What! My copy of Vista is not genuine???

Well, I've been running a purchased and legal copy of Vista Home Premium for THREE weeks now. I turn on the computer tonight, and suddenly my copy of Vista is activated but not genuine software.

When I try to "re-validate" my computer, it says it cannot do so because my copy isn't activated! But the properties on Computer say it's activated...

Now I'm mad...does someone know how to help me? Better yet, can someone give me the number for whomever I need to call and yell at?

 

I'm not sure if this is quite what you're looking for, but there is a phone #, maybe they can send you in the right direction.

http://support.microsoft.com/oas/default.aspx?ln=en-us&x=12&y=3&prid=10300&gprid=436974

 

I just found that number myself...they aren't open until 6AM PST...which means 10 my time tomorrow morning.

I just sent them an email saying "I'm not a crook!"

 

bummer

p.s. bonus points for "whomever vs. whoever"

^^

 

Where did you buy it from?
Was the Vista home premium an Volume License or OEM installation? If so try this link.
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/931573

 

I believe a recent patch introduced by MS to counter all the Vista cracking may have invalidated a number of legitimate copies. That, or it could be you've changed your hardware significantly since you've installed Vista.

I see that you've purchased your copy within the past 90 days.

The US phone number is 1-866-234-6020, this is free.

There is another phone number, 1-800-936-5700, but it charges you for support (CC# required I believe).

EDIT: Opps a lot of people replied already. Here's the link for Vista Premium.

 

I cannot download the update as I don't have a validated copy of Vista. Catch-22!

I purchased it from AcademicSuperstore.com, and I know that to be a legit reseller. My university recommends them!

The only hardware change that was made is that I'm now running without my docking station (and my docked HDTV tuner, 2x external hard drives, printer, and scanner). When I get home tomorrow I'll try reactivating it with all that attached, but I'm guessing that won't help.

 

Sweet. Another false positive combo from Microsoft.

 

Thanks for the sarcasm . Nice to know that MS thinks I'm a crook now! My record has been clean up until now!

 

Try this link for download KB931573. It may bypass validation
http://idatop.com/other/file/Windows6-0-KB931573-x86/60054.htm

 

Haha lol. Anyway get in touch with your dealer of the computer/ Vista. Let them know something too!

 

Refuses to install...it cites the non-genuine copy as the reason.

Ok...now MS is starting to make me fume.

 

WOW That really sucks Greg. >=(

You might as well get an illegal copy of Vista and just use that until you can get you legitimate copy to work.

This brings up a serious issue though. How much security is TOO much security. People are always going to find ways to hack programs to use them for free. All Microsoft is doing is pissing people off who legitimately use their software.
Tim

 

Greg, sorry about your trouble. If I were you, I wouldn't care about what M$ thinks of me...your record is still clean if 1) you did use a legit copy 2)if not, you bought the copy with full intentions and assumptions of it being legit, and 3) most likely its not even your fault, it's M$'s fault.

So Vista woes were to be expected, even among the most pro of computer users. What can you do when you bow down to M$? You just wait for the axe!!

 

Quoted for the truth.
Tim

 

I really can't say I'm surprised, but I still wouldn't wish it on anybody.

Good luck with getting the issue cleared up!

 

Yep, I've got some excellent advice... Ditch that piece of crap asap, and switch to an OS that doesn't consistently treat its customers as criminals.
At least XP only does it in rare circumstances... And Linux or OS X? Never.
That was one of the main reasons I gave up on Vista again. At least XP treats my legal copy as valid.

I would care what they think of me. Because if they think the wrong thing, I can't download anything from them....

 

m$ did acknowledge that it was a boo.boo of their part: - last month!
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=107514

cheers ...

 

LOL 50 character code is just ridiculous!

 

Eh, it only appears to be a 25 character code...but their activation department isn't open until tomorrow. Nice to know they have a team of support specialists (read: support monkeys) that has to be dedicated to fixing these types of screw ups.

 

And people told me I was paranoid for thinking their DRM and activation crap was abusive to customers. They'd probably explain this as a one-off though, it's not normal practice. I'm not going to touch Vista, ever.

 

Agreed.

I was waiting for it to strike someone on here. It was only a matter of time really. Everyone keeps pretending that all this crap Microsoft has been adding to Vista isn't going to affect your typical user. Wait a year and see how many more incidents on here we have.

Sorry for your trouble, night. I can't say that I'd wish it on anyone. But I can't say there weren't plenty of people here to warn you either.

 

Well, despite any Vista flaws I didn't think I'd run into too much trouble. I was prepared for driver issues, for games to not work yet (which they do run fine BTW), but not for activation issues. I know enough about computers and programs to handle most anything...but not when MS's software shuts down Vista because it doesn't think I'm legal.

It's tempting to go back to XP, but there are some real perks to Vista for me that I do like.

