WindowsXP saying we stole it

EWom

So my sister brought her laptop to me and asked if I could get rid of shitty vista and put xp back on it, after she took it to BestBuy to upgrade the ram, and they instead... installed vista on it, and didn't upgrade the ram. I said "well yeah but we have to get a copy of XP" so we went to Amazon bought a copy of winXP and I installed it. Worked great for about 2 weeks, now there's a big warning on the desktop saying something close to: "You're a victim of software fraud, you're Windows XP failed to authenticate" then I believe there's a link to an MS webpage for her to click. I don't know for sure, because she lives in a different state than I do, and I'm just hearing this over the phone.

Any ideas on why this would happen, and how to fix it. Preferably not by spending 200 fucking more dollars on winXP.

Grimm

Well what happens when she clicks the link? I would call microsoft and see what they say. If it turns out to be a pirated copy, i would go after the seller. I dont know if amazon would be willing to help out but im gonna guess they wont like it if people are selling copyrighted stuff through their site. On the other hand, i would have just gone back to best buy and made them fix their screw up in the first place instead of spending any money at all. Also, if her computer came installed with xp, isn't there a cd key sticker on the bottom of the computer? You should be able to use any windows xp install disc as long as you use her original key.

travathian

Instead of getting rid of shitty Vista and putting shitty XP on it, why didnt you put GOOD Win7 on it? I laugh at you for spending $200 on an 8 year old OS, especially when an OEM license is less than $100.

Did she bother to activate the OS after the install? If you don't activate it, the OS assumes you're a pirate. If it was activated, call the number and talk to MS.

Calebros

Are you 100% sure that is a genuine message from Microsoft and not something disguising itself as such?

shadydentist

Come on, vista isn't *that* bad.

Rhino

Calebros wrote: »

Are you 100% sure that is a genuine message from Microsoft and not something disguising itself as such?

This.

Could be spyware trying to steal your info.


Also, did you active it? If the activation is bad they give you a toll free number to call to "manually" activate.

If it is indeed a pirated copy, Microsoft should help you with the bad seller.

Beltaine

shadydentist wrote: »

Come on, vista isn't *that* bad.

Seriously, I ran Vista from release date until Win7 release date with the only issue being an overbearing UAC that was subsequently turned off.

runethomas

If this is still an issue ,
I would take a screen shot of the message, we can further troubleshoot from there.

tralev

Did the system date change to something crazy, like 100 years in the future? We've had an issue where (somehow) the date changed, and the genuine windows validation failed until it was set to the proper date.

amateurhour

not to derail, but XP is about to stop providing security updates anyway, just FYI. You're going to need to upgrade to Vista or Win7 anyway, so you might as well do it now.

tinwhiskers

as stated before, check for spyware. After that just go download a Windows Genuine Advantage crack. WGA is a buggy POS.

edit from wiki:

False positive rate
The WGA program can produce false positives (incorrectly identifying a genuine copy of Windows as "not genuine"). This can happen for any number of reasons such as failed updates, etc. Microsoft has established a forum to help users encountering problems.[34] In February 2007, a "Not Sure" section was added to the program, in case of an incorrect reading.[35]
According to an editorial on the arstechnica.com technology website, WGA reported around 22% of 500 million Windows computers as failing the test; of these less than 0.5% were due to pirate software, with the balance (over 20%, or 90% of all positives) related to non piracy issues. Microsoft "refused to comment on the rate of pure false positives" beyond saying it was "under 1%" (or as stated, at most around 5 million users affected).[36]

EWom

Thanks for the ideas I'll see if I can figure it out over the phone with her now.

And vista isn't *that* bad, except when it's put on a laptop that was made when winXP was brand new and has like 512mb of ram in it, then yes, it is *that* bad.

Seeks

The only bad thing about Windows 7 is it seems to have somehow convinced everyone that XP is shitty when it isn't.

I've heard about this happening with XP, though, even with laptops bought from actual retail chains and whatnot. Calling Microsoft should get it all sorted out for her.

krush

Seeks wrote: »

The only bad thing about Windows 7 is it seems to have somehow convinced everyone that XP is shitty when it isn't.

I've heard about this happening with XP, though, even with laptops bought from actual retail chains and whatnot. Calling Microsoft should get it all sorted out for her.

that part.

WinXP isn't as pretty as Win7 or Vista, but it works. Age be damned, it just fuckin' works.

bowen

Meh, call microsoft's toll free number and see what they say about it.

ashridah

EWom wrote: »

I said "well yeah but we have to get a copy of XP" so we went to Amazon bought a copy of winXP and I installed it.

Note, you didn't buy this from Amazon, you bought this from a third party selling through Amazon. If it's genuinely (heh) reporting as non-genuine, it's entirely possible that you've actually been sold a counterfeit copy of windows.

Any ideas on why this would happen, and how to fix it. Preferably not by spending 200 fucking more dollars on winXP.

I'd advise basically ditching the idea of using XP. There aren't any more new retail copies on the market, just remainders (if any even still exist), or pirated versions. The only other way to get a copy on a pc now is by getting a netbook, and that's an OEM version that only large manufacturers can use, afaik.

Also, XP is crap. Use win7 if you can. If the system's new enough to have shipped with Vista, then it's got enough ram for Win7. (and ultimately, vista's perfectly fine too, and you're all bitching about a negative opinion you read on a website somewhere :P ).

