XP "genuine advantage" Big Brother nightmares

[xp ?]

Last night, while working on something else, I stupidly authorized
Windows to install a "genuine advantage" update that it was bugging me
for permission to install. I'd have been more scrutinous of this
request, had I not been distracted on other things.

So when I flipped the computer on this morning, I got a warning that I
may be using counterfeit XP software, or something to that effect. It
bugged me every step of the login process about this, and I blew it off
with the "resolve later" option they finally gave me.

20 minutes later, the computer went into the royal blue screen with the
white type saying that something bad had happened to the computer.

I restarted the computer and used System Restore to restore to a point
before I installed the "genuine advantage" (what a laugh) update.

My question is, how do I now avoid this update going onto my computer,
or better yet, how do I essentially permanently decline the "right" to
have it automatically installed?

By way of background, my computer is one I bought from a friend, that I
have since upgraded with a new motherboard, CPU, second hard drive for
data, and new graphics card.

I have an XP CD that I got from him, and it *looks* genuine, but I have
no desire to tinker with an O/S that had otherwise been fine.

The computer is up to date in Windows' eyes. It has SP2 on it, and the
Windows Updates download at night and install in the background.

I am sure millions of users are waking up to this same nightmare I just
experienced, so I am sure solutions to this issue will soon be widely
propagating on the web.

And no, I'm not going to respond to the shakedown MS has on the "genuine
advantage" prompts, offering to make the problem go away if I pay them
money.

 

[Mike Flanagan]

looks like you have a bootleg copy of windows installed......you can always
contact the 'friend' who sold you the computer and see if you can get him to
buy a genuine copy, but the best way would just buy a genuine copy yourself.
BTW there are certain instances where mircosoft will GiVE you a copy but you
have to supply them with the name and address of the supplier of the bootleg
computer/software.

 

[Richard Urban]

By way of background, my computer is one I bought from a friend, that I
have since upgraded with a new motherboard, CPU, second hard drive for
data, and new graphics card.

I have an XP CD that I got from him, and it *looks* genuine, but I have
no desire to tinker with an O/S that had otherwise been fine.

<snip>

Hey! If you buy a car from a friend, drive it for two years before you are
pulled over in a traffic stop and find out the car is stolen, do you expect
to still keep that car "because you have driven it for two years and it has
given you no problems"? Of course not. You live with the consequences.

Not a great analogy I know, but the best I can come up with at the present.


--
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!



--
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!

 

[kurttrail]

Last night, while working on something else, I stupidly authorized
Windows to install a "genuine advantage" update that it was bugging me
for permission to install. I'd have been more scrutinous of this
request, had I not been distracted on other things.

So when I flipped the computer on this morning, I got a warning that I
may be using counterfeit XP software, or something to that effect. It
bugged me every step of the login process about this, and I blew it
off with the "resolve later" option they finally gave me.

20 minutes later, the computer went into the royal blue screen with
the white type saying that something bad had happened to the computer.

I restarted the computer and used System Restore to restore to a point
before I installed the "genuine advantage" (what a laugh) update.

My question is, how do I now avoid this update going onto my computer,
or better yet, how do I essentially permanently decline the "right" to
have it automatically installed?

By way of background, my computer is one I bought from a friend, that
I have since upgraded with a new motherboard, CPU, second hard drive
for data, and new graphics card.

I have an XP CD that I got from him, and it *looks* genuine, but I
have no desire to tinker with an O/S that had otherwise been fine.

The computer is up to date in Windows' eyes. It has SP2 on it, and
the Windows Updates download at night and install in the background.

I am sure millions of users are waking up to this same nightmare I
just experienced, so I am sure solutions to this issue will soon be
widely propagating on the web.

And no, I'm not going to respond to the shakedown MS has on the
"genuine advantage" prompts, offering to make the problem go away if
I pay them money.

Stop using MS's Updaters, Windows, Microsoft, and Automatic Updates.

Learn to patch your OS through Common Sense Computing:

http://comsense.microscum.com

--
Peace!
Kurt Kirsch
Self-anointed Moderator
http://microscum.com
"It'll soon shake your Windows
And rattle your walls
For the times they are a-changin'."

 

[Duane Arnold]

Either you have a valid copy of XP on your machine or you don't and stop
whining or go to Linux.

Duane

 

[Robert Moir]

I have an XP CD that I got from him, and it *looks* genuine, but I
have no desire to tinker with an O/S that had otherwise been fine.

The computer is up to date in Windows' eyes. It has SP2 on it, and
the Windows Updates download at night and install in the background.

I am sure millions of users are waking up to this same nightmare I
just experienced, so I am sure solutions to this issue will soon be
widely propagating on the web.

And no, I'm not going to respond to the shakedown MS has on the
"genuine advantage" prompts, offering to make the problem go away if
I pay them money.

WGA is catching some people who are using pirated software, many without
even knowing they are. If you fall into this catagory then Microsoft are not
the people who are shaking you down.

It also appears to be catching out a lot of genuine users who have a problem
with their system or who are encountering bugs in WGA itself - not sure
which.

I totally sympathise, but if you're not willing to invest the time to find
out if you do have a genuine licence or not then it isn't really possible to
say much constructive about the situation.

