Vista activation problem

[Guest]

Hello, i just bought a new pc with an oem vista key, everything workt fine
until yesturday when i updated my BIOS (with msi live updater) to v 1.60.
Now vista says i need to register my vista key, mentioning something about
hardware changes, but the onlything i changed is my bios version, i think it
was from v 1.30. So with my oem key is "alredy in use" : / what am i soppuse
to do?

Daniel

system: AMD Athlon 64 x2 4600+ / MSI K9N Neo / nvidia 8800

 

[Richard Urban]

Activate Vista by phone. When you flashed the bios you essentially installed
a new M/B, as far as the bios signature goes. Vista will pick up on this. It
has no way of knowing that you "didn't" install Vista on a second computer.

--


Regards,

Richard Urban
Microsoft MVP Windows Shell/User
(For email, remove the obvious from my address)

Quote from George Ankner:
If you knew as much as you think you know,
You would realize that you don't know what you thought you knew!

 

[Joshua Eason]

This is a known bug with Windows Vista. I believe this article will help:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/931573

Joshua

 

[JimR]

Hello, i just bought a new pc with an oem vista key, everything workt fine
until yesturday when i updated my BIOS (with msi live updater) to v 1.60.
Now vista says i need to register my vista key, mentioning something about
hardware changes, but the onlything i changed is my bios version, i think
it
was from v 1.30. So with my oem key is "alredy in use" : / what am i
soppuse
to do?

Daniel

system: AMD Athlon 64 x2 4600+ / MSI K9N Neo / nvidia 8800

Activate by phone.

 

[Alias]

Hello, i just bought a new pc with an oem vista key, everything workt fine
until yesturday when i updated my BIOS (with msi live updater) to v 1.60.
Now vista says i need to register my vista key, mentioning something about
hardware changes, but the onlything i changed is my bios version, i think it
was from v 1.30. So with my oem key is "alredy in use" : / what am i soppuse
to do?

Daniel

system: AMD Athlon 64 x2 4600+ / MSI K9N Neo / nvidia 8800

Well, isn't that *special*. Nothing like having to call India when
you're trying to configure your BIOS to make your day, eh what?

WPA/WGA/ISS/WGA-N do NOTHING to stop piracy and ONLY inconvenience
paying customers.

Alias

 

[Alias]

Activate Vista by phone. When you flashed the bios you essentially
installed a new M/B, as far as the bios signature goes. Vista will pick
up on this. It has no way of knowing that you "didn't" install Vista on
a second computer.

Translation: the WPA program is flawed; doesn't catch one single pirate
and only inconveniences paying customers. Then MVPs wonder why everyone
is checking out Linux.

Alias

 

[Saran]

Activate Vista by phone. When you flashed the bios you essentially
installed a new M/B, as far as the bios signature goes. Vista will
pick up on this. It has no way of knowing that you "didn't" install
Vista on a second computer.

Yeah this is reeeealy what progress is about... makign the most basic
things a royal PITA... in XP you could make changes like this without
this "re-register" bull crap.

I mean I can't possibly think they've gone a bit too far with the
activation crapitry???

 

[Steve K.]

Hello, i just bought a new pc with an oem vista key, everything workt
fine until yesturday when i updated my BIOS (with msi live updater)
to v 1.60. Now vista says i need to register my vista key, mentioning
something about hardware changes, but the onlything i changed is my
bios version, i think it was from v 1.30. So with my oem key is
"alredy in use" : / what am i soppuse to do?

Damn, it feels good to be treated like a criminal doesn't it...

 

[Alias]

Yeah this is reeeealy what progress is about... makign the most basic
things a royal PITA... in XP you could make changes like this without
this "re-register" bull crap.

I mean I can't possibly think they've gone a bit too far with the
activation crapitry???

Unfortunately for MS customers, they are only getting started. Now, with
XP, if you want IE7, Defenseless or WMP11, you gotta download and run
the "new and improved" WGA/N program. How special.

If you're really fed up, check out Ubuntu at www.ubuntu.com and order
the free CD that they even pay the postage for it to get to you.

Alias

 

[Richard Urban]

Flashing a computers bios is anything but basic.

I would bet that less than 1/10th of 1 percent of computers users have ever
done this.

--


Regards,

Richard Urban
Microsoft MVP Windows Shell/User
(For email, remove the obvious from my address)

Quote from George Ankner:
If you knew as much as you think you know,
You would realize that you don't know what you thought you knew!

