AB
Premium
join:2006-04-04
Leesburg, VA
1 edit | reply to Mele20
Re: [Vista] Urgent Warning about WGA!
said by Mele20  :Hmmm...does that mean I can go update DirectX now?   (I have XP Pro and refuse to "show my papers", although they are legit, in order to get downloads other than critical patches). There are plenty of other sources besides the Microsoft site to update DirectX.
I just tried to download a non-critical update directly from the individual KB website (KB900485). No go. First using Firefox, then IE6. They still require that you install WGA.
Now, after installing it, perhaps it doesn't go thru the Validation process, but you're still required to install it, or at least I was, and that simply is not going to happen.
My OS is legal, and I could easily install it, get the updates I want, then remove it.
Removing it is a piece of cake (or at least not a major operation), and requires absolutely zero special software or 'crack', btw. I just don't feel like doing it. Guess I just don't want those updates that badly.
So the bottom line remains the same-- you want a non-critical update from them, you will be installing WGA.
*Edit-- Apparently things are back to normal: »Fixed |
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denb45
join:2001-02-04
Albuquerque, NM
 ·Comcast
1 edit | reply to denb45
said by denb45 :said by dminer :Microsoft's WGA servers are currently flagging genuine installations of Vista as counterfeit and disabling Aero and other functionality as well as a punishment. You will encounter this if you try to download any files from Microsoft's download site that require that validation to download, for example, DirectX updates. No news from Microsoft as to when they will fix the problem. Most annoying, to say the least! I'm having a problem trying to install XP PRO,XP Home, MCE 2005, I have tried all 3 Retail Disc and it keeps telling me that all of my product keys are invaild (how can this be) I know for a fact that all 3 Retail Disc are legit, I also know that they are 2 to 3 yrs old with the expection of the MCE 2005.........I can't seem to make heads or tails of any of this? the strange part about all of this is, that I have Norton Ghost backups of all 3 Windows Versions I mentioned above, and they install just fine....and NO, none of them are installed on any other PC's ..........I'm stumped on this one....any Ideas? OK, the only thing I found about what may have happened with the upgrade/repair installs I was trying to do was this:
Windows XP Media Center Edition: that was what I was using when this occurred
Note: Windows Setup gives an error message that the Product Key is not valid (invalid) if you attempt an upgrade or repair the installation with Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition or with Microsoft Windows XP Professional.
So, If I was to do a Clean install of XP Pro, Home or Media center, this would have worked? that's why the upgrade/repair route didn't work for me!!! |
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RR Conductor
RailRoadDude
Premium
join:2002-04-02
Redwood Valley, CA | reply to dminer
Re: [Vista] Urgent Warning about WGA!
I just installed a brand new, full-retail version of Vista Home Premium Thursday with no problems, and a brand new copy of Office 2007 Home & Student yesterday without a hitch as well. |
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Octavean
Premium,MVM
join:2001-03-31
New York, NY
| reply to denb45
said by denb45 :I'm having a problem trying to install XP PRO,XP Home, MCE 2005, I have tried all 3 Retail Disc and it keeps telling me that all of my product keys are invaild (how can this be) I know for a fact that all 3 Retail Disc are legit, I also know that they are 2 to 3 yrs old with the expection of the MCE 2005.........I can't seem to make heads or tails of any of this? the strange part about all of this is, that I have Norton Ghost backups of all 3 Windows Versions I mentioned above, and they install just fine....and NO, none of them are installed on any other PC's ..........I'm stumped on this one....any Ideas? I’m not doubting the validity of your software but there is no such thing, as far as I know, as a “retail” MCE 2K5 license. MCE 2K5 is OEM only and as such you may only be able to activate online once with all subsequent activations requiring a call to MS. Validation is another thing though,… |
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denb45
join:2001-02-04
Albuquerque, NM
·Comcast
4 edits | said by Octavean :said by denb45 :I'm having a problem trying to install XP PRO,XP Home, MCE 2005, I have tried all 3 Retail Disc and it keeps telling me that all of my product keys are invaild (how can this be) I know for a fact that all 3 Retail Disc are legit, I also know that they are 2 to 3 yrs old with the expection of the MCE 2005.........I can't seem to make heads or tails of any of this? the strange part about all of this is, that I have Norton Ghost backups of all 3 Windows Versions I mentioned above, and they install just fine....and NO, none of them are installed on any other PC's ..........I'm stumped on this one....any Ideas? I’m not doubting the validity of your software but there is no such thing, as far as I know, as a “retail” MCE 2K5 license. MCE 2K5 is OEM only and as such you may only be able to activate online once with all subsequent activations requiring a call to MS. Validation is another thing though,… Hey long time no hear? hows the Vista & PC upgrades going?