 

Another piece of crap they've been adding to Vista (or rather, removing from XP) is DX10. Sure, the API looks nice, but when they make it Vista-only, it can *only* be seen as an attempt to milk the PC gaming market for more money, and to boost the sales of other unrelated MS products (Vista). Whatever they might try to tell us with their "Games for Windows" (Which, ironically seems to refer to games for Vista only, and not all the thousands games for Windows that are out there...), all they're doing is limiting and restricting the PC gaming market.

True, with the dominance they have, it may be hard to avoid buying into this sooner or later, but for now, I'm hoping it'll make OpenGL reemerge, which allows all the same features, but on XP.

 

That's a blessing, it's like a moment with God.

Where can I sign up to be blocked from M$'s servers?

 

All right, I've been thinking about my little problem here...here's a list of EVERYTHING that has been done to this PC since the last time Vista said my software was legit. Anyone see something that could have done this?

1) My DVD drive was replaced under warranty
2) Sonic MyDVD v9 was installed
3) Daemon Tools was installed, and then uninstalled.
4) An old XP-era CD emulator was installed and used, then removed.
5) My X1600 PowerPlay clock speeds have been changed a few times...I manually raise the power scheme when it's time to play games.

 

it is possible that things like Daemon tools could make this happen. the whole point of those drive emulators is to fake the OS into thinking that it has had hardware added to it.

 

Yeah, Vista probably thought your hardware changed too much. XP has the same safeguard, but it's much more relaxed.

Any luck with MS customer service yet?

 

Not until their activation department opens in the morning.

 

Gah! so basically if this is cuz u add hardware to ur system, it's in essence curbing ur right to use ur system as u see fit in a legitimate law abiding way. Quite frankly if i have to call microshaft everytime i add or remove my USB drive for example then why even bother with buying a legal copy? Id rather just use an illegal copy of Vista and apply patches and workarounds than have to talk to a monkey on the phone about my recent purchases.

I wonder if this nuisance opens Microshaft up for more legal proceedings? they certainly have a fair share of them already and it seems like they deserve alot more! Here you go annoying your legit purchasers off enough for them to consider switching sides. no wonder they need to promote vista left and right!

 

none what u jotted down above would cause ur vista to become "illegit".

as mentioned in the article last month, it is a BUG within one of vista updates in the way it checks the genuine licence that causes ur vista to "turn to the dark side" - i just hope that m$ watches out in the future when they work on streamlining their piracy proofing software. it is not good for customer/user relation, and they do not need to add more "woes" to vista besides the drivers and apps in.compatibility

cheers ...

 

LOL!!! So you are saying that Vista babysits you by checking to see how much hardware is changed?? What the hell??? Why doesn't M$ just help you take a shower instead?

(If that wasn't a joke, Gator...it's really frightening to think of what M$ will come up next..)

 

XP does it too, Gautam. If you change too much hardware too quickly, it will complain and think you're using it on an unlicensed computer. I have only have XP on my notebook any more, and boot into Linux almost exclusively any more. I just picked up Doom3 (which runs on Linux natively), and XP is the last version of Windows I will ever buy for myself (even then, I got that as part of an MSDN pack from my old job)

 

As Pita said, XP does it as well, but most users here don't realize it as much since we're laptop users and of course laptops don't get upgraded as often as desktops. In addition, it seems that XP was a bit more lax on it than Vista, and not much short of a motherboard/CPU replacement would set it off. A big concern with Vista is that simple upgrades like CD drives and memory may set it off. It's really unclear at this point how far Vista will "allow" its users to upgrade their computers.

 

the rule of setting off the activation flag on vista is currently based on the rules applying to xp

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/winxppro/evaluate/xpactiv.mspx#ENH

my personal experiences r that, if u have a ligit licence, activation should not be a pain, but a needed inconvenience that could eventually drive the licence cost down - the saying goes, if everyone has insurance, then insurance can be affordable to all

cheers ...

 

As evidenced by the fact that I pay $100/month on a 92 Hyundai Excel hatchback just because I'm 20... for liability only. My cousin (21) pays only ~$125/month for full coverage on a 2004 Pontiac Sunfire. The only thing I can see that happened with auto insurance being required by law is that the insurance companies were suddenly able to charge as much as they wanted and discriminate freely (i.e. males have higher insurance, teenagers have higher insurance, etc...). If I were to get a new car now, I'd be paying as much as $400/month or more and I've never even been pulled over, nor had an accident.

 

they already have when they can - it is being called, in many names, capitalistic, profit, political ... bla bla bla - ONE word can define it all - GREED!

cheers ...

 

Working in insurance industry,

It doesn't matter what "your" record is, the fact is that statistically you are more likely to have accidents than other people because of your age and gender (yeap, sucks to be a guy doesn't it!)

Your also paying more because you haven't had as much experience as a 21 year old, and you are (I'm making an assumption based on no evidence) single.

Unfortunately insurance is all about statistics, but look at it this way, if you'd have had an accident (or been pulled over) your rates would be even higher!

 

an inconvenient truth! more like "convenient" discrimination to me!

i like the european (no i m not european) model better - one starts with the highest state.set rate, REGARDLESS of how old u r, where u live, (the only thing is how expensive ur car is - at repair)

then the rate would go down with ur driving record year after year, and pan out at 60% of the original rate the rest of ur driving life, until u make a boo.boo (i meant to say accident)

cheers ...

