Windows Genuine Advantage Validation Tool

The Validation has been acting strange for a day or so . . suggest you try it again in a day or so . .

wrs

This was the 3rd time I've tried it over the last 2 weeks.

1dee1doug,
Did you scroll down further and use the alternate validation method ? This will eventually give a validation code to continue on. I ran into this while downloading MS Spyware Tool. I also use Firefox and thought that may an issue as well.
Pamela

Interesting comments re [Disin]Genuine [Dis]Advantage, the new digital strip search from Microsoft.

During the test phase of the program I tried the system on my Dell Inspiron 1150 and its Dell-suppled Windows XP Home Edition setup.

Genuine Advantage, after asking me to type in the product key, then stated that I must supply purchase details as well. I had to supply info as to where I purchased the Inspiron 1150 (which was the Dell Canada Web site), and supply the vendor name and other details.

I was cleared as valid by the system, however.

MS has claimed that they collect no personally identifiable info, but they certainly asked me for specifics,although not my name or address to my recollection. Myself, I am writing with my concerns to the federal privacy commissioner in my own country, as well as to my provinciual government, both with concerns as to the privacy implications.

During the test phase, my Dell PC was questioned. Surely MS did not suspect Dell of being digitally naughty license-wise?

Message Edited by redwolfe_98 on 07-29-2005 11:13 AM

redwolfe: Yes, I got the Dell disc back.  I checked the Windows seal on the CPU yesterday and varified that it is the same as what I had written on the documentation I sent to the shop when they did the clean reinstall (of course they had the CPU with the seal on the side too). If they changed the key they sure didn't tell me.  How would I find out which key MS thinks I have? I've read through a lot of stuff on their Knowledge Base and Communities and can't find anything that helps.

The key should appear at some point in the registry. Launch Regedit (Start-Run-Regedit) and then in Regedit search for say the first 4 characters of your own key. If it is not found in Regedit, that might indicate another key has ben installed. There is a particular location in the registry in which the key usually appears, but I do not recollect the exact location.

Words of caution; Do not launch Regedit at all unless you know what you are doing. Do not change anything using Regedit. If you use Regedit you assume all responsibility in using that app etc. All risk is yours etc.

I do not see how the shop could have used another disc to reinstall XP unless they used a hacked disc, which of course would not likely pass validation. If trhey used a legit disc it would demand activation, I would think, and they would have to have paid for the disc new, which no shop would do.

Hi I have been following this issue in the, WGA Newsgroup, via Brad Graziadio (WGA Team) and M$ press office have confirmed they will come back with a response on Monday.

Basically there seems to be an issue with (SLP) Pre activated XP installs as used by OEMS like Dell.

This means that, the owners of most OEM manufactured/pre installed XP PC's in the last few years will get told by the GWA system that their key is invalid.

Please do not panic, us Tech media guys are on top of this matter and are liasing with M$'s GWA staff in raising these issues.

the official response from Brad Graziadio concerning (SLP) + the WGA process, hope he doe snot mind this disclosure:

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First, WGA specifically looks at the OS running. If the system is running SLP media, the customer gets the Scanning your System UI. The cases that we're seeing where people with an OEM machine are failing is happening as follows:

a) The OS running was installed with Volume License media and is using a known leaked key.

b) The OS running was installed with Activation required media (retail but typically OEM) but the key used was not generated by Microsoft and is a high-quality counterfeit. I can't tell you how many cases I've seen where the COA sticker looks like Microsoft but actually was a reverse engineered key. This is a large problem and our legal and anti-piracy teams have successfuly broken counterfeiting rings that have warehouses full of counterfeit media and COAs.

c) The OS running was installed with Volume License media and is *not* using a leaked VLK, however, the VL Key was not generated by Microsoft and was probably generated by a key gen program.

In the above cases if the customer has a high quality counterfeit CD with holographic components, they will qualify for a complementary replacement copy. OK, the process here is a bit slower because we require the CD and receipt to be sent to us so it's not an immediate fix.

In the case of the SLP scan, we do not block these customers. We just collect data and in some cases ask them for some additional info.

In the case of activation required systems using an OEM key we scan their bios and attempt to match an SLP that an OEM issued. If we don't find a match then we present an error. This catches the cases where OEM keys have been stolen and distributed on counterfeit COAs. These typically wind-up in the system builder channel and get distributed to customers.

Hope this helps explain why some OEM systems are getting flagged.

I hear your points about impact on end-users. This is why we offer the complementary replacement copy for high-quality counterfeit. Those folks unintentionally are victims. That's much different than someone who gets a CD with a key hand-written on it. And yes, we have some of those folks asking why their CD didn't work.

