XP updates

Gurrg · Posted: Tue Dec 02, 2003 7:50 pm Post subject: XP updates

i went to windowsupdate.com to make sure i have everythin and i dloaded the critical update one (service pack 1) and it downloaded then it was installing and said
"the product key you have is invalid. please contact...blah blah blah"

so my product key is invalid? how do i change it....i don't get it...any help would be appreciated. Thanks
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Lil-Yugi · Posted: Tue Dec 02, 2003 7:56 pm Post subject:

I hope your not running a pirated version because it prevents u from installing sp1.

http://www.microsoft.com/licensing/resources/vol/volkeys_winxpsp1.asp?SD=GN&LN=EN-US&gssnb=1

http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=326904

SpeCies · Posted: Tue Dec 02, 2003 8:46 pm Post subject:

As Yugi pointed out,

Eligibility for Product Updates
Software updates are intended for use by legally licensed users of Microsoft products. Microsoft is striving to ensure that licensed users continue to get updates uninterrupted by software pirates. Users of pirated software hurt licensed users by taking bandwidth from download servers and software updates intended for licensed users.

Microsoft has determined through investigations that most pirated installations are made with either of two VLKs. VLKs are used by corporate or other volume license customers to install Windows XP on their computers. These two particular VLKs, however, were never in use by a customer in a production deployment. Product keys are 25-character alphanumeric codes arranged in five groups of five characters each and used during setup to install the product. The product key produces the product ID number that, after setup is completed, is displayed on the General tab in the System Properties dialog box.

Windows XP SP1 ships with a list of the two product IDs that are created by the pirated VLKs. To determine eligibility for the update, Windows XP SP1 compares the Windows XP product ID on the system to this list. The comparison and the list reside locally on the user's computer; no information is sent to Microsoft as part of this process. The Windows XP SP1 installation will fail on computers with the following product IDs:

XXXXX-640-0000356-23XXX
XXXXX-640-2001765-23XXX
If installation fails for this reason, this message will be displayed:
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Darkath · Posted: Tue Dec 02, 2003 9:35 pm Post subject:

I can tell you how to fix it, but I think that some people on these forums would not like me doing so. PM/Email me if you want to know
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^^^ Clicky

PondScum007 · Posted: Tue Dec 02, 2003 10:13 pm Post subject:

lol gj hacker
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FingerDemon · Posted: Thu Dec 04, 2003 6:26 am Post subject:

If it is a totally legal copy of Windows, I would not be surprised if this could still happen. Its not like Windows never has any bugs in it, right?

If it is a totally legal copy, I would recommend calling Microsoft they supposedly have a group that helps people reauthenticate their Windows XP installs after major hardware upgrades. XP notices your hardware on installation and if you change too many pieces of hardware it can think you are using a different machine, and give you an authentication error. Microsoft will fix that for anyone who calls with all the right legal mumbo jumbo of a legally purchased copy.

I mention this, because if you have a legal copy and you use a hack to get around the problem, Microsoft will undoubtedly be looking for ways to screw up any future SP installs once they know how the hack works. On the other hand, you might have more luck fixing things via hacks than getting any satisfaction from Microsoft Tech support.

Good luck with it.

FingerDemon

Potato-VS- · Posted: Thu Dec 04, 2003 7:05 am Post subject:

Finger said exactly what happened to a friend of mine. He upgrade almost all of his PC (except the HD) and when he went to update XP he got eh same message. He didnt really like XP so he just went linux and created some converter program to change all of his files into linux files or something... Either way he said that the MS support was crap. He waited for half an hour on hold just to have some guy tell him that theres nothing he can do.

<TVB>Potato

Mr Hat · Posted: Thu Dec 04, 2003 9:22 am Post subject:

xP identifies the machine its installed on based on the stuff installed. i.e.: video card, net card, sound card etc...They claim they don’t record info about your system...

When you do the online activation M$ saves that info along with your CD key.

Changing certain things won't bother it...but others will.

For example: I changed my net card...no problem...changed my video card...no problem....I put in a new sound card and had to call them and get a new activation code.

I have a purchased copy...so it’s not a problem...

Btw...Got a new HD...Reinstalled with the same components as before and still had to call and get a new authorization code.

It was in SP1 that M$ finally got control of all the haxors that were leachin free copies of xP.

Fyi- there is a “fix” for the SP1 dilemma. As mentioned above…I’m not posting it here…but PM me if you want a link to step by step instructions on how to “repair” the problem.
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Azrael · Posted: Thu Dec 04, 2003 9:54 am Post subject:

Yeah, I had the same problem when I took my old HDD out of my comp and put it into my new one. The system said so much had been changed that it wasn't the same comp anymore and needed to be re-initialized. Unfortunately, it also said my key was no good. So I called up microsoft, got some dude, and he gave me a new authorization key. Easy!
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Bright Red Nipples · Posted: Thu Dec 04, 2003 7:02 pm Post subject:

I don't understand why it would matter to microsoft if you are taking out your hard drive and putting it into a new machine. Why the hell would they care. You still are using only 1 copy of windows. Now if you took the hard drive and were switching it from machine to machine constantly, which seems silly to me, then I could understand. If you build a second machine then you would need a new hard drive to run that machine. Having installed the same copy of windows onto that new machine is another understandable cercumstance.

I'm just having a hard time comprehending this

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Mr Hat · Posted: Fri Dec 05, 2003 10:08 am Post subject:

With the earlier windows versions...all you needed was a valid Cd...And you could install it again and again and again...and there was no way for m$ monitor or police the number of installs off a single purchased license.

With Xp that changed. When Xp installs...it generates a sort of machine specific “identification number” based on the components installed in that system and it links that information to your Cd key. When you do the online activation…m$ stores that “identification number” for future reference. If you attempt to re-activate with a Cd key that has been used previously…m$ verifies the “identification number” again. If the components are different…then the “identification numbers” will not match and they won’t let you activate. If you have a legit copy you can just call them and get a new activation code. I’m sure they probably record some information about your call…however…I can’t remember being asked anything about proof of purchase or any reason why I had to reinstall.

There are some exceptions to all this. As mentioned earlier, there are corporate versions of Xp where one Cd key would be used in multiple installs. This is the exploit where the haxors have been able to take advantage. With the Sp1 update m$ found a way to kill abused Cd keys.

Fyi—Sp2 is due to come out soon and it will probably kill the hax developed to work around what Sp1 attempted to prevent.
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FingerDemon · Posted: Mon Dec 08, 2003 6:40 pm Post subject:

Yeah, one interesting thing I read about it was that different pieces of hardware being changed are more likely to cause a problem than others. So, even though you hear people say three hardware changes trigger it, it doesn't always work that way. For instance, I read that they place a higher importance on the network card than most other hardware. Since it is almost a certainty that if you are trying to install it on another machine, it is going to have a different network card.

It sucks, but it is BS like this that makes it more likely that alternatives to Windows will get more popular and we will be able to choose an OS rather than have one rammed down our throats.

FD

ProudWhiteTrash · Posted: Mon Dec 08, 2003 8:17 pm Post subject:

Product activation sux0rs.
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