 

Some companies do that, they give "accident forgiveness" and they also give you discounts if you have multiple policies with them, etc. The thing is, in the US, most people get their licenses as soon as they can, because it's almost necessary to get around. European culture is different, and it's much easier to make do without a license, so that makes more sense than just simple age discrimination. It makes more paperwork though, rather than saying "Oh, you're under 25? You get to pay through the nose"

It's really unfortunate, because I'd love to charge back to the insurance company the number of times that I've avoided an accident that wouldn't have been my fault, that they otherwise would have had to pay for. Oh well... life ain't fair. I've gotta pay for all the muppets with incorrect and slower reactions than I've got.

 

now, that is really a novelty idea, why not, things must go both ways! enough consumers pushing for this, may be we can get somewhere

looking this way, companies start paying for employees to stay healthy, it is about time that these car insurance companies to get on the wagon

hmmm, r we supposed to keep our discussions within laptops?

cheers ...

 

Happened to me, so yes. Updating drivers may in some cases have the same effect (because it may make Windows "discover" new hardware.)

As has been said, XP had basically the same mechanism, but it is much more relaxed, and you have to try really hard to get it to require reactivation under XP.

 

But guess what, all insurance is, otherwise insurance would never work.

Insurance in Europe is similar, just that it costs you more if you change companies (because they jack the rates higher and the slowly start to reduce again), Home insurance is the same thing, if you don't think it's discrimination, try to get home insurance without telling them how old your house is, or where it is, or how recently the electrics and plumbing were upgraded and see if you get "good" rates, in fact you probably won't get any rates because it's statistics on area that would give you the rates.

The ONLY change that could be made would be jack the rates way high for everyone to start with, and slowly lower them, as a 20 year old your rates would STILL be high because you could only have 4 years driving experience at best, are you in college? If so have you tried getting a good student discount (assuming you are a good student) some companies offer that, but might not have told you about it.

 

I completely understand where it all comes from. My father is (or rather, was) in insurance as well. I also understand that it will go down when I turn 21, and then again when I turn 25. Believe me, I understand all these things, and I do get discounts for multiple vehicles (on my parents' policy), good student, etc. My point was that before insurance was required by law, things were much cheaper. My dad used to pay like $25/month for full coverage on a 69 Hemi Charger back in the 70s. Of course, things will have changed due to inflation (I realize that), but if you compare that to what an '05 Hemi Charger would cost now in insurance for someone the same age (~18), the difference would be much larger than inflation only can count for. My point wasn't necessarily about why the insurance companies do what they do... my point was that they are allowed to do this because people have no choice any more... you have to insurance or you can't drive (legally). Therefore, they can charge you large amounts and just back it up with statistics.

 

Insurance is the reason I take public transport.

 

Any news Greg?
Tim

 

Honestly I'm not entirely sure that's true

The reason insurance has shot through the roof has nothing to do with it being required, and everything to do with the change in society since the 70's so that every person involved in any accident will sue the heck out of the person causing the accident, and because juries are happy to award ridiculous payouts for minor injuries.

Basically it becomes a vicious catch 22 cycle, juries award higher payouts (because they have to pay high insurance costs) insurance companies have to raise premiums to pay higher insurance costs, and so the cycle goes on.

Just look at medical insurance if you want... same thing is happening, people aren't "required" to have it, but rates have gone up horrifically in the last few years.

 

Well, back to the main topic...

I got an email from MS, and they've got about 6 different things for me to try and see if that fixes it. Even MS said they've been having issues and this should help.

I swear...if re-installing Vista is one of those troubleshooting steps I'm gonna scream.

 

Pfft, just Fdisk the entire drive... that should fix it :twitcy:

(If anyone does this...don't blame me... )

 

Oh noes, a mistake happened.

Tell me, has this never happened before?

Has steam never accidentally screwed someone's account? Yes.
Has this ever happened with Xp? (yes)
Have people's bank accounts got confused by bank tellers before? Yes.

You guys are just looking for any reason you can to whine about Vista. When this sort of thing happens alot. IT'S CALLED HUMAN ERROR. Go whine about something else.

I'm seriously wondering what will happen when the majority of this board turns above 18 and has to get credit cards and jobs considering the maturity level.

Gonna whine like this if someone confuses your groceries?

The fact is, machines can't think for themselves. Humans do the coding. Whoever did this coding made a glitch. It was a human error.

You can sit here and whine about it all you want to and show your immaturity or you can find a solution to it.

And btw, this is directed to everyone except the OP, and Tim. I'm not afraid to say anything to anyone's face, but they at least tried to find a solution, and not take this as an opportunity to bash Microsoft. The rest could learn from their maturity.

Here's the thing, I'm still young, but I'm an adult. I recently bought groceries, but some moron forgot the milk.

Should I go and show the same attitude that you guys show here?

Or act respectful and try to get my milk?

You're gonna get nowhere with an attitude like yours.