Interestingly enough, though I found many sites that purported to give information about deactivating WGA, either the methods didn't work, or entailed downloading software that, in at least one case, contained a virus (my anti-virus software, which is free and I recommend, caught it while it was still inside the .zip file -- it's Grisoft AVG if anyone's interested).

However, I also came across a site called Windiz (http://windowsupdate.62nds.com/), which will perform Windows updates from within Firefox and does not use or check Windows Genuine Advantage before doing so. This means you can restore to a pre-new-onerous-WGA installation and obtain all security updates without ever installing WGA. The site obtains updates directly from Windows and Akami and appears to be completely legal and not in violation of either law or Microsoft's EULA and other policies (this is not a professional legal opinion, however). I tried it on a machine I keep as a test bed and it worked perfectly -- it scans the computer using a Java plug-in in a manner similar to Windows Update, lets you choose the updates you want to install, and then automatically downloads and installs them. The only downsides are that it doesn't provide driver updates (though, of course, you can get them directly from your hardware manufacturer) and doesn't provide the same assurance of reliability as Microsoft (for what that's worth).

I also came across another site`at http://www.autopatcher.com/ that offers all Windows upgrades in packaged, downloadable form. The packages are offered at three-month intervals, with downloadable update packages offered monthly in between. I haven't tried this one, but it indicates that it, too, gets the updates from Windows and Akami, and also appears to be completely legal and in compliance with Microsoft's license (again, not my professional opinion and not to be relied upon).

Windows users might want to consider either of these sites as an alternative to Microsoft's update site, which will install, activate and monitor WGA, and appear to be a more reliable and less risky alternative to potentially-virus-ridden patches and undocumented registry changes that purport to eliminate the activation "virus" installed by Microsoft updates.

They can put whatever they want in their EULA. That doesn't make it correct or legal. They can't legally override any state or federal law, but they can write it that way if they want to. That doesn't make it correct or enforcable, and any portion of the agreement that violates state or federal law would be invalid if somebody decided to pursue it in court.

Ptravel seems to be arguing that their deactivation of his machine may have violated a merchantibility of fitness statute in California. I have no idea if he's correct or not. I'm not a lawyer. But then again, neither are you.

You can read more about implied warranties here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Implied_warranty

-David

But OPENSuse 10.2 runs great in Parallels...most linuxes do! :D

I'm personally going MS free in 2007...still have a vista box and an a 2003 domain controller to replace, but I just migrated a 2003 server to linux and I'm LOVING Zimbra's open source email server!

I'm up to 6 macs at home...which is making the iTunes DMR down right restrictive... but that's another issue

Regarding all those sites out there that have serials and ways to get around WGA, watch out. I've successfully infected 5 out of 5 XP boxes searching for this very thing. It happened first to a real XP install (for which I own a license); I can prove that I own it (down to the credit card, etc) but it wouldn't activate...once I got malware I set out to see how rampant it was. So I created a VMware image and 4 out of 4 times it only took one or two google searches to kill the box with malware.... so if you are going to search for that stuff, do it with Firefox and on a virtual machine.

iPod it is
 

Bluemonq and lmz00 are correct - an iPod it was.

I decided to tear out all the "visible" hi-fi equipment and replace it with an "invisible" iPod on a little driver in a cabinet. All the hardware and infrastructure to run the entire house (speaker splitters, wiring, cabling, in-wall and in-ceiling speakers, amps, drivers, etc.) were easier in total than getting Apple, Microsoft and my ten years' of collected music files to play nicely together in a DRM world.

This easily could add up to enough points to trigger a reactivation. I don't know why the normal system didn't work.

You can normally change any one piece of hardware without triggering reactivation. Motherboards will likely trigger it because of the various bits of built-in hardware. The OP has three hardware changes, not one and the address of the NIC is a high point value change.

Yeah, that's how I feel about it also. Long ago I made the mistake of installing XP--and I ended up restoring the registry at least once a month. Post SP1 it never happened. I'm also waiting for boards that will take more memory.

I and others use some software at work that requires a code every 90 days (I think), but the thing is supposed to update automatically via the internet, and for the most part does. However certain (very important) components within this software seem to have their own licence that, occasionally goes awol and the functionality that those components provide is lost, untill a nice man from the IT dept fixes it.

I once had to change the date on my system (for reasons I won't bore you with) and this piece of software which I wasn't running at the time decided to stop working when I next started it. This complained that the date was changed backwards and it was therefore requesting that I re-licence it. As this was out of hours for the UK, I then had to spend an hour on the phone to someone in the US and we eventually fixed everything and the licence was restored. I did have to give my name and company but I don't seem to mind this so much as, the company name forms part of the licence generator dohickey and I would rather they called me by my name (admittedly usually my surname) and not sir.

I can understand the OPs frustration.

Dang! I forgot about that. Thanks for the reminder. I could run mandrake again!

At the same time, I'm thinking of having my old PC laptop shipped over. I could stick a linux on that. Did run Mandrake and the switched to redhat on it.

Have heard buntu(sp?) is quite nice.

Then again - osx is unix based so why run linux on a mac?

(yes yes - I know the answer "because you can!")

/E

Yes, but . . .

Hard drives are commodity items these days. I change them whenever CompUSA has a sale that I like. I still have my original system drive -- if that didn't change, then the fact that I've added a bunch of bigger drives is indicative of absolutely nothing. Similarly, a change from a 100 mbps NIC to a gigbit NIC indicates and upgrade, not a machine change. I don't care what Microsoft does to protect itself from piracy -- that's its problem. However, when it picks a business model that insults me (the webpage lecturing me on how evil it is to run pirated software), disables my machine, and then attempts to extort personal information from me, it only alienates me further. Of course, Microsoft doesn't care if it alienates its customers -- yet more proof of its de facto monopoly status.

I agree that Microsoft's rules as to what constitutes important changes is out of date.

Give me a break

Extorts personal info from you? - all you had to do make up a name- I think that sometimes we go into these calls looking for a fight - and then we normally end up getting one.

Making up a name is lying and, arguably, fraud. You may certainly live your life by your standards, if they permit doing this. Mine don't.

3

My son bought a brand new Mac. 2K worth of brand new mac. It spent 6 weeks getting a "known bug" repaired. He could only bring it in during business hours and pick it up then.

Me I will stick to my IBM Thinkpad running Vista and Office 2007:D

I certainly dont end up spending 90 minutes of my time reactivating. Reading these posts is making me consider pulling my son out the U of Chicago law school :eek: