Microsoft arrogance
I want to have a moan.
My laptop packed up.
I bought another one and replaced the hard drive with the one from my defective laptop.
That way I did not have to "re-build" everything.
A few days later Microsoft "plonked" a message on my desktop saying:
"This copy of Windows is not genuine" !!!!
What the H*** has it got to do with them?
Microshaft is nothing now but a "money making machine"
16 Answers
Sorry you're having such trouble, Ian. Sometimes computers are such a nightmare 
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This is why I am a big fan of Apple. Great products and terrific customer service. Once you go Mac you'll never go back 
Another moan.
One can back-up anything - EXCEPT the complete C drive.
WHY?
So that people can't copy the OS.
But MS could solve that problem very easily if they wanted too.
Just by adding a code number to the "bootup" program that starts whenever you power up.
But they would rather cost us all billions of $s buying new op systems and wasting millions of hours rebuilding computers when the C drive crashes.
I'm not a Microsoft fan, but if you call Microsoft Support, you will probably be able to re-register Windows if you explain the situation. To avoid piracy, what they do is to get information about your computer architecture and save that somewhere along with the registration info. To them, a copy of your windows have been installed in a new computer, but they don't know that the old one is not actually running. Same situation may happen if you replace your hard drive and reinstall Windows. You will also have to contact Microsoft Support to re-register it. You own the licence, so you shouldn't have any problem fixing this.
Ian I am genuinely sorry to hear of your recent experiences with your Microsoft harddrive.
Yes, Microsoft are probably well known for jealously guarding their products to the point of obsession They like to make money from every possible thing they can and the fact that you may have paid for something and wanted to reuse it again which is a common sense approach these days when money is tight does not compute with them...if you pardon the pun.
I remember trying to use an XP operating system disc in another computer that belonged to me after my previous computer had died on me ...It was using the genuine XP disc that I obtained when I bought my computer at the end of my university course at a reduced price.The computer did not recognise it as genuine despite having the correct 5 series code so I rang up MS who told me that I could not use it on another computer talk about stinginess!
Like you say, what does it have to do with them when the disc is genuine?
This why Microsoft is always in court over compatability issues. The problem is so pervasive that Microsoft programs are not compatable with other Microsoft programs and OSs. They are basically running a monopoly although monopolies are supposedly illegal. I feel for you, mate.
As it was in the beginning, so it shall ever be.
But really, what do you expect from someone who named his company after his wedding night?
One can back-up anything - EXCEPT the complete C drive.
Actually, you can copy anything you want from any part of the drive if you really want to, but the easy way involves not using MS.
An hour or so ago I got another message from them asking me to "activate" my Windows Vista or call DEll for a solution to the problem.
Why the H*** (I wanted to use a stronger word) should I have to.
I expect the laptop to stop working any minute now.
And just because I removed the drive it came with and the new OS ( 7 ) and replaced it with another perfectly ligit MS OS.
How dare I !!??
I am sorry you have had this experience. I have literally 'cloned' hundreds of primary hard disks onto other disks, and into other computers using every version of Windows there is. Your first problem could have been solved with a phone call, but that's beside the point now. Anytime there is a 'major' change in hardware (system board, hard disk, processor) you will have to revalidate your copy of Windows, and this is nothing unusual. Everytime I've upgraded my hard drives I've had to call Adobe to reactive my Photoshop, call Microsoft for my Windows and several other software packages I use. As much as it sucks, it's one way that companies try to stem the tide of ripped off software. I develop software, I just might be biased though 
It's not a Microsoft thing. I tried to reinstall my kid's MacBook Pro OS from her sister's MacBook Pro OS install disks. I got a message saying I couldn't do it. Software piracy is so rampant that companies have to go to great lengths to prevent it, as inconvenient as it is for legitimate users. Otherwise no one would bother to write the software, since they wouldn't get paid for it.
Unless they were complete loonies and worked on the Linux projects. 
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Seriously, Windows 7 allows you to clone the entire C: drive. I've restored my wife's machine that way a couple of times. There is 3rd party software available to do it for older OS's.
As far as being arrogant, Intuit (Quicken, Quickbooks, Turbotax) is the worst. They purposely write their code so that features "expire" as the software that you paid for ages, so that the features you paid for no longer function, forcing you to pay for an "upgrade".
M$ has your OS registered to the other computer...they make a code based on several key hardware components' IDs, including the harddrive, cpu and motherboard...the motherboard and cpu are now different so M$ thinks you are pirating its OS (put a copy on another computer).
A phone call to M$ customer service might get it cleared up for you...I seem to recall you being able to replace major components of your PC a limited number of times or something...but maybe there are provisos to that (or maybe I am remembering incorrectly).
A Colombian friend bought a new HP laptop, from an authorized store. It was pre-loaded with XP Professional. A couple months into using it, she started to receive the same 'not genuine' message. She can work around it, but we've discovered that some software (for example anti-virus) won't install because of that message. She does not have the license key. Any thoughts or help on how to resolve this? Of course, it's XP Pro in Spanish Thanks,
I don't want to go on about this Microsoft Arrogance too much but....
Now some of my downloaded programs don't work.
For example the PDF readers I have.
It can only be Microsoft doing that.
Now MS wants me to "activate" Windows Vista, by entering a Product Code.
So I took out the CD that came with the Windows Vista OS for my old Dell computer but ........
nowhere is the Product Code that MS wants shown.
Why not? - it is a legal OS.
What a rip-off!
