This copy of Windows is not genuine

[HOOT]

Can we not make this a thread about if downloading pirated software is okay or not. Start a different thread. Thanks!

[Frank MetaMusil]

Originally Posted by sclitheroe

You can call it whatever you like if it helps you sleep at night. Fundamentally though you are violating the legally binding terms of contract for use of the software.

I just think its so laughable that people will claim they won't pay for Windows because of product activation - product activation having been put in place precisely because people wouldn't man up and pay for Windows and own a legally licensed copy.

Its not about sleeping at night, and I never said I condone copyright violation, but to call it stealing is completely incorrect. In fact the laptop I am typing this from is completely legit (which also doesn't make me sleep better or worse at night)

HOOT, PM me and I can help you out....sorry to derail the thread

[Vulcan]

Originally Posted by HOOT

Would you recommend me going 64 bit on all of the computer than?

I know at first I hated the switch from XP to Vista, how close is 7 to Vista?

Are the offering anything for Vista users that I should know about to get a discount so I don't have to buy 3 copies at full retail?

For you this Family Pack is a pretty good deal at $200 as individually they are over $120. They may be hard to find as it's an introductory deal but here's one.

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16832116738

It includes 32 and 64 bit versions. If you upgrade your laptop to 64 bit make sure you have at least 2 gigs of ram. The advantage of 64 bit is that it recognizes more than 3 gigs of ram so you can upgrade to say 4 gigs or more with no problems.

[sclitheroe]

Back on topic - the external hard drive that is constantly generating requests for a chkdsk - does it have any data on it that you need?

If so, you should copy that data off. Then, blow away the partitioning on the drive and reformat it. This is the first step to solving the issue - there is something not right with that external drive.

[Shazam]

Originally Posted by HOOT

Would you recommend me going 64 bit on all of the computer than?

I know at first I hated the switch from XP to Vista, how close is 7 to Vista?

Are the offering anything for Vista users that I should know about to get a discount so I don't have to buy 3 copies at full retail?

I'd go all 64-bit if you're willing to do full installs.

7 is pretty close to Vista with the taskbar getting the major upgrade.

[HOOT]

Originally Posted by Vulcan

It includes 32 and 64 bit versions. If you upgrade your laptop to 64 bit make sure you have at least 2 gigs of ram.

Says I have 3GB in the laptop. Maybe I will upgrade to Windows 7 anyways but first I will try updating my computer through HP or Windows website and see what it does. I've been putting it off but will probably do it tomorrow sometime when I'm watching football.

[Shazam]

Originally Posted by HOOT

Says I have 3GB in the laptop. Maybe I will upgrade to Windows 7 anyways but first I will try updating my computer through HP or Windows website and see what it does. I've been putting it off but will probably do it tomorrow sometime when I'm watching football.

Plug in your drive. Once Windows recognizes it, go to Control Panel -> Device Manager. Select the drive under "Disk Drives". Right click -> Properties. Go to the Policies tab. Make sure both boxes are checked off (i.e. no checkmarks).

[HOOT]

Thanks everyone I figured out the genuine Vista problem. I just did an update on the HP/Windows website, did a restart and it booted up doing a 'registry check' after it completed that it went back to normal.

I have restarted it once after that to see what it would do and it just starts up like normal. Now I really want to try Windows 7 but I think I will hold off a bit or maybe get it for my Laptop and get use to it first.

What is the difference between 32bit & 64bit? Why would my laptop be capable of 64bit but they would load 32bit?

[Rathji]

Originally Posted by HOOT

Thanks everyone I figured out the genuine Vista problem. I just did an update on the HP/Windows website, did a restart and it booted up doing a 'registry check' after it completed that it went back to normal.

I have restarted it once after that to see what it would do and it just starts up like normal. Now I really want to try Windows 7 but I think I will hold off a bit or maybe get it for my Laptop and get use to it first.

What is the difference between 32bit & 64bit? Why would my laptop be capable of 64bit but they would load 32bit?

Some software and/or drivers either do no exist or are not as stable in 64 bit. My laptop was pretty flaky on 64bit Vista, but ran 32bit without any problems.

At work we had some problems with certain IIS and .NET version on our one 64bit development machine. I couldn't explain it if I tried, but once we went to a newer version of one (or both) on both the server and that 64 bit machine it stopped the problems.