The MCE 2005 came w/ my notebook, so, it's an OEM, but the other 2 are Full Retail Versions (XP Home & XP PRO) As I stated above, the problem was......MCE 2005's only Repair/Upgrade option/path is Vista....I tried to repair MCE w/ XP Pro, and when that didn't work I tried XP Home, witch you cannot even do that's why both product keys kept comming back as (invalid)....I found that out the hard way!!! but thanks to the Norton Ghost backup I made a while back, I was back up and running again!!! |
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MooJohn
join:2005-12-18
Milledgeville, GA
 ·Windstream
1 edit | reply to javaMan
Re: There's nothing like designing a single point of failure!
quote:
javaMan said:
This isn't a "phone home" situation. It's a "check that this is a legitimate call" situation. And right now the phones are down.
Wrong. It performed that check at the time the OS was installed. Any checks after that are indeed a "phone home" process; it has decided that my once-legit OS installation may now be suspect and I have no choice but to submit to their inspection again. Next thing you know they'll copy-protect the installation disks and you'll have to keep it in the drive, like a game, for your computer to work at all.
Just wait till a large zombie group decides to ddos the WGA servers. That should prove interesting.
--
John M - Cranky network guy |
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javaMan
Premium,MVM
join:2002-07-15
San Luis Obispo, CA
| said by MooJohn : quote:
javaMan said:
This isn't a "phone home" situation. It's a "check that this is a legitimate call" situation. And right now the phones are down.
Wrong. It performed that check at the time the OS was installed. Any checks after that are indeed a "phone home" process. . . That would depend on the option you select for update checks wouldn't it? "Phone home" implies that the application makes contact without the user authorizing it. At least that's what is used to mean.
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Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness. . . Isa. 5:20 |
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PamelaTS
join:2004-04-20
Dallas, TX | I'm thinking perhaps now is a good time for a class action against MS for WGA. |
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denb45
join:2001-02-04
Albuquerque, NM
·Comcast
4 edits | said by PamelaTS :I'm thinking perhaps now is a good time for a class action against MS for WGA. Maybe MS should KILL WGA as well as DRM, and put Direct Sound back into Vista where it belongs............this is what happens when Companies go to far!!! Bill? are you listening to this, you should be?
--
Gateway MX6453 * AMD X 2 Duo Core 64 Mobile 1.6GHz * HITACHI Travelstar 7K100 100GB 7200 RPM 8MB Cache * 2GB * 533MHz* DDR2 Memory * Creative Audigy 2Z Notebook PCMCIA Slot Sound Card* Vista Ultimate OEM/DSP
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jabarnut
Light Years Away
Premium,MVM
join:2005-01-22
Galaxy M31
| said by denb45 : Bill? are you listening to this, you should be? Sorry, most likely he's very busy with the charitable Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation these days, and therefore, is probably not listening to you at all. 
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I had a life once.....now I have a Computer and a Modem. |
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rgillis70
Premium
join:2002-12-30
Herndon, VA
| said by jabarnut :said by denb45 : Bill? are you listening to this, you should be? Sorry, most likely he's very busy with the charitable Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation these days, and therefore, is probably not listening to you at all. And Steve B. has hearing issues. He never listens...  |
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Octavean
Premium,MVM
join:2001-03-31
New York, NY
| reply to denb45
Re: [Vista] Urgent Warning about WGA!
