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Windows suddenly not genuine?
Mim
I prefer my lovers…dead.Registered User regular
I prefer my lovers…dead.Registered User regular
Hey H/A (again; I hate having two threads on 1 page. Sorry!)
I bought my laptop in September and got it upgraded to Windows 7 when the CD came in November. In December something happened and it became buggy so I took it to the Geek Squad and I had it back by January. I've been using it and all of a sudden today it tells me my copy of Windows isn't genuine. That I can use a program on the Microsoft site to repair what is causing Windows to say its not genuine and to validate it.
Is this a scam/virus? The web address says its from the Microsoft website but I didn't want to fuck with anything and end up without a laptop again (especially during finals).
I bought my laptop in September and got it upgraded to Windows 7 when the CD came in November. In December something happened and it became buggy so I took it to the Geek Squad and I had it back by January. I've been using it and all of a sudden today it tells me my copy of Windows isn't genuine. That I can use a program on the Microsoft site to repair what is causing Windows to say its not genuine and to validate it.
Is this a scam/virus? The web address says its from the Microsoft website but I didn't want to fuck with anything and end up without a laptop again (especially during finals).
Mim on
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Maybe the engineers who fixed your PC installed a version of Windows 7 that wasn't authentic? Just a thought. If you have a certified Windows 7 and valid product key, and your PC is currently saying it's registered to that key, then give MS a call and see what they say?
In that case, they may have used a non-genuine version. In that case, I'd call them and be very very very furious.
To prove this, take a look at this. http://pcsupport.about.com/od/productkeysactivation/ht/windows-7-key.htm
Match the key with the key you have for the upgrade CD. If they mismatch, you know that the version of Windows you are using is not your own.
You could do what I did and just not worry about it, or yeah, contact Best Buy.
You still install those updates though, don't you?
If not, then wow.
It might explain why, when my laptop starts up, that it says the Acer disc has a problem and needs to finish installing Windows 7, but my laptop is a gateway..
Yeah, sounds like Geek Squad is living up to their reputation here. I know it isn't super helpful, but in the future you'll want to avoid them like the plague.
Also, for future reference, re-installing Windows is something that anyone can do by inserting the disc, selecting "DVD Drive" from the boot menu as your computer starts up, and following the prompts.
Pretty confident it's this. They've given you a pirate copy of windows with a bad crack. Go yell at them.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_Genuine_Advantage
Do you think maybe that you never had WGA on the computer to begin with (i.e. hadn't done Windows updates) and the Geek Squad ran updates as part of their normal procedure, putting WGA on there, where it would've acted up no matter who installed it due to your copy of Windows? The fact that "something buggy" happened leads me to believe that either you hadn't run updates, thus letting bad software in, or you already had updated and WGA was screwing with your computer even before you took it in.
Regardless of whether this is the case or not, the Geek Squad can just claim this is due to your hardware and your copy of Windows.
So Gateway gave her a bootleg copy of Windows 7? o_O
Occam's Razor says it's GeekSquad to me. Did you also get an upgrade to "Ultimate" instead of "Home Premium" at the same time?
Use the Magical Jellybean Keyfinder or something to fish out the code for the installed version. If it doesn't match the one you've got, go raise holy hell with GS - and if you're feeling particularly vindictive, give Microsoft's anti-piracy hotline a call and tell them this place installed a bootleg version on your machine. :P
Can trade TF2 items or whatever else you're interested in. PM me.
No, I think Windows decided it wasn't genuine even though it is. That's what false positive means.
If he never ran updates, then it's very possible that WGA never entered the picture until the Squad updated it, at which point it falsely decided that his copy wasn't legit.
I agree with fishing out the serial and making sure it matches with the one you started with though.
The only thing that throws a red flag for me is this:
The problem is, as soon as you apply the updates for last month in windows 7, the latest round of activation exploits would have been detected. That's why your system became 'non-genuine', i'd bet.
Geeksquad have almost certainly done the wrong thing here, probably trying to save themselves time, or just incompetently using the wrong media with the wrong system.
So, while windows is telling you your system isn't genuine, it's actually not an accusation that you're doing something illegal. This kind of thing is designed to show people who've been screwed over by a system builder (like that shady guy down the road, or these apparently incompetent geeksquad people) that they've actually been screwed. The fact that pirates know how to disable the activation all over again in new, undetect ways is not really the point.
In your case, it sounds like the fix is simple. backup stuff, and then reinstall from the media gateway sent you, using the key gateway gave you. And give MS a call and tell them that geeksquad apparently did something braindead.
The tricky part is the backup part of this procedure. I'd recomment using "Windows easy transfer". I've had good luck with it whenever i've done a fresh reinstall of my laptop. point it at a usb hard drive or something to backup settings/data, whack in the gateway dvd, and let it do an automated install (it'll almost certainly be pre-pidded, and will install automatically and will probably activate automatically.
Then let windows update install everything it can find (do the update->reboot->update->reboot->update cycle until nothing comes up) and then start reinstalling your programs. It's surprisingly painless these days. (perhaps the only annoying thing will be whatever chumware that gateway shovelled into their win7 dvd)
tl;dr: not surprised geeksquad are idiots. Do the install yourself, it's not that hard, just remember to backup first!
If the hardware doesn't change, that product key is good for that install on that system, regardless of what OS is in place. If you *re*install office, onto the same system, and the old install is gone (Because you wiped and reinstalled) then you're not using "another" key, you're using "the same key". You're doing the right thing, and MS isn't going to screw you over. (If they do, i'll mail you a copy of office 2007 ultimate or something, because what you'd be doing is well within the normal procedures.)
I'm not sure how MS have implemented activation of office for the multi-key packs, and i've never been hit by an activation limit for my copies (i get my copies from the company store or internally, depending on which system's involved), but for a case like this, if it refused to activate, you call them, and tell them that you just reinstalled your system, because a third party broke your system, and get them to activate it.
Worst advice I've ever heard! Might be ok for a power user but those users wouldn't have this kind of problem anyway.
OP, leave auto-update alone and follow some of the other advice. Your best bet would be to take it back to Geek Squad and explain what's wrong, etc. They should offer to repair it at no cost to you since they're the one who mucked it up so it'd be the least expensive way.
Or you could take it to another PC shop and explain what happened. Chance are a reinstall will be what is needed. Or maybe just a repair. I'd have to see it to be more sure.
Man, this sounds like that old adage from the canadian air-force: "Log book noted evidence of fuel leak on fighter jet. Resolution: Evidence removed." I mean, seriously, you're basically doing the equivalent of "Fixing" a warning light in your car by removing the fuse that powers the warning light.
Back everything I want up onto storage device (documents, music, pictures). Re-install Windows 7 with what Gateway sent me, then update it and everything should be fine. AND, that if I put Microsoft Office Ultimate back on there, I won't run into a problem because its the same system so the code SHOULD work.
Am I right? I don't mean to sound retarded about this, I just do not want to fuck myself over (or have my father kill me).
Either way, if there's a problem, you just CALL ms, tell them what happened (if you even wind up needing to speak to a person!) and they give you the unlock code. You're not doing anything wrong, you're not going to lose your copy of office.
But yeah, definitely back everything up. Check that the backup *works* by looking at it on another system, making sure that it's at least readable, and then continue with the reinstall process. (make multiple backups if you're paranoid)