Basically, I have found 32 bit works more easily with more software but you lose the entire advantage of 64 bit.

[HOOT]

Originally Posted by Rathji

Basically, I have found 32 bit works more easily with more software but you lose the entire advantage of 64 bit.

I'm sorry for the stupid question or if you answered it and I missed it but what is the advantage of 64bit if some soft/hardware has a hard time running on it?

I'm so confused right now...did I mention I hate computers?

[temple5]

I would remove USB devices from the boot menu. It shouldnt check the drive for consistency after reboot then.

[Rathji]

Originally Posted by HOOT

I'm sorry for the stupid question or if you answered it and I missed it but what is the advantage of 64bit if some soft/hardware has a hard time running on it?

I'm so confused right now...did I mention I hate computers?

Simply stated the main advantage is that 64 bit OS will be able to use more RAM, anything more than 4GB is totally useless on a 32 bit system.

It is actually more complex than that so if you want to lean more, check this 32bit vs 64 bit on Wiki and the Pros and Cons entry on the same page.

Generally speaking, if you don't need the support for more RAM, it probably isn't worth the headache that might come with the occasional software or hardware incompatibility. I have not installed Windows 7 as 64 bit though, so it might have gotten better since I did it with Vista

[Vulcan]

From what I understand, 64 bit can use more memory so that in certain circumstances it will be faster. A 32 bit OS can only use about 3 gigs of memory so I'd guess that unless you are going to add more memory, 32 bit should be fine for your laptop.

[Phaneuf3]

Originally Posted by sclitheroe

I just think its so laughable that people will claim they won't pay for Windows because of product activation - product activation having been put in place precisely because people wouldn't man up and pay for Windows and own a legally licensed copy.

Why is it laughable? DRM and activation schemes can make doing things the 'right' way extremely painful at times. The legit customer is harmed by these things. Pirates are not.

Here's an interesting article:

O'Reilly drops ebook DRM, sees 104% increase in sales

It's been 18 months since O'Reilly, the world's largest publisher of tech books, stopped using DRM on its ebooks. In the intervening time, O'Reilly's ebook sales have increased by 104 percent.

http://www.boingboing.net/2010/01/22...ops-ebook.html

Take it for what its worth, but there is a certain number of people that are turned off of buying products legitimately simply by invasive DRM schemes.

[sclitheroe]

Originally Posted by Phaneuf3

Why is it laughable? DRM and activation schemes can make doing things the 'right' way extremely painful at times. The legit customer is harmed by these things. Pirates are not.

Here's an interesting article:

http://www.boingboing.net/2010/01/22...ops-ebook.html

Take it for what its worth, but there is a certain number of people that are turned off of buying products legitimately simply by invasive DRM schemes.

Correlation does not imply causation. eBook sales took off during the same time period at comparable rates. I doubt O'Reilly's gains were strictly as a result of removing DRM.

[ken0042]

Guys- let's keep this thread on topic. No more discussion about the ethics, etc of not licensing Windows.

[Phaneuf3]

Originally Posted by sclitheroe

Correlation does not imply causation. eBook sales took off during the same time period at comparable rates. I doubt O'Reilly's gains were strictly as a result of removing DRM.

There may be more than just DRM removal but it's an interesting discussion point. Basically, in my mind, it boils down to this:

• No DRM scheme has gone unbroken.
• Anyone who wants a pirated copy of software will be able to get one no matter how much 'protection' you want to try to build into it.
• DRM schemes often treat the company's paying customers like criminals.
• Often times, due to the DRM, the legit copies of the software are less functional than the pirated versions.

Add those up and the only possible impact to sales is hurting it by turning away would be legit customers. Personally, I pay for my software and I have downloaded a ton of music to 'try before I buy' and discover new bands but I'm pretty realistic about the impacts of these poorly thought out anti-piracy measures.

Originally Posted by ken0042

Guys- let's keep this thread on topic. No more discussion about the ethics, etc of not licensing Windows.

It's a pretty interesting topic. If it's that far off topic from the original post, can we have the offending post put into a spinoff thread?

[HOOT]

Thank you kenn but I think my problem has been solved so they can have at it if they want.