Post by: mgdavis on June 18, 2008, 01:09:49 PM
I bought this computer at the end of November, and I don't recall anything about having a limited license for Vista, or any nonsense like that. Has anybody else experienced this? I'm torn between causes, it's either MS being exceptionally evil or a really strange piece of malware that slipped through.
Help?
Post by: Brad Johnson on June 18, 2008, 01:10:56 PM
Brad
Post by: TF_FH on June 18, 2008, 01:32:07 PM
Post by: mgdavis on June 18, 2008, 01:51:06 PM
Post by: 41magsnub on June 18, 2008, 02:14:34 PM
It's possible I never registered, I'm pretty anti-corporation in that regard. I'll see if I can figure out if I did or not.
Sadly you don't have a lot of choice in this one. It just stops working after the expiration unless you activate.
You do not need to register or provide any personal info, just activate the product.
Post by: mgdavis on June 18, 2008, 02:19:09 PM
Post by: 41magsnub on June 18, 2008, 02:28:32 PM
Post by: Headless Thompson Gunner on June 18, 2008, 03:07:14 PM
Post by: mgdavis on June 18, 2008, 03:32:36 PM
I run AVG 8.0, I doubt that it could have been that.
Post by: mgdavis on June 19, 2008, 07:28:53 AM
This time it was a balloon that appeared down by the toolbar. I had walked away, and came back just in time to catch something along the lines of "...Backup...Vista...expire 12 days..." before the balloon disappeared.
Post by: Desertdog on June 19, 2008, 07:39:21 AM
Personlly I don't trust anything I get onthe internet that asks for personal information.
Post by: Tallpine on June 19, 2008, 08:01:40 AM
Virus?
That would be MS Vista
I keep getting a message that says my computer is more than two years old and that I need to install a new one
Post by: Manedwolf on June 19, 2008, 08:32:18 AM
(Psst. Hey, Bill...warez hackers break the thing. Registration and scary expirations only piss off the legit users who are gonna look elsewhere...)
Post by: InfidelSerf on June 19, 2008, 08:39:07 AM
Post by: mgdavis on June 19, 2008, 12:22:47 PM
Post by: The Annoyed Man on June 19, 2008, 12:25:02 PM
Post by: Antibubba on June 19, 2008, 08:43:21 PM
Well, it didn't expire, but it sure passed out a lot.
Post by: mgdavis on June 20, 2008, 06:02:13 AM
I'm still waiting for another dialog box to pop up.
Post by: Manedwolf on June 20, 2008, 06:04:02 AM
Well, unless Toshiba pulled a fast one on me, this is definitely legit.
I'm still waiting for another dialog box to pop up.
I'm still waiting for another dialog box to pop up.
Make sure it isn't phishing spyware.
Post by: The Annoyed Man on June 20, 2008, 06:26:49 AM
Well, unless Toshiba pulled a fast one on me, this is definitely legit.
I'm still waiting for another dialog box to pop up.
I'm still waiting for another dialog box to pop up.
Make sure it isn't phishing spyware.
This is the most likely scenario. Again, Google Smitfix. Run it. Not without risk, but likely to make things better, not worse.
Post by: mgdavis on June 20, 2008, 11:18:34 AM
I don't know how to do a screen shot, text is as follows:
"Windows Activation
Your Windows license will expire in 10 days
Back up your files and install any version of Windows Vistatm."
No links. Looks legit to me. I'm a little upset with MS.
Post by: Hawkmoon on June 20, 2008, 11:30:39 AM
Finally caught the window.
I don't know how to do a screen shot, text is as follows:
"Windows Activation
Your Windows license will expire in 10 days
Back up your files and install any version of Windows Vistatm."
No links. Looks legit to me. I'm a little upset with MS.
I don't know how to do a screen shot, text is as follows:
"Windows Activation
Your Windows license will expire in 10 days
Back up your files and install any version of Windows Vistatm."
No links. Looks legit to me. I'm a little upset with MS.
If this was a new machine you bought, I'd think you should be upset with the company that sold you a computer that didn't have a fully-licensed operating system installed.
On the other hand, it may be a blessing. Now you have a valid reason to dump Vista and installed Windows XP ... or, better yet, Linux.
Post by: mgdavis on June 20, 2008, 11:39:14 AM
Post by: AZRedhawk44 on June 20, 2008, 11:49:01 AM
That's the product activation "self destruct" application, and it is "legit."
I re-installed the OS on my computer after some hardware upgrades in a way that XP could preserve the existing applications and settings but change the core drivers. MS considers this along the lines of "ghosting" and prefers that you purchase a new OS license for the upgraded computer.
My computer refused to fully boot afterwards and came up with a product activation screen. I was unable to circumvent product activation unless I called the Microsoft 800 number provided.