 

[Nina DiBoy]

Activate Vista by phone. When you flashed the bios you essentially
installed a new M/B, as far as the bios signature goes. Vista will pick
up on this. It has no way of knowing that you "didn't" install Vista on
a second computer.

http://www.microsoft.com/piracy/activation_facts.mspx

"Activation is completely anonymous and requires no personally
identifiable information from the end user…"

"Mandatory Product Activation Data

The Installation ID is unique to each product and comprises two components:

Product ID. Unique to the product key used during installation
Hardware hash. Non-unique representation of the PC

The country in which the product is being installed (for Office XP and
Office XP family products only)"

You are not required to give them any other information. If they insist
on it, refer them to this information on their own website and if
necessary ask to speak to a supervisor. Tell them that you value your
privacy and that you prefer not to release certain personal details
about yourself that is clearly stated to be optional information on
their website.

(warning: The next bit is a shameless plug for my own personal agenda
against Microsoft) You may also consider telling them that buggy DRM
technologies like WPA (Windows Product Activation) inconvenience their
paying customers and treat them as criminals, while it does little to
nothing to stop piracy if you feel to have been inconvenienced or
treated as though you are a criminal instead of an honest paying
customer by WPA recently.


--
Priceless quotes in m.p.w.vista.general group:
http://protectfreedom.tripod.com/kick.html

Most recent idiotic quote added to KICK (Klassic Idiotic Caption Kooks):
"So when I see it, I slam it! Even if it discredits myself, I have no
problem with that. As long as you all go down, that's all that maters."

"Good poets borrow; great poets steal."
- T. S. Eliot

 

[Alias]

Flashing a computers bios is anything but basic.

I would bet that less than 1/10th of 1 percent of computers users have
ever done this.

So effing what? There's no excuse for WPA to raise its ugly head with a
BIOS update. For that matter, there's no excuse for WPA period!

Alias

 

[Roscoe]

Irrelevant Dick. A bios flash is hardly a hardware change you MS tool.

 

[Saran]

Flashing a computers bios is anything but basic.

I would bet that less than 1/10th of 1 percent of computers users
have ever done this.

I meant for "geeks"/(users who know how to do that sort of thing,
flashing a bios isn't a big deal.) IT's this artificial barrier
Microsoft is imposing that got myself (and many MANY oters) irked.

 

[Richard Urban]

Then why do it?

--


Regards,

Richard Urban
Microsoft MVP Windows Shell/User
(For email, remove the obvious from my address)

Quote from George Ankner:
If you knew as much as you think you know,
You would realize that you don't know what you thought you knew!

 

[Steve K.]

Because sometimes the BIOS needs to be updated you moron. BIOS is a
software that exists in a chip, it's not a hardware change, but a change
of a self contained software that just happesn to manage how hardware
works with the system and such.

But you knew that.....

 

[Richard Urban]

Yes I did know that. Now you have confirmed what I said.

By flashing the bios, additional utility is usually added, changes are made
etc. In fact, the bios string that is reported to, and used by, Windows is
entirely different - just as if a person had installed Vista with the same
key on another computer.

It is entirely understandable WHY this happens (causes Vista to need to be
reactivated). It's too bad that people just can't accept the fact and make
that 5 minute phone call. I have done so a few times already. It is
painless.

So, who is the moron?

--


Regards,

Richard Urban
Microsoft MVP Windows Shell/User
(For email, remove the obvious from my address)

Quote from George Ankner:
If you knew as much as you think you know,
You would realize that you don't know what you thought you knew!

 

[Alias]

Yes I did know that. Now you have confirmed what I said.

By flashing the bios, additional utility is usually added, changes are
made etc. In fact, the bios string that is reported to, and used by,
Windows is entirely different - just as if a person had installed Vista
with the same key on another computer.

It is entirely understandable WHY this happens (causes Vista to need to
be reactivated). It's too bad that people just can't accept the fact and
make that 5 minute phone call. I have done so a few times already. It is
painless.

So, who is the moron?

You for not having any self respect and accepting blindly that MS has a
right to assume you are a thief. What else would you do for MS that only
takes five minutes? Bend over and let your trousers drop?

Alias

 

[Steve K.]

By flashing the bios, additional utility is usually added, changes
are made etc. In fact, the bios string that is reported to, and used
by, Windows is entirely different - just as if a person had installed
Vista with the same key on another computer.

It is something that should never be used as a key (either in part or in
whole) in the first place. Thats the point you keep conviently missing.

It is entirely understandable WHY this happens (causes Vista to need
to be reactivated). It's too bad that people just can't accept the
fact and make that 5 minute phone call. I have done so a few times
already. It is painless.

The *fact* is it sometimes takes MUCH longer than 5 minutes, when the
system is working correctly.

So, who is the moron?

You are, on the grounds you keep adding more and more spin and
disinformation each time you reply.

 

[Richard Urban]

You certainly have a comprehension deficit.

--


Regards,

Richard Urban
Microsoft MVP Windows Shell/User
(For email, remove the obvious from my address)

Quote from George Ankner:
If you knew as much as you think you know,
You would realize that you don't know what you thought you knew!