 

[Guest]

Genuine Advantage Changed Dial- Up Settings. After instaling my PC now auto
dials Netscape dial-up connection on start up of PC. Past set-up was manual
internet connection start up by clicking desktop icon. Outlook & Outlook
Express are not enabled & have never been used. All prior Win XP updates are
installed & worked OK without changing any settings. Please tell me how to
turn OFF the auto dialer to intertet connection in Win XP? I know this is
simple, but it has been years since fooling with this setting & I can not
find the dialer settings. What hath hell brought?

 

[Robin Walker [MVP]]

So when I flipped the computer on this morning, I got a warning that I
may be using counterfeit XP software, or something to that effect. It
bugged me every step of the login process about this, and I blew it
off with the "resolve later" option they finally gave me.

This might or might not actually be the case: there are some false positives
at present. Please download the MGA diagnostic from:
http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=56062
and run it. Click the "Copy to clipboard" button and paste the result into
a post on the special WGA forum at:
http://forums.microsoft.com/Genuine/ShowForum.aspx?ForumID=442&SiteID=25
where you will get better advice than from this Windows Update forum.

20 minutes later, the computer went into the royal blue screen with
the white type saying that something bad had happened to the computer.

This might just be a bad coincidence: there is no reason why the WGA process
should have provoked a blue-screen. If it happens again, note down the
diagnostic details at the bottom of the screen, which should serve to narrow
down the cause of the crash.

 

[Alias]

Genuine Advantage Changed Dial- Up Settings. After instaling my PC now auto
dials Netscape dial-up connection on start up of PC. Past set-up was manual
internet connection start up by clicking desktop icon. Outlook & Outlook
Express are not enabled & have never been used. All prior Win XP updates are
installed & worked OK without changing any settings. Please tell me how to
turn OFF the auto dialer to intertet connection in Win XP? I know this is
simple, but it has been years since fooling with this setting & I can not
find the dialer settings. What hath hell brought?

Use your firewall to block the WGA spyware and it will stop.

Alias

 

[Robin Walker [MVP]]

Genuine Advantage Changed Dial- Up Settings. After instaling my PC
now auto dials Netscape dial-up connection on start up of PC. Past
set-up was manual internet connection start up by clicking desktop
icon.

Open control panel "Internet Options", click tab "Connections". Ensure that
"Never dial a connection" is checked, rather than "Dial whenever a network
connection is not present.

 

[Jim]

Go back to the mac group moron.

WGA is catching some people who are using pirated software, many without
even knowing they are. If you fall into this catagory then Microsoft are
not the people who are shaking you down.

It also appears to be catching out a lot of genuine users who have a
problem with their system or who are encountering bugs in WGA itself - not
sure which.

I totally sympathise, but if you're not willing to invest the time to find
out if you do have a genuine licence or not then it isn't really possible
to say much constructive about the situation.

 

[Guest]

Did you reinstall your Windows XP AFTER you installed your new motherboard?
You have to do that for the drivers to properly recognize the new
motherboard. You simply cant take a new board and a hard drive with XP on it
and think that it will work without reinstallation of XP. I have done this
many, many times, upgrading mine and friends computers and I found out the
hard way that if you dont do this, your XP will continuously give you the
dreaded BSOD because it has no idea what this new hardware is. Even the
"HARDWARE FINDER" doesnt do this, from my experience anyway, except during
the installation process. I think I read somewhere that it was to prevent
piracy.

 

[Vanguard]

--------------------------------------------------
NOTE: Newsgroups in my reply differ from those used in the original
post. Original newsgroups were:
microsoft.public.windowsupdate
(blank group)
microsoft.public.windowsxp.general
24hoursupport.helpdesk
My reply to the *cross-posted* message was sent only the [somewhat]
RELATED newsgroups of:
microsoft.public.windowsupdate
microsoft.public.windowsxp.general
--------------------------------------------------

Last night, while working on something else, I stupidly authorized
Windows to install a "genuine advantage" update that it was bugging me
for permission to install.

<snip>

When WU shows you an update, I always go the WU site to do it rather
than have the service download (after prompt and okaying) the update
(and then prompt to ask again if okay to install). That way, I can
click the checkbox that says to hide that update in the future so I
never get prompted about it again. Have WU only *show* that there are
updates but NOT let it download them and definitely NEVER have it
automatically install them.

20 minutes later, the computer went into the royal blue screen with
the
white type saying that something bad had happened to the computer.

I haven't seen evidence that WGA causes blue screens. Looks like you
have other problems with your computer, especially if it is taking 20
minutes for a blue to occur after some event you *think* is the trigger.

I restarted the computer and used System Restore to restore to a point
before I installed the "genuine advantage" (what a laugh) update.

You have never used System Restore before and often enough to realize
that it is NOT a reliable method of returning your computer to a prior
state? One, it only restores *system* files hence its name. It does
not restore the hard disk back to some prior physical state (i.e., it is
not a disk/partition imaging program). Two, it too often gets
corrupted. Three, walking backwards doesn't always get you back to your
starting point. I'm not surprised that a security update would have no
uninstall path, especially one designed to protect the revenue stream
for the software's author. Several updates from Microsoft are one-way
installs: once in there is no standard procedure available to uninstall
it. DirectX is that way, too.

