Microsoft is winding me up again

Yesterday, for the umpteenth time over the last about 10 years, MS decided that “Your copy of Windows is not genuine!”

Surely this isn’t legal? I get sick of it. Every time they have accused me of this, I have jumped through their hoops, only to be told in the end that it is genuine, after all. On the PC concerned, the laughable part (through gritted teeth) is that MS have actually accessed that PC themselves a few months back, with their remote support, and checked that it was legal.

They gave me a “free” retail Windows 10 Home 64 code for me to upgrade to after they realised it was a genuine retail edition of Win7, and - in their words “use my Windows 10 code any amount of times on any new computers or fresh installs, as long as it is only on one PC at a time”.

I didn’t want Win10 on that PC - so I reverted to Win 7. Now this accusation, after the last update. They sent me to their website to check genuine Windows and that told me the program wouldn’t run unless I install java. That’s unacceptable.

I have to apologise to my wife, because I was in a foul mood last night, after this happening yet again. I wish those guys could be held to account.

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I feel your pain, they are getting more and more intrusive and catering to the masses who know nothing other than where the power switch is

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I gave in and installed java - but every time I run their genuine windows tool, it keeps getting script errors and crashing.
Thing is, they are turning my desktop black every hour and I have to restart.

When I installed Windows 7, I activated immediately - I always do, to try and avoid this kind of situation, but when I just checked the activation dialogue said it actually isn’t activated.

I think they are just trying to force people onto Windows 10, after it has been such a failure. Last I checked, it still only had 30-odd percent of the installations on activated PCs. Oh how i wish there was a decent alternative - but so much is hooked into Windows now, they have such a monopoly they shouldn’t have been permitted to attain. But then, the way I see it with these things (like why we are still driving round in fossil-fuelled vehicles) is because all the big players have their fingers in the pie and have too much to lose by doing the right thing, rather than what’s best for them.

Ooh! I’m a rebel! :sunglasses:

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Hey Brix! Never had problems with Win10, but now I am scared as hell to upgrade to this new Creators version or however it is called… anyway, hope you get this sorted soon!

I have not had any problems with Windows 10 on my home or work PCs. Well, except for getting Windows 10 on my new work PC but that is likely because I am trying to dual-boot with Linux.

I did have a few similar problems with the Windows 7 activation, not too many, anyway :slight_smile:

i keep all my systems up to date so i dont have trouble.

Hi mate - I was a bit wary, too - but I let it update and so far no issues with that. Apart from some things being reset.

Just need to make sure Game Mode is off. It also pesters me non-stop about having no anti-virus software, which I do have running.

I’ve complained to the shop I got my Windows 7 from and I’ll see what they have to say.

WC, I keep mine up to date, too - but still this happens.

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Last summer I upgraded my Motherboard and CPU, which gave Windows 10 an aneurism. I had to deal with some of the same issues you are having with authenticity. It took multiple “Steves” from overseas taking over control of my pc to fix the cd key issues. Mine was a hassle because the cd key was originally a vista key, that had been upgraded to windows 10, and then add the hardware change. Works great now.

That’s interesting. I had the same problem when I updated my mobo, cpu and graphics card.

The creators update runs fine for me, although I haven’t used any of the new features yet. Running on Windows 10 EDU

I heard some people saying that it messes up the VR config… anyone witnessed that?

I have zero issues with Game mode and creators edition except the recording software won’t work with DCS ATM hopefully it will be fixed soon as it is way better than Nvidia shadowplay

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There’s a few utilities online that strip out all the Windows Genuine Copy warnings. I think one of them is called WGA remover. Haven’t had to use it in a few years though, so I am not sure how it works.

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I’ll have a look, thanks. I do have a Windows 10 USB stick and have that retail code available, but I had Windows 7 on it to run some older stuff - and I also use it to watch TV via MCE. One thing MS made a good job of! My TV stick won’t work with Win 10.

Strange…I never get that message on any of my Mac’s. :wink:

What kind of car? :high_heel:

Sorry to hear your having so many issues. It kind of surprises me as I deal with this stuff all the time and rarely have any issues with MS licensing so I’m curiously wondering, did you buy the software from them and install it or was it pre-installed when you bought the PC?

Also, what tuner card are you using for MCE?

meh, it’s a known issue. i’ve even seen it happen on PC’ in the hangar. And they’ve been running well for years and then suddenly one day decide to crap out. Microsoft isn’t exactly known for its accuracy in detecting pirated software.

Yes, every message actually now says “your copy of Windows may not be genuine”. I managed to run the MS tool by using Internet Explorer instead of Firefox, and the screen just just goes white after it seems to have done its thing.

@Hardtale - it was a retail, boxed copy of Windows 7 - think I bought it from Amazon. As I said in an earlier post, MS actually went on to the PC with remote access, to confirm it was genuine. That was a few months ago.

Anyway, I have uninstalled just about everything on it - MS have won this one, I will install my retail Win10 on it. I have managed to find a Win 10 64 bit installation and instructions for Media Center.

I don’t know if the tuner card will work with Win 10 - I do have the latest drivers. It’s a Hauppauge NovaT Stick.

Your fine with the drivers for for the Hauppauge: Hauppauge UK | Support Product Selector (Windows 10 Tab)

What I would be more concerned about, assuming you haven’t added/changed hardware, is what is triggering the Windows verification. I have never seen one randomly trigger without some kind of underlying issue.

Also, more of an FYI for others, but you can technically still upgrade to Windows 10 for free if you use an off the “Assistive Technologies”.

Article about it:

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