Microsoft changes WGA software in response to consumer backlash

zekrahminator · Feb 24, 2007

The most recent version of Windows Genuine Advantage (WGA) software was met with a lot of complaints. The worst one by far was how WGA claimed that a copy of Windows was pirated when it wasn't (especially among corporate owners). There were also several instances when a simple hardware change (such as a WiFi card or a video card) made WGA demand a re-activation of Windows. Microsoft has listened to the consumer, and in response to these recent complaints, is morphing WGA to better fit the consumer. Instead of registering a copy of Windows as either Genuine or non-Genuine, it will now register it as Genuine, non-Genuine, or "unsure". There are no details of the functionality of an "unsure" copy of Windows. WGA is also much more relaxed when it comes to a recent hardware change. You can download the latest version of WGA here.

View at TechPowerUp Main Site

BXtreme · Feb 24, 2007

finally, ms comes to the road lol.

C.Ash · Feb 24, 2007

Finding a way around WGA isn't that difficult..

killatia · Feb 24, 2007

i want wait and see what ms will do about "unsure" vistas.

Completely Bonkers · Feb 24, 2007

Microsoft has listened to the consumer, and in response to these recent complaints...

I think the story is more like... MS was about to receive some BIG LAWSUITS from companies that were losing productivity due to working copies of Windows suddenly going "non-genuine".

Can you imagine a big bank... a trader... dealing in millions of dollars per minutes... and in the middle of a deal... boom... his PC goes down due to WGA.

That WOULD be grounds for lawsuits in the MILLIONS per case.

WarEagleAU · Feb 24, 2007

Not sure if this will solve the problem. While I agree piracy of Windows is an issue, this WGA software is a pain in the butt to the extreme. They need to fix it. With all the folks working there and all the money, you'd think Billy would make something that would actually work properly.

Completely Bonkers · Feb 24, 2007

In short (agreeing with Russian)... MS has gone downhill since Gates left and Balmer too over.

SPHERE · Feb 24, 2007

sigh.. why dont they just give up... open source is the way to go micro$haft!! make all the money you want off of support

im fine and happy with my copy of xp without wga lol

Completely Bonkers · Feb 24, 2007

That video is hilarious

1./ Fat Basssssd, lost his breath, couldn't even talk after jumping around for 30 secs. LOL

2./ That was "canned" girl-screaming. There is NO WAY IN THIS WORLD there would be ANY convention that Balmer attends that would be full of girls

3./ What an idiot

4./ Bring back Bill Gates

PVTCaboose1337 · Feb 24, 2007

Zek, why did you include a link to WGA? You know that no one has a genuine copy of xp...

magibeg · Feb 25, 2007

You guys cant hate microsoft all the time, you have to give them credit that they did bring the PC to the masses (although it is just a stolen version of some old mac OS that wasn't patented). Its good to see that Microsoft can infact listen to consumers occasionally, though it was most likely big business that made the change as opposed to people like us. I'ld say the change is a step in the right direction.

Pinchy · Feb 25, 2007

russianboy said:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-3446931931514285011

That is the current CEO of MS. :shadedshu

is all this stuff real? Is Bill Gates no longer the head?

Pinchy · Feb 25, 2007

He looks like a retard!

Pinchy · Feb 25, 2007

touche

spectre440 · Feb 25, 2007

zekrahminator said:
Microsoft has listened to the consumer

that's gotta be a first... :laugh:

Pinchy · Feb 25, 2007

spectre440 said:
that's gotta be a first...

I dont think they want to, i think they really have to for their own good

SPHERE · Feb 25, 2007

spectre440 said:
that's gotta be a first...

yeah right they figured out they would make slightly more money if they did this lmao

mysticjon · Feb 25, 2007

i was on the fone for ms to get a real product key for vista ultimate....im happy

even though my vista copy isnt "legal" who cares i wouldnt pay 500+ for an OS, but instead i paid 10 usd for a product key...yeah may sound like a rip off, but oh well im still happy

not gunna pay 89.99 for valid product key on newegg...MS keeps me happy...so i have nothing to say

Pinchy · Feb 25, 2007

I dont get it, how did u get a product key off MS without buying it :confused:

mysticjon · Feb 25, 2007

Pinchy said:
I dont get it, how did u get a product key off MS without buying it

PM me ill give u details

AshenSugar · Feb 25, 2007

Completely Bonkers said:
That video is hilarious

1./ Fat Basssssd, lost his breath, couldn't even talk after jumping around for 30 secs. LOL

2./ That was "canned" girl-screaming. There is NO WAY IN THIS WORLD there would be ANY convention that Balmer attends that would be full of girls

3./ What an idiot

4./ Bring back Bill Gates

not canned grrl, more like "making fun of him grrl" i have seen this chix/women screem like they are excited in pariody of some smuch on stage....it can get quite funny really !!!!!!

and nobody has a ligit copy of xp....ROFL

BXtreme · Feb 25, 2007

PVTCaboose1337 said:
Zek, why did you include a link to WGA? You know that no one has a genuine copy of xp...

i have one

Xp pro x64 and Xp pro 32bit, real !

