Vista-64 and WGA

[RayG]

If you are running Vista-64 and visit this link

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/936357

DO NOT go near any other links apart from the Vista-64.

If you do you will be offered a download of the windows validation software,
if you allow this to be installed your currently valid and activated
Vista-64 installation will become invalid and Aero will not run until you
activate again. However activating again just says it all OK but you
Vista-64 will still be screwed up

BE WARNED.

DO NOT allow WGA to be installed.

MS - I think you need to fix something PDQ.

 

[Alias]

If you are running Vista-64 and visit this link

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/936357

DO NOT go near any other links apart from the Vista-64.

If you do you will be offered a download of the windows validation
software, if you allow this to be installed your currently valid and
activated Vista-64 installation will become invalid and Aero will not
run until you activate again. However activating again just says it all
OK but you Vista-64 will still be screwed up

BE WARNED.

DO NOT allow WGA to be installed.

MS - I think you need to fix something PDQ.

Once again we have proof that MS' "anti piracy" programs ONLY
inconvenience paying customers and do *nothing* to stop piracy.

Alias

 

[Andrew McLaren]

It sounds like you had a bad experience; but it's not universal. I installed
this update on 64 bit Vista and I didn't have any problem at all. I'm no fan
of Activation, and I will bag it, any chance I get. But so far, both this
fix and WGA have been totally hassle-free, on all my Vista machines (64 bit
and 32 bit; desktop and laptop).

If you are running Vista-64 and visit this link
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/936357
DO NOT go near any other links apart from the Vista-64.

Well, you need to install the correct download, which matches your version
of Windows! That's kind of obvious.

If you do you will be offered a download of the windows validation
software, if you allow this to be installed your currently valid and
activated Vista-64 installation will become invalid and Aero will not run
until you activate again. However activating again just says it all OK but
you Vista-64 will still be screwed up

If this happened to every Vista user, it would be all over Slashdot, the
Register, Neowin, CNET and a thousand other IT news outlets. I'm ready to
bag activation on philosophical and political grounds; but I have to admit,
with Vista running on 5 or 6 machines, it just hasn't caused me any
practical problems. The WGA part is barely noticeable.

It sounds like something went wrong in your particular case, but
(fortunately) it's far from the universal experience.

Cheers
Andrew

 

[Frank]

If you are running Vista-64 and visit this link

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/936357

DO NOT go near any other links apart from the Vista-64.

Is that what you did? You "went near any other links apart from the
Vista-64"?
What exactly does that mean?

If you do you will be offered a download of the windows validation
software, if you allow this to be installed your currently valid and
activated Vista-64 installation will become invalid and Aero will not
run until you activate again. However activating again just says it all
OK but you Vista-64 will still be screwed up

So let me understand...you "went near any other links apart from the
Vista-64"..installed or tried to install an improper hotfix (say one for
x32), got a validation download (which you did) and it screwed up your
Vista X64 install?
Is that correct?
Because I now have WGA installed on about 9 Vista Ultimate(s) X32 & X64
and have not had any problems at all with WGA.
Can you clarify your statement a little better for us please?
Thanks.
Frank

 

[GO]

Once again we have proof that MS' "anti piracy" programs ONLY
inconvenience paying customers and do *nothing* to stop piracy.

Alias

Yup. WGA is a joke, as are all other forms of anti-piracy countermeasures.
People that want to pirate the software will do so; there's already pirated
versions of Vista floating around that passes MS's WGA with flying colors.
I realize MS wants to protect their software but WGA is not the answer.
I've personally witnessed on several occassions where WGA makes false
reports of an genuine version of Windows. If MS wants to curb "casual
piracy" a simple activation upon the first installation of the OS would
suffice; this would be still annoying but something I could swallow much
easier rather than all these constant checks, balances and calling home.

 

[Alias]

Yup. WGA is a joke, as are all other forms of anti-piracy countermeasures.
People that want to pirate the software will do so; there's already pirated
versions of Vista floating around that passes MS's WGA with flying colors.
I realize MS wants to protect their software but WGA is not the answer.
I've personally witnessed on several occassions where WGA makes false
reports of an genuine version of Windows. If MS wants to curb "casual
piracy" a simple activation upon the first installation of the OS would
suffice; this would be still annoying but something I could swallow much
easier rather than all these constant checks, balances and calling home.

