts about without
adding to it.

Joe