AshenSugar · Feb 25, 2007

anybody want to buy a vlaid xp pro licence?

Processor	AMD Athlon 64 X2 4800+ Brisbane @ 2.8GHz (224x12.5, 1.425V)
Motherboard	Gigabyte sumthin-or-another, it's got an nForce 430
Cooling	Dual 120mm case fans front/rear, Arctic Cooling Freezer 64 Pro, Zalman VF-900 on GPU
Memory	2GB G.Skill DDR2 800
Video Card(s)	Sapphire X850XT @ 580/600
Storage	WD 160 GB SATA hard drive.
Display(s)	Hanns G 19" widescreen, 5ms response time, 1440x900
Case	Thermaltake Soprano (black with side window).
Audio Device(s)	Soundblaster Live! 24 bit (paired with X-530 speakers).
Power Supply	ThermalTake 430W TR2
Software	XP Home SP2, can't wait for Vista SP1.

Processor	Intel Core 2 Duo E6400 @ 3.2 ghz\|\| Core2 T5250
Motherboard	Asus P6N Platinum \|\| 965GM
Cooling	Air cooling
Memory	Kingston 2x1gb DDR2 677mhz \|\| 2x1gb 667mhz
Video Card(s)	XFX 8800 GTS 640mb \|\| Geforce 8600GT M
Storage	Seagate 500GB Sata \|\| 160gb
Display(s)	Samsung 30" HD LCD \|\| 15" lcd (laptop)
Case	A not-so-known brand case w/ two fans and some blue lightings
Audio Device(s)	Onboard HD
Power Supply	Corsair HX620W
Software	Mac OS X Leopard, Linux Mint 4.0, and all windoze...geez...

Processor	Intel Core 2 Duo E6420 2.13Ghz 4MB @ 4.26Ghz
Motherboard	Asus P5N32E 680i SLi LGA775
Cooling	Scythe Infinity 120mm @ 1,200 RPM \| Arctic Cooling 3x 120mm @ 1,000 RPM
Memory	Corsair Dominator 2GB CL 4-3-4-12 DDR2-800 (PC2-6400) @ DDR2-1066 (PC2-8500)
Video Card(s)	ATI Radeon X2800XTX @ 900/1350 w/HR-03 Plus
Storage	Western Digital 150GB 16MB Raptor 10,000 RPM \| Western Digital 2x 250GB (RAID0) 8MB Cavier SE
Display(s)	Dell 2407WFP HD LCD Widescreen 1200p
Case	Antec 900 w/modded top 200mm @ 800RPM
Audio Device(s)	Creative X-Fi XtremeMusic
Power Supply	Thermaltake ToughPower 750w 60A
Software	Windows XP SP2 Gold Edition

Processor	athlon64 x3800 oc'ed to 2.5 ghz
Motherboard	ecs kn1-lite
Cooling	ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 64 Pro
Memory	2 gig gigaram ddr 400
Video Card(s)	geforce8600gt
Storage	raptor 74k and 160 gig harddrive
Display(s)	19 inch lcd monitor with resolution of 1440x900
Case	Antec case
Audio Device(s)	sound blaster xi-fi
Power Supply	650 watts antec power supply
Software	windows xp pro.

Processor	Mysterious Engineering Prototype
Motherboard	Intel 865
Cooling	Custom block made in workshop
Memory	Corsair XMS 2GB
Video Card(s)	FireGL X3-256
Display(s)	1600x1200 SyncMaster x 2 = 3200x1200
Software	Windows 2003

Microsoft changes WGA software in response to consumer backlash

zekrahminator

McLovin

BXtreme

New Member

C.Ash

killatia

Completely Bonkers

New Member

WarEagleAU

Bird of Prey

Completely Bonkers

New Member

SPHERE

New Member

Completely Bonkers

New Member

PVTCaboose1337

Graphical Hacker

magibeg

Pinchy

Pinchy

Pinchy

spectre440

New Member

Pinchy

SPHERE

New Member

mysticjon

New Member

Pinchy

mysticjon

New Member

AshenSugar

New Member

BXtreme

New Member

AshenSugar

New Member

System Name	Pandemic 2020
Processor	AMD Ryzen 5 "Gen 2" 2600X
Motherboard	AsRock X470 Killer Promontory
Cooling	CoolerMaster 240 RGB Master Cooler (Newegg Eggxpert)
Memory	32 GB Geil EVO Portenza DDR4 3200 MHz
Video Card(s)	ASUS Radeon RX 580 DirectX 12 DUAL-RX580-O8G 8GB 256-Bit GDDR5 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video C
Storage	WD 250 M.2, Corsair P500 M.2, OCZ Trion 500, WD Black 1TB, Assorted others.
Display(s)	ASUS MG24UQ Gaming Monitor - 23.6" 4K UHD (3840x2160) , IPS, Adaptive Sync, DisplayWidget
Case	Fractal Define R6 C
Audio Device(s)	Realtek 5.1 Onboard
Power Supply	Corsair RMX 850 Platinum PSU (Newegg Eggxpert)
Mouse	Razer Death Adder
Keyboard	Corsair K95 Mechanical & Corsair K65 Wired, Wireless, Bluetooth)
Software	Windows 10 Pro x64