I had a chat with a nice fellow from India about it. He asked why I installed a new motherboard on my computer. I informed him that my old one had failed, so I purchased a new one. He gave me a new activation code over the phone and I was back up and running after about a 10 minute phone call.
SWMBO had the little star-icon on her computer after some parts changes on her computer. She never did a re-install, but the star kept counting down. Once she hit 0 days remaining, it cut off her TCP/IP stack, making the Internet unavailable. She re-activated over the phone and was fine.
Just click on it, call the 800 number provided, and get it over with. Or switch to a different OS.
Post by: xavier fremboe on June 20, 2008, 04:34:28 PM
Is there a little star-looking icon in the system tray next to the clock?
That's the product activation "self destruct" application, and it is "legit."
I re-installed the OS on my computer after some hardware upgrades in a way that XP could preserve the existing applications and settings but change the core drivers. MS considers this along the lines of "ghosting" and prefers that you purchase a new OS license for the upgraded computer.
My computer refused to fully boot afterwards and came up with a product activation screen. I was unable to circumvent product activation unless I called the Microsoft 800 number provided.
I had a chat with a nice fellow from India about it. He asked why I installed a new motherboard on my computer. I informed him that my old one had failed, so I purchased a new one. He gave me a new activation code over the phone and I was back up and running after about a 10 minute phone call.
SWMBO had the little star-icon on her computer after some parts changes on her computer. She never did a re-install, but the star kept counting down. Once she hit 0 days remaining, it cut off her TCP/IP stack, making the Internet unavailable. She re-activated over the phone and was fine.
Just click on it, call the 800 number provided, and get it over with. Or switch to a different OS.
Practice your international radio code before you make that call:That's the product activation "self destruct" application, and it is "legit."
I re-installed the OS on my computer after some hardware upgrades in a way that XP could preserve the existing applications and settings but change the core drivers. MS considers this along the lines of "ghosting" and prefers that you purchase a new OS license for the upgraded computer.
My computer refused to fully boot afterwards and came up with a product activation screen. I was unable to circumvent product activation unless I called the Microsoft 800 number provided.
I had a chat with a nice fellow from India about it. He asked why I installed a new motherboard on my computer. I informed him that my old one had failed, so I purchased a new one. He gave me a new activation code over the phone and I was back up and running after about a 10 minute phone call.
SWMBO had the little star-icon on her computer after some parts changes on her computer. She never did a re-install, but the star kept counting down. Once she hit 0 days remaining, it cut off her TCP/IP stack, making the Internet unavailable. She re-activated over the phone and was fine.
Just click on it, call the 800 number provided, and get it over with. Or switch to a different OS.
Vitner Road?
No, Whitner Road.
Ah, Vitner.
No, Whiskey Hotel India Tango Nancy Echo Romeo.
Ah, Vhitner.
Post by: mgdavis on June 26, 2008, 07:51:55 AM
Post by: mgdavis on June 26, 2008, 08:28:07 AM
Edit: Never mind, Google helped me out.
Post by: mtnbkr on June 26, 2008, 10:13:32 AM
I'm not techie enough to desire Linux, so I'm not going to go that route.
FWIW, the latest version of Ubuntu is pretty slick. I just installed it on a 4yo Dell laptop and the only thing I had to do during install was choose my keyboard type and timezone. Everything worked fine immediately except the wireless card (older PCMCIA card). I was even able to sync my Palm Centro via USB. All the software a normal person would need in order to be productive was preinstalled. No broken shortcuts, missing, yet required software, etc. The update manager is pretty slick too. I have been pretty vocal about Linux being not quite ready for the average user, but this may prove me wrong. I started with the version that used Gnome, now I'm testing the KDE version.
Chris
Post by: mgdavis on June 27, 2008, 06:47:14 AM
Installing the appropriate copy of SP1 seems to have done the trick. If your own computer says "evaluation copy" in the corner of the screen you might wind up going through this same process. Looks like, once again, MS was using us as Beta testers without our consent.
Post by: old school on June 27, 2008, 07:17:04 AM
Make sure it isn't phishing spyware.
[/quote]
This was my first thought when I read your post.
Post by: Monty on June 27, 2008, 09:36:16 PM
I looked at installing XP a while back, but decided I didn't want to screw with redoing all the drivers. I'm not techie enough to desire Linux, so I'm not going to go that route. I'm trying to see if this might be some strange fluke, I'm really hoping I don't have to put down more money for this horrible OS.
You would be surprised how un-techie you can be and still do Linux. Download a couple Distros, burn them to a CD, try them out as live-cds (see if everything works before you install), you may be surprised what you find. Installation can usually be completely through a graphical interface, no command line. Quite often everything works right out of the box and if not Google is your friend.
My 7 and 9 year old don't seem to have any trouble using it
Recommended Starting Distros: PCLinuxOS, Ubuntu (or Kubuntu) or Mint.
Monty