On the OEM comment... It's not just OEMs. It's organized crime. We've had cases of people on a factory line taking pictures of keys, or taking an OEM key that's for an SLP system and sticking it on a different companie's activation required PC. We've had keys stolen from warehouses and from post offices and shipping companies. We've had people in large corporations walk around and take picture of the keys on the OEM SLP machines in their company and sell them to counterfeiters. So, it's much more than an OEM problem.
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Well that is how it is supposed to work,

Take note of this comment "In the case of the SLP scan, we do not block these customers. We just collect data and in some cases ask them for some additional info."

I have already contacted Brad to inform him that this is not what is occuring on a lot of Legitimate (SLP) OEM systems. That in fact they are getting the invalid key page or Volume licence page. Which only gives them the option of reporting the OEM (if you happen to have the original disk to exchange it, which is very rare with most OEM's),buying a WGA Kit (btw they are out of stock) or the Full XP Pro/Home.

We at NGH are callng for this WGA validation program to be suspended pending a full review into its viability. As there are many other types of Genuine Licensed customers who are suffering the same problems with this validation.

Read my full editorial on this matter here. http://www.n-gage-help.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=53&mode=&order=0&thold=0

It really does come down to, who do you trust your PC Manufacturer or Microsoft?
Either way it is the end user that is paying the price.

Polarupgrade: I checked the registry, no.....I can find no evidence of the product key from the original disc. I asked the shop about it and they didn't give me an answer about what copy they installed. Just said here's a link that is a work-around the WGA.  That didn't help me because I have a second issue with WinUpdate!  The updates download but won't install. I don't know if that is connected to the WGA problem. I spent many days with MS support and they had me do several things but none of them helped. Until this WGA thing came up the AutoUpdate for Critial worked, but Custom updates I downloaded said "Failed to Install". I found the error code in the update log and MS still couldn't help me. I guess I should post another thread about that.

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@1dee1doug wrote:
Polarupgrade: I checked the registry, no.....I can find no evidence of the product key from the original disc.

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Indeed, the key is not in plain text in the registry. To determine the Windows key in use, proceed to the Belarc Advisor freeware program's download page at:
http://www.belarc.com/free_download.html

Belarc Advisor's free version is free for personal use. It WILL LIST the product key, usually beside the "Product ID" for the installed Windows. In my older version it appears in a section of the report labelled Software Licenses.

Note to fellow Dell users: Run the above-listed tool and you will be suitably horrified at the number of MS applets on the system that are assigned such individual license numbers, suggesting a tremendously granular ability on MS's part to license, police and, perhaps at some time in the future, digitally snuff features or even charge for Windows on a feature-by-feature basis.

If the key shows is other than your original CD's key, it may be an indication that another disk was used to reinstall Windows. Of course this is really a conclusion for a forensic expert, I would think.

Your experience raises an interesting point, that copyright-wise we only have the right to reinstall the license that we bought as a full or upgrade Windows disc in a store, or the license that came on a legally licensed OEM PC. Technically it has never been legal for a repair shop to reinstall other than the Windows licensed to the PC. I would guess.

I would think that many such repair shops are now headed for the same fate as steam locomotives and/or Radio Shack TRS-80 stores.

Windows Genuine Advantage makes this point of law fully enforceable with virtually no work on Microsoft's part. Quite brilliant, really.

Message Edited by PolarUpgrade on 07-29-2005 06:44 PM

I noted previously: "Indeed, the key is not in plain text in the registry. To determine the Windows key in use, proceed to the Belarc Advisor freeware program's download page at:
http://www.belarc.com/free_download.html"

On my Win2K Pro desktop this app does return the install key on the CD; but that is a store-bought Windows, not an OEM Windows.

On my Inspiron 1150 it does NOT return the disc key for my Dell-supplied OEM XP Home Windows setup disc. It looks as though it is perhaps returning a common key reflecting the factory install, even though I reinstalled using my CD!

The point is that a returned key value differing from the XP OEM CD may not in fact indicate that the OEM CD was not used.

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@redwolfe_98 wrote:

I just ran belarc, and the product key that belarc reports does not match the product key on the label on my computer which i used to "validate" windows..

if nothing else, you can start over with a clean install of win xp (using the oem win xp cd that came with your dell)..

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Indeed, the Belarc tool notes, re the XP serial number, that "This may be the manufacturer's factory installed product key rather than yours."

Quite fascinating, as I see this difference on my Inspiron 1150 on which Windows XP was reinstalled from scratch using my Dell OEM XP Home CD. Even though I entered the CD's key during Setup, the key that ends up in Windows still seems to be the original factory key--I guess that it is the factory key. This suggests that the OEM factory key is stored on the system in some secure way, perhaps hidden on the hard drive (or encrypted in the BIOS?), and is recovered during install using the OEM CD.

This raises the possibility that if an OEM factory key as installed on many PCs were to be "DisAdvantaged" by MS--i.e. locked out--it might be possible to wipe the HD thoroughly so as to erase the factory key, theninstall with one's valid OEM XP CD.

Let us ponder however what the chances of the OEM CD being other than bogus might be, in cases where the factory key is bogus to begin with.