Processor	opteron 165
Motherboard	dfi cfx3200
Cooling	zalman 7000
Memory	mushkin xp4000
Video Card(s)	x1900xt
Storage	4x320 7200.10 raid
Display(s)	21" sony trinitron
Case	v2000b lianli
Audio Device(s)	x-fi platinum
Power Supply	pcpac 510
Software	gaydows

System Name	Whim
Processor	Intel Core i5 2500k @ 4.4ghz
Motherboard	Asus P8Z77-V LX
Cooling	Cooler Master Hyper 212+
Memory	2 x 4GB G.Skill Ripjaws @ 1600mhz
Video Card(s)	Gigabyte GTX 670 2gb
Storage	Samsung 840 Pro 256gb, WD 2TB Black
Display(s)	Shimian QH270 (1440p), Asus VE228 (1080p)
Case	Cooler Master 430 Elite
Audio Device(s)	Onboard > PA2V2 Amp > Senn 595's
Power Supply	Corsair 750w
Software	Windows 8.1 (Tweaked)

System Name	Not named
Processor	Intel 8700k @ 5Ghz
Motherboard	Asus ROG STRIX Z370-E Gaming
Cooling	DeepCool Assassin II
Memory	16GB DDR4 Corsair LPX 3000mhz CL15
Video Card(s)	Zotac 1080 Ti AMP EXTREME
Storage	Samsung 960 PRO 512GB
Display(s)	24" Dell IPS 1920x1200
Case	Fractal Design R5
Power Supply	Corsair AX760 Watt Fully Modular

System Name	UltraPC
Processor	E8500 Core 2 Duo, 1333Mhz FSB, 3.16Ghz @ 4.5GHz (got into Windows @ 4.75GHz)
Motherboard	ASUS P5Q-e
Cooling	CPU Cooler - TT V14 Pro, 2x120mm CM Blue LED fans, 1x90mm CM Blue LED fan
Memory	G.Skill Pi 4GB (2x2GB) Dual Channel DDR2 PC8000 (1000MHz), 5-5-5-15
Video Card(s)	Sapphire HD4850 512mb with ASUS EAH4850 BIOS
Storage	2x 500GB Seagate 7200.12 Raid 0
Display(s)	Acer AL1912, 19" LCD screen
Case	Thermaltake Soprano Black ATX case
Audio Device(s)	Onboard 7.1, Speakers - 5 + Sub + Monitor speakers
Power Supply	Thermaltake 850W Toughpower Cable Management - Quad (2x18A and 2x30A) 12V rails
Software	Win 7 Pro x64, MSN, CS:Source, etc etc

Processor	Athlon 64 x2 4000+ (65nm Brisbane)
Motherboard	Abit AN-M2 (AM2) nForce 630a
Cooling	Stock everything (for the time being), 2x120mm fans (intake & exhaust)
Memory	2GB (2x1024) OCZ Platinum PC2-6400 (4-4-4-15, 2T)
Video Card(s)	PowerColor ATI HD 2600XT 256mb GDDR4 PCI-e
Storage	Hitachi Deskstar 160GB SATA 3.0G/s, External USB2.0 WD 160GB
Display(s)	LG 17' LCD (L1753TR)
Case	HEC-Compucase 6A, black & grey
Audio Device(s)	On-Board 7.1 (realtek)
Power Supply	Spire Zeno 650W
Software	WinXP Pro SP2 (32-bit, for the time being)

Processor	AMD Phenom x4 9850 black edition
Cooling	big water 745
Memory	Kingston 4gb(1gbx4) ddr2 (dual channel)
Video Card(s)	ati sapphire radeon hd 6850
Storage	2tb
Display(s)	samsung 226bw 22 inch wide lcd screen
Case	apeiva qpack2
Audio Device(s)	creative soundblaster X-fi fatal1ty series
Power Supply	silent pro 600watt modular
Software	Windows 7 Ultimate x86

Processor	Athlon64 3500+(2.2gz)@2.94gz(3.03gz)
Motherboard	Biostar Tforce550 (RMA) (m2n-sli delux)
Cooling	PIB cooler
Memory	2gb ocz 533 +1gb samsung 533 4-4-4-12
Video Card(s)	x1900xtx 512mb+zalman vf900 cooler(kicks stock coolers arse)
Storage	80gb,200gb,250gb,160gb
Display(s)	20.1 in dell 2001fp + KDS visual sensations 19"
Case	Codegen briza seirse
Audio Device(s)	ADI SoundMax HD audio onboard,using Ket's driver pack
Power Supply	FSP 400watt SAGA seirse w/noise killer
Software	Windows 2003 ent server as workstation(kills xp in perf and stab)