I'd also call microsoft, tell them you're getting whinged at by XP, and think you've been sold a counterfeit copy of windows. That should help you avoid paying 200 bucks for XP (but i don't believe it's free to get hooked up with a legit copy, i haven't checked). Also note that counterfeit copies of windows often come with malware built in, so i'd trust that copy of XP about as far as I can throw it.

You can probably also contact amazon and tell them you've been a victim of fraud by a third party, and they may refund the money.

eternalbl

ashridah wrote: »

EWom wrote: »

I said "well yeah but we have to get a copy of XP" so we went to Amazon bought a copy of winXP and I installed it.

Note, you didn't buy this from Amazon, you bought this from a third party selling through Amazon. If it's genuinely (heh) reporting as non-genuine, it's entirely possible that you've actually been sold a counterfeit copy of windows.

Any ideas on why this would happen, and how to fix it. Preferably not by spending 200 fucking more dollars on winXP.

I'd advise basically ditching the idea of using XP. There aren't any more new retail copies on the market, just remainders (if any even still exist), or pirated versions. The only other way to get a copy on a pc now is by getting a netbook, and that's an OEM version that only large manufacturers can use, afaik.

Also, XP is crap. Use win7 if you can. If the system's new enough to have shipped with Vista, then it's got enough ram for Win7. (and ultimately, vista's perfectly fine too, and you're all bitching about a negative opinion you read on a website somewhere :P ).

I'd also call microsoft, tell them you're getting whinged at by XP, and think you've been sold a counterfeit copy of windows. That should help you avoid paying 200 bucks for XP (but i don't believe it's free to get hooked up with a legit copy, i haven't checked). Also note that counterfeit copies of windows often come with malware built in, so i'd trust that copy of XP about as far as I can throw it.

You can probably also contact amazon and tell them you've been a victim of fraud by a third party, and they may refund the money.

It looks like Amazon has a system where Windows XP is sold by a third party, but the order itself is fulfilled by Amazon, which means that Amazon stores and ships the item when it's purchased and also deals with any customer service related issues to do with the sale.

OP, try activating by phone and if that doesn't work, then I'd contact Amazon, and finally put a stop payment on the credit card used for the transaction if Amazon won't help.

amateurhour

XP has been slowly bricked over the last 24 months after SP3 came out in April 2008. SP3 fucked up a lot of wifi and networking drivers on legacy systems, which was a subtle way of telling the clients to "get with the times" and every update since for SP3 has made my machine gradually slower and slower.

I recently installed a fresh copy of Win7 ultimate on a machine with a stock P4 2.8 (no hyper threading), 4 gigs of ram (3.6 usable), a 30 gig hard drive, and an ancient intel GMA845 graphics controller (which I had to hack the plug and play monitor driver to get to work) and compared it to my stock installation of a fully updated XP SP3.

The Win7 build, even on legacy hardware, is still running about 15% faster than WinXP.

edit: also, the install times and known driver database for Win7 was faster and far more supported than XP. I know none of this matters for a newer system, I'm just saying that as much as I love XP and refused to upgrade to Vista, Win7 is flat out better, especially on older hardware.

Seeks

Older to a point.

If you've got 1 gig or less (or maybe even 2 gigs or less), you're still better off with XP.

jungleroomx

Seeks wrote: »

Older to a point.

If you've got 1 gig or less (or maybe even 2 gigs or less), you're still better off with XP.

Regular text: Probably.

Bolded text: You're spreading goosery.

urahonky

I've got Win7 64 ultimate, and right now (with 4GB) it is using 63% RAM for just about nothing. Just the internet and tversity server.

Seeks

Well, to be fair, it's probably just superfetching.

But yeah, the minimum specs for 64-bit are 2 gigs, and with 1 gig I couldn't get it to stay fast.

eternalbl

jungleroomx wrote: »

Seeks wrote: »

Older to a point.

If you've got 1 gig or less (or maybe even 2 gigs or less), you're still better off with XP.

Regular text: Probably.

Bolded text: You're spreading goosery.

I wonder, I've noticed that with a fairly basic load my computer is sluggish with 2 gigs and this install was only done a week or so before the RC went bust. I'll pick up another 2 gigs on Monday and report if there's a large improvement.

EWom

Well we called Microsoft and the lady on the phone just said "Contact Amazon for and see if they will give you a refund, and when you buy an authentic version of Windows we can help you." Without even bothering to do anything to check if it was authentic or not.

travathian

Call MS again, maybe another rep will be more helpful. Or call amazon, if they wont help then call the seller. If they wont help call VISA and just dispute the charge claiming they sold you counterfeit goods.

Darkewolfe

travathian wrote: »

Call MS again, maybe another rep will be more helpful. Or call amazon, if they wont help then call the seller. If they wont help call VISA and just dispute the charge claiming they sold you counterfeit goods.

Call MS again and don't tell them your concerns this time. Just say you just purchased a copy of XP and it's not working. Don't give level 1 support a reason to end the call, because they will.

tinwhiskers

EWom wrote: »

Well we called Microsoft and the lady on the phone just said "Contact Amazon for and see if they will give you a refund, and when you buy an authentic version of Windows we can help you." Without even bothering to do anything to check if it was authentic or not.

Try to get the refund cause paying 200 bucks for a EOL'd OS was a bad call.
If that proves impossible
/
download and run

Most WGA issues are MS's shit fucking up, and XP is basically end of lifed anyways(which is probably why they told you to fuck off).

If breaking the DMCA bothers you, or if you manage to get the refund. You could try getting an upgrade version of win 7, and run that over the vista install. If you buy some more ram(which is pretty cheap online, and easy to install), you'll be fine running it.