Options for 'Fixing' A Pirated Copy of Windows

PunkOfLinux writes "My parents are running a pirated copy of windows that my mom received from a teacher at school. My parents want to go legit, and buy a copy of Windows, but they are afraid of deleting everything and having to reinstall all their programs. Seeing as I know you guys will have an answer, I'm going to ask you: What would you do in this situation?"

Comments

Call microsoft

[Data Link Layer]

Call their help support line and you can buy a copy from them. They will tell you how to replace the cd-key, if they can't you can download a cd-key changer from the internet.

Re:Call microsoft

[phoebus1553]

Microsoft actually makes a key change tool, although I'm sure it obeys some restrictions while the ones from don't. If you've ever had to deal with the volume licensing support folks, they can occasionally be real people and give you all sorts of tricks and such to make your life easier when dealing with license compliance.

Re:Call microsoft

[Anonymous Coward]

Actually, the Microsoft 'KeyChangeTool' is quite leaps and bounds ahead of any ... third-party ... key changing tools. The Microsoft tool has the ability to transform a Corporate install into a Professional Non-Corporate install. No key changers can do this.

If you try any of the registry tricks to 'update' your product key, Windows XP Professional Corporate's Activation Wizard will not accept a non-corporate key. The non-Microsoft key changers I ever saw couldn't get around this because there are very specific differences (file based) between corporate and non-corporate versions of Windows.

In any case, my recommendation to poster is to do what I did: Run the WGA tool, click the link to buy a license online, buy the license, and use the MS keychanger. Takes about 5-10 minutes overall, and you get the creamy goodness of running your very own legit copy of Windows XP.

Change your product key

[complete loony]

You can change your product key.

Re:Change your product key

[NixLuver]

From the article you linked to, on Microsoft's KB (Do they still call it technet?):

"Warning The steps in the article are effective only on Volume License media. If you try these steps on OEM media or on retail media, you will not change the product key."

AFAIK, this will only work with another volume licensed key. I occasionally have to install windows to test something for one of my moonlighting clients, and no, I don't buy a discrete license for a machine that's only going to have my copy of XP on it for two hours; I've been around the particular treadmill described here. (I own a "legit" XP license for my virtual PC instance; and I rarely start it up, so usually I'm not in violation anyway - one license, one running instance. *shrug*).

But if the author of the parent post buys his parents a licensed copy of XP from a vendor, it won't be volume licensed, and this trick may not work.

Buy a copy of windows

[Anonymous Coward]

and just use this tool

http://download.microsoft.com/download/e/9/c/e9c73 b60-bff1-4f03-b06f-d3cbe8f8d9f4/KeyUpdateTool.exe

enter in your new key, reboot and you are legit

Re:Buy a copy of windows

[Anonymous Coward]

Is it just me, or does that application SERIOUSLY lack nice MIDI music?

Re:Buy a copy of windows

[rivetgeek]

You've obviously not pirated much. Most program cracks and keygens are, for some inexplicable reason, created with obnoxious midi loops that auto play when you run them.

Re:Buy a copy of windows

[Anonymous Coward]

It's a "tradition" dating back to late '80s / early '90s, when crackers (back then mostly on Amiga and to lesser extent, Atari) routinely added colourful "crack intros" to every game they released, complete with simple demo effects, text scroller and catchy music.

TweakXP

[Tinfoil]

TweakXP should do that for ya. Buy a new copy and key the serial number you get over the old one. Unless, of course, your parents have a volume license copy right now, and they buy a home version. Then you have to do a repair install.

http://www.tweakxp.com/tweakutility/

Re:Let's get the answer out of the way

[LoonyMike]

Yes, it's easy to google for it, provided you already know that the solution relies in a key changer.

Over-under

[mj01nir]

Over-under on the number of "install Linux over it" posts: 36.

Do NOT fear the Windows Reinstall.

[mikelieman]

IF your folks are worried about a reinstall, they're NOT ready to survive a catastropic harddrive crash.

Much less full reload to clear an infection.

Re:Let's get the answer out of the way

[Ned_Network]

http://www.google.com/search?q=Windows+XP+Key+Ch anger

This was the first thing I tried when a customer approached me with this problem. And it didn't work. Repeatedly.

I guess that "+5 informative" needs some "-1 overrated" side-salad, huh?

I'm pretty sure the reason it doesn't work is that the version of Windows supplied under the genuine advantage program is different from the version that my customer's nephew installed. I believe it was Windows XP Professional Corporate Edition that was installed, and I'd guess that the CD supplied by Microsoft when she clicked on the "Get Genuine" link was either OEM or retail (it was certainly Windows XP Professional, and was a hologrammed CD).

The way I fixed this was to do a "repair install" of Windows XP. This worked perfectly & retained all the user's settings and documents, although I was pretty nervous about doing it and a number of drivers did require reinstall. Honestly, if you're undertaking this, be prepared to back everything up with a Knoppix CD & a portable hard-drive and to do a format-reinstall if necessary.

Ned.

Windows Genuine Advantage Talkback

[tsvk]

Now that Windows Update and certain Windows downloads require you to validate your copy of Windows before accessing the services (the Windows Genuine program), people have of course started having troubles with invalid product keys, etc.

To help people sort out their Windows license problems, Microsoft have put online the Windows Genuine Advantage Talkback bulletin board, where Microsoft offers advice for people with license troubles.

An interesting utility that I found mentioned there on the bulletin board is Microsoft Genuine Advantage Diagnostic Tool, that shows lots of information about the license / product key of the current Windows installation.

XP Pro Corp to Home = No Repair

[Eddy Da KillaBee]

There's one small problem I've run into at my job when we sell customers an XP Home license to get them off of Corp: you can't do a repair installation from Windows XP Pro to Home. That's a problem because most of the customers we deal with want to save money and don't want the Pro license, although the Pro license gives us the option to Repair, and therefore keep their files, settings, etc.

Anyone know of a possible way to get around this, other than having to reinstall Windows XP Home from scratch?

It's simple...

[yakhan451]

... all you have to aunt, let's set so double the killer delete select all.

For the love of god....it's TOO EASY

[gx5000]

I love all these Pseudo Tech offering advice, it always boggles my mind... 0- Buy a Copy of Windows (whatever version you have installed)or buy a key from M$ 1- Reboot in safe mode 2- Do a search for WPA.* (WPA.DBL, WPA.BAK)They're in C:\windows\system32 3- Delete these file 4- Reboot into normal mode, you will warned that you have blabla time to activate 5- Click to activate, select by phone, select change key (bottom of form) 6- Enter new legit key 7- You are returned to activation screen, click Activate online 8- Do a search and backup the wpa files for future needs 9- Done