By way of background, my computer is one I bought from a friend, that
I
have since upgraded with a new motherboard, CPU, second hard drive for
data, and new graphics card.

I have an XP CD that I got from him, and it *looks* genuine, but I
have
no desire to tinker with an O/S that had otherwise been fine.

So you *think* you have a legitimate install CD for Windows XP. Does it
look like those shown at
http://www.microsoft.com/resources/howtotell/en/windows.mspx? I
couldn't drill any further since you did not mention WHICH version of
Windows that you have (retail, upgrade, OEM, Professional, Home, Media,
etc.). Just because you have what appears to be a legal install CD
doesn't mean that was was your "friend" used when he/she install the
operating system. Could be all you got was the hardware which included
a polluted drive (the friend was too lazy to wipe the drive or expected
YOU to wipe it and do a fresh install using the CD that he/she gave you)
along with a CD that was never used to install the OS. Be sure to thank
your friend appropriately.

And no, I'm not going to respond to the shakedown MS has on the
"genuine
advantage" prompts, offering to make the problem go away if I pay them
money.

So if you are not willing to call Microsoft to ask them about getting a
CD for a legitimate copy (by providing proof that you actually bought
the software rather than just getting hardware with a polluted hard
drive). You don't even have to pay for the shipping to get the CD from
them; go read
http://www.microsoft.com/genuine/downloads/FAQ.aspx?displaylang=en#Question6Label.
Hell, the CD is complimentary (free) as a ripped off customer - IF you
qualify. If you are unwilling to get rid of the pirated version then
just keep on using it and incur continued problems. Your choice.

There are instances of false positives (i.e., the user does have a legit
copy) but you've already been told about the WGA forum by Robin. Read:

http://www.mydigitallife.info/2006/...s-genuine-advantage-notifications-nag-screen/
(short URL = http://snipurl.com/xpnag)

Personally, I use DiamondCS ProcessGuard to regulate what can load into
memory (programs can only run if they get into memory), and I have it
block wgatray.exe. It attempts to load twice on Windows startup (as
noted when I configure it to prompt rather than just block it
automatically). The ActiveX control used by the Windows Update site
doesn't use it so you can still authenticate your Windows at that time
to get updates.

 

[Ed Light]

Please tell me how to
turn OFF the auto dialer to intertet connection in Win XP?

I think if you click Cancel on it then you get a checkbox to uncheck for
automatic.


--
Ed Light

Smiley :-/
MS Smiley :-\

Send spam to the FTC at
(e-mail address removed)
Thanks, robots.

Bring the Troops Home:
http://bringthemhomenow.org

 

[Jupiter Jones [MVP]]

Change your Automatic Update settings to stop this or any other update from
downloading and installing without your explicit permission:
Right click My Computer and click Properties.
Click Automatic Update tab.
Make selections as desired.
If you disable Automatic Update, make sure you periodically check since you
will no longer be notified by Windows.
Normally updates are released the 2nd Tuesday of the month.

You have what appears to be a genuine CD, do you also have the original
Product Key?
Have you verified that the correct CD and Product Key were used to install
Windows on your computer?
It would not be the first time I saw a computer with pirated Windows
installed even though there was a proper installation method available.

You should determine if your Windows XP installation is legitimate:
http://www.microsoft.com/resources/howtotell/en/default.mspx

Also see:
http://www3.telus.net/dandemar/invalpk.htm

 

[Guest]

Please tell how to Uninstall Genuine Advantage? I looked under "add/remove
programs under Control Panel & do not see it listed! While I did receive
instructions telling how to unable auto dial internet connection, that has
not been done yet. Reason is I suspect more conflicts from this worthless
update. Worthless due to:
1. Win XP on my PC has been registered with MS since the day I bought it &
MS should know that & not send me Genuine Advantage.
2. All other Win XP updates were instaled in past. MS should again know that
my copy of Win XP is legal!
3. Retore to before Gen Adv has been done which turned off Auto dial.
4. This Newsgroup web site runs very slow. My time is being wasted.
5. User is considering turning off update notification to get rid of the
shield icon on my task bar.
6. This user is upset & pissed off for being tortured by MS when I did
nothing wrong.

 

[Robin Walker [MVP]]

Please tell how to Uninstall Genuine Advantage?

Genuine Advantage cannot be uninstalled. It is a permanent feature.

 

[Alias]

Genuine Advantage cannot be uninstalled. It is a permanent feature.

Actually, it can. There are tools that will do the job, although Windows
Add/Remove isn't one of them. You'd think an "MVP" would know that ...

Alias

 

[Jeff]

Now Now Alias,
You really want "Big Brother" to get upset with you?
LOL
Jeff

 

[Alias]

Now Now Alias,
You really want "Big Brother" to get upset with you?
LOL
Jeff

For what, telling the truth? I'm still waiting for someone to verify if
one flashes the BIOS or replaces a hard drive whether I will have to buy
another copy of XP, speaking of "telling the truth".

Alias