said by denb45 :said by Octavean :said by denb45 :I'm having a problem trying to install XP PRO,XP Home, MCE 2005, I have tried all 3 Retail Disc and it keeps telling me that all of my product keys are invaild (how can this be) I know for a fact that all 3 Retail Disc are legit, I also know that they are 2 to 3 yrs old with the expection of the MCE 2005.........I can't seem to make heads or tails of any of this? the strange part about all of this is, that I have Norton Ghost backups of all 3 Windows Versions I mentioned above, and they install just fine....and NO, none of them are installed on any other PC's ..........I'm stumped on this one....any Ideas? I’m not doubting the validity of your software but there is no such thing, as far as I know, as a “retail” MCE 2K5 license. MCE 2K5 is OEM only and as such you may only be able to activate online once with all subsequent activations requiring a call to MS. Validation is another thing though,… Hey long time no hear? hows the Vista & PC upgrades going? The MCE 2005 came w/ my notebook, so, it's an OEM, but the other 2 are Full Retail Versions (XP Home & XP PRO) As I stated above, the problem was......MCE 2005's only Repair/Upgrade option/path is Vista....I tried to repair MCE w/ XP Pro, and when that didn't work I tried XP Home, witch you cannot even do that's why both product keys kept comming back as (invalid)....I found that out the hard way!!! but thanks to the Norton Ghost backup I made a while back, I was back up and running again!!! Really,…?
Well what kind of MCE 2K5 system do you have? I have an HP m1070n MCE system (originally MCE 2K4 but it qualified for a free upgrade to MCE 2K5 on OEM DVD) and it came with everything necessary for a reinstall / clean install. All the OS install files were on the HDD for a clean install optionally additional driver install files and app install files could be installed (or burned to disc for individual install),…and that’s to say nothing about a recovery partition or DVD recovery set. These files were also extractable from the recovery set as well. I was able to extract files from the HDD to make my own MCE OS install CDs.
I also have a Compaq (HP) V2000 series Presario notebooks (AMD Sempron 3000+ / ATI Xpress 200m / XP Home) and again it came with all the necessary OS install files directly accessible on the HDD.
I personally wanted to verify if HP was doing this with their Vista systems but I haven’t had an opportunity to check. I prefer to build my own systems. |
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Titus Pullo
I came, I saw, I slept
join:2004-06-26 | reply to dminer
Windows ... I don't know how you walk around with those things ...  |
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denb45
join:2001-02-04
Albuquerque, NM
·Comcast
4 edits | reply to Octavean
Yeah I built a System about 3 yrs ago, but found out that this was MORE expensive than buying a Retail System, besides, I just don't want to spend a lotta money on a system build for just doing basic computing needs, it's just not worth the time & money to me..... I have 2 Notebooks a Gateway MX6453 & a MX6447 both shipped w/ MCE 2005 the MX6453 is a AMD-64 x2 Duo Core 1.7Ghz & the MX6447 is a AMD Single Core Turion 2.0Ghz both have the exact same specs w/ the exception of the CPU, both have 2GB of DDR2 System Ram & come w/ a ATI Xpress 1150, both can run Vista w/ a WEP Base Score of 3.5 to 4.0, not too shabby, but I don't run any Games on them, they are very stable w/ MEC 2005 or Vista as well........I wanted to put XP PRO on one of them
cuz I can't stand the OEM MEC 2005, I rather have XP on it, but I'm going to have to do a clean install to do this, as a Repair/Upgrade just won't work for MCE 2005 with a XP Retail CD, when I tried all I got was a (invalid product key) notice
and I know that my Product Keys are legit!!! I haven't done the clean install of XP PRO yet, but if I get this notice AGAIN, I'm calling Microsoft so I can get this corrected!!! |
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inbead
join:2003-06-30
Torrance, CA
| reply to dminer
Re: [Vista] Urgent Warning about WGA!
I have always been a proponent of Windows over Mac and a lot of people ask me about my opinion.
I bought my Dell PC with windows XP preinstalled but I am getting a WGA notice that my windows is not genuine. This really upsets me and will probably one the reasons to switch over to MAC or even LINUX!