If you haven't already, why don't you check out Ubuntu Linux. No
activation. No WGA. No viruses. No malware. Beryl that makes Aero look
like something from the 90's, etc. And, it's FREE. Check it out at
http://www.ubuntu.com/

Alias

 

[GO]

If you haven't already, why don't you check out Ubuntu Linux. No
activation. No WGA. No viruses. No malware. Beryl that makes Aero look
like something from the 90's, etc. And, it's FREE. Check it out at
http://www.ubuntu.com/

Alias

I have actually. But I just recently removed it so I could play with
Vista....big mistake Ubuntu's very nice and the most pain-free version
of Linux that I've seen to date. However, I'm just not ready to make the
move yet, mainly because I just have too much invested in Windows a the
moment (ie applications, custom scripts, and just the simple fact that I
know Windows). What I need to do is to setup a dedictated computer for
Linux so I can continually play with it. Dual-booting is also an option but
I tend to find it more more cumbersome as I will ususally find a need to be
back in the primary OS for one reason or another.

 

[Jeff]

I have actually. But I just recently removed it so I could play with
Vista....big mistake Ubuntu's very nice and the most pain-free
version
of Linux that I've seen to date. However, I'm just not ready to make the
move yet, mainly because I just have too much invested in Windows a the
moment (ie applications, custom scripts, and just the simple fact that I
know Windows). What I need to do is to setup a dedictated computer for
Linux so I can continually play with it. Dual-booting is also an option
but
I tend to find it more more cumbersome as I will ususally find a need to
be
back in the primary OS for one reason or another.

Try Virtual PC or VMWare. You can run linux in a window.

I did this to learn linux before deleting it but it might suit your needs...

Jeff

 

[GO]

Try Virtual PC or VMWare. You can run linux in a window.

I did this to learn linux before deleting it but it might suit your
needs...

Jeff

I have used VMWare in the past and it's a great little tool. It is great
for learning but not all that great for a "live" desktop environment. There
is a large performance hit (though this has become less and less of an issue
with each new release of VMWare) and sound and video are always an issue.
Especially video when you want to play around with things like Beryl. I
would like to have a dedicated machine for Linux as then I could work to a
machine I could migrate to, but ultimately VMWare may actually be a good
idea (again). The biggest obstacle is just time, time to play with the OS
and get comfortable enough to be able to make the final switch.

 

[RayG]

Is that what you did? You "went near any other links apart from the
Vista-64"?
What exactly does that mean?

So let me understand...you "went near any other links apart from the
Vista-64"..installed or tried to install an improper hotfix (say one
for x32), got a validation download (which you did) and it screwed up
your Vista X64 install?
Is that correct?
Because I now have WGA installed on about 9 Vista Ultimate(s) X32 &
X64 and have not had any problems at all with WGA.
Can you clarify your statement a little better for us please?
Thanks.
Frank

What I did:

I went to download an XP patch from Vista-64

I was propmted for WGA install - I accepted expecting MS to have one version
capable of managing all variants

After installation Vista was messed up.

I hope that clears up any confusion I may have caused.

I am rather loath to try again - strange no MVP's replied to the original
post - do they know something I do not?

 

[cquirke (MVP Windows shell/user)]

I went to download an XP patch from Vista-64

OK; it's always a bit nerve-wracking to dl patches for OSs other than
the one you're on, as there's always the risk you'll hit some dumbo
"live install" thing that could mess up your own OS (version soup).

I was propmted for WGA install - I accepted expecting MS to have one version
capable of managing all variants

After installation Vista was messed up.

I hope that clears up any confusion I may have caused.

I am rather loath to try again - strange no MVP's replied to the original
post - do they know something I do not?

I picked up this thread after it had some mileage; never saw the
original. It sounds like you were pulling patches through the wrong
tube, i.e. hadn't found your way to a page that lets you pull down
patches in passive form, without applying them.

Nasty, in that version checking (either by the patch logic testing
your OS's version, or your OS defending its code) should have caught
this. I'd feed this back to MS as a bug, if you can.

There is a "corporate downloads" site, where you can pull down
arbitrary patches without having some dumb-ass auto-install things
going on. That's the site you need to find...

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