Microsoft needs to fix its WGA Fast! |
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Octavean
Premium,MVM
join:2001-03-31
New York, NY
| reply to denb45
said by denb45 :Yeah I built a System about 3 yrs ago, but found out that this was MORE expensive than buying a Retail System, besides, I just don't want to spend a lotta money on a system build for just doing basic computing needs, it's just not worth the time & money to me..... I have 2 Notebooks a Gateway MX6453 & a MX6447 both shipped w/ MCE 2005 the MX6453 is a AMD-64 x2 Duo Core 1.7Ghz & the MX6447 is a AMD Single Core Turion 2.0Ghz both have the exact same specs w/ the exception of the CPU, both have 2GB of DDR2 System Ram & come w/ a ATI Xpress 1150, both can run Vista w/ a WEP Base Score of 3.5 to 4.0, not too shabby, but I don't run any Games on them, they are very stable w/ MEC 2005 or Vista as well........I wanted to put XP PRO on one of them cuz I can't stand the OEM MEC 2005, I rather have XP on it, but I'm going to have to do a clean install to do this, as a Repair/Upgrade just won't work for MCE 2005 with a XP Retail CD, when I tried all I got was a (invalid product key) notice and I know that my Product Keys are legit!!! I haven't done the clean install of XP PRO yet, but if I get this notice AGAIN, I'm calling Microsoft so I can get this corrected!!! Yeah, MCE is OEM only and you cant mix and match Pro / MCE / retail / OEM keys like that.
However, as I recall, MCE (depending on the version) comes in either a two disc or a three disc package. In the case of a three disc package the third disc is an update disc (nothing amazing or remarkable on it). So basically its an XP OS install disc and a MCE disc2 set. If you don’t use disc two XP Pro is installed and the OEM MCE key will work.
There are differences between XP Pro and MCE 2K5 but personally those differences don’t really effect me and my every day use. If you wish you can join a domain with MCE 2K5 but it can get a little tricky,…this is actually one of the few major differences between XP Pro and MCE 2K5. |
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denb45
join:2001-02-04
Albuquerque, NM
·Comcast
3 edits | said by Octavean :said by denb45 :Yeah I built a System about 3 yrs ago, but found out that this was MORE expensive than buying a Retail System, besides, I just don't want to spend a lotta money on a system build for just doing basic computing needs, it's just not worth the time & money to me..... I have 2 Notebooks a Gateway MX6453 & a MX6447 both shipped w/ MCE 2005 the MX6453 is a AMD-64 x2 Duo Core 1.7Ghz & the MX6447 is a AMD Single Core Turion 2.0Ghz both have the exact same specs w/ the exception of the CPU, both have 2GB of DDR2 System Ram & come w/ a ATI Xpress 1150, both can run Vista w/ a WEP Base Score of 3.5 to 4.0, not too shabby, but I don't run any Games on them, they are very stable w/ MEC 2005 or Vista as well........I wanted to put XP PRO on one of them cuz I can't stand the OEM MEC 2005, I rather have XP on it, but I'm going to have to do a clean install to do this, as a Repair/Upgrade just won't work for MCE 2005 with a XP Retail CD, when I tried all I got was a (invalid product key) notice and I know that my Product Keys are legit!!! I haven't done the clean install of XP PRO yet, but if I get this notice AGAIN, I'm calling Microsoft so I can get this corrected!!! Yeah, MCE is OEM only and you cant mix and match Pro / MCE / retail / OEM keys like that. However, as I recall, MCE (depending on the version) comes in either a two disc or a three disc package. In the case of a three disc package the third disc is an update disc (nothing amazing or remarkable on it). So basically its an XP OS install disc and a MCE disc2 set. If you don’t use disc two XP Pro is installed and the OEM MCE key will work. There are differences between XP Pro and MCE 2K5 but personally those differences don’t really effect me and my every day use. If you wish you can join a domain with MCE 2K5 but it can get a little tricky,…this is actually one of the few major differences between XP Pro and MCE 2K5. I just clean installed XP PRO SP2 today it went without a hitch, it even activated over the internet just fine....XP PRO sure is FAST, (been a while) it's a lot FASTER than Vista Home Permium or Ultimate......maybe I'll just keep it instead of Vista.....I'm sorry to say that VISTA seems painfully SLOW on my Duo Core notebook compared to XP PRO, I don't know why, I even bother w/ installing Vista, I keep hoping that it will get better, but it doesn't seem to get any better every time I install it, and I find this VERY ANNOYING!!!
UPDATE!!! went back to Vista Ultimate........I gave in missed the Aero Eye Candy.........LOL!!! |
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Oregonian
Premium
join:2000-12-21
West Linn, OR | reply to dminer
My Vista Ultimate activated OK this afternoon. |
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DRM Killer
@rr.com
| reply to denb45
said by denb45 :I'm sorry to say that VISTA seems painfully SLOW on my Duo Core notebook compared to XP PRO, I don't know why.. Not enough memory ? 1 Gig is not really enough for Vista to do justice. |
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