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Fixing the problems


lilpeanut

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that is what i was thinking ... and even then , they might be specific to certain versions/models of dell comps .

what really bugs me is that most of the guys selling these do not make it explicitly clear that they are only for dell machines .

either they simply do not realize what they are selling/doing or what is going on ...

or ... they are intentionally "misleading" the/a prospective purchaser .

as has been mentioned elsewhere ... where has the integrity and honesty gone ?

it certainly was not the way that many others and myself were raised .

i remember a time when a "tradesman" was proud of his work and "integrity" was a matter of course .

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The Dell OEM OS installation disk is not tied to a particular Dell model. I know this based upon all the installations I have performed.

It isn't necessarily a case of being misleading. Often the seller doesn't know the facts. Additionally you can install a Dell OEM on a non Dell platform but it won't be considered a legal installation and cause the installer to go through Microsoft, buy a license, and properly activate the OS.

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david ,

pick this apart and see what you think :

http://www.ztek.net/...ll-version-sp2/

Looks like a German & Japanese OEM XP/64 disk. It specifically states "For distribution with a new PC only..."

The page shows...

please choose your computer brand we will send you the original cd it works for your computer also it comes with new genuine product key We ship same or next business day

It lists supported manufacturers.

That looks like it may be a XP Home retail version. However the specs show "License Pricing OEM"

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hmmm ... good information .

it would seem that many (not all) of these "good price/deal" sites offer up less than 100% clear indications of what-is-what .

this thread has made me curious ...

so i did some looking around in my hell folder of software disks and found the two copies of "XP home" that i used on my two main comp builds that are still in use here :

both were purchased from newegg (about 80 bucks each)

they came in a shrink wrapped pasteboard "folder" (long gone but were green in color)

the COA/key numbers was/were attached to the shrink wrap

the discs have the holographic logo

on the disk :

"for distribution with a new PC only ... bla bla bla ... for product support , contact the manufacturer of your PC ."

as i see it , there is nothing definitive to delineate this product from the others that have the holographic logo (maybe i am missing something) .

of course , the types that say "dell" (etc .) and/or have something different from the holograms (solid color/printing for example) , there is no doubt about .

also ... the story of how stuff happen(s/ed) and relevant to this topic from the "what version/genuine software" angle :

while rummaging around in the hell-folder i found a sealed copy (envelope with clear plastic window) of MSO 2003 with the product key on the back .

i cannot remember for the life of me recall if this is one of two copies i purchased for a client and (then) they decided to only install a copy on one machine .

the copy i installed activated ok (and they did not have any problems with it for three years that i know of) .

i did not charge them for the second copy as i had all intentions of installing it on one of my machines , but stuff gets lost in the shuffle .

i just tried to find out what the heck this copy exactly is ... long story short , it looks like i have to actually install it first and then check it .

so , of i apply the same premise(s) to a copy of XP (with holograms , etc) ...

this means that (as far as i can tell from outward appearances) i would have to do the same as for MSO .

from what i have experienced (thus far) it looks as if there is not really any "plug your key numbers in here and we'll tell you what-is-what before you do anything" .

in fact , there are warnings in the associated MS forums about not posting the full key in question (duuuhhh) .

in short , i can see where the average person would have a helluva a time with all this and could fall prey to unscrupulous individuals or for *whatever* reasons wind up with a "nope , this aint gonna work" copy and thoroughly cornfuzzled .

the best/easiest/cheapest way (by the time all is said and done) is to bite the bullet and pony up for a "no questions asked" copy from a known and reputable source .

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@ lilpeanut :

just out of curiosity , what were the programs you needed that would not work with ubuntu ?

Sorry for not posting anything for so long. Been just to discouraged to even turn the computer on let alone try to deal with this issue.

The most important program that I have that I depend on is my magicjack for my phone service. The second is my roboform, which is a password keeper. I know, I know, there are other password keepers out there but I have 10 years of passwords on my roboform which I can not easily transfer to some new program that I know nothing about.

I am a grandmother raising two of my grandchildren with no help or support from either of their parents, on a budget of $900.00 a *month*. There is just no way on God's green earth I can afford a new copy of Windows. The guy I did get this copy from does stand by his word and is allowing me to return it for a refund. There is that saving grace.

I'm just so sick over all of this. I had to save for a couple of months to get this used computer. Then to find out it has a bad copy of windows on it and trying so desperately to make things right.....it's just disheartening, infuriating and discouraging.

The kids need a computer for school or I would just chuck it out the window and finish it off with a sledgehammer. But I can't. They need it.

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good deal on the guy standing by his word ... i wonder how he managed to come by the copy he did use .

i have used ubuntu for a few years as have a couple of others here .

password managers ... yep , there are a bunch out there , including those made for ubuntu/linux systems .

i have had no need to use magicjack or any VOIP-type program so i cannot speak from actual experience on this , however ...

after a little google search it seems to be a mixed bag of nuts . some say they can run it ok , others have problems .

maybe someone else here has experience with this ?

ubuntu is a good operating system but is a bit "geekier" than windows is ... for your needs/use/abilities you are right to steer away from ubuntu , at least for now (down the road , who knows ?) .

as for obtaining a legitimate copy of windows XP or a legitimate activation key ...

in your case there may be an answer ...

some areas have agencies and programs in place to help out with getting comps into the hands of kids that need them .

these vary from sanctioned governmental (local , state, etc .) to volunteer programs .

i do not know what is available in your area but you may want to do some footwork along these lines .

for example , i wipe out old machines and load ubuntu on them , from there another guy takes them and gets them into the hands of someone else ...

from that point some deserving kid/family gets a comp .

i have never met any of the recipients of those comps ... i like to keep things simple along those lines .

another idea or two ...

i do not know how "big" the area is that you live in .

you might check with the goodwill or st.vincent depaul stores .

they may have something on the shelf or know of someone (or an agency) that is honest and can help you .

i remember reading *somewhere* that in some instances microsoft will help out individuals that have purchased or have been victims of pirated/bogus software .

i do not know the specifics involved , but this may be worth pursuing .

by all means though ... keep posting here .

you never know who might come up with an answer and when .

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CWB,

Thank you for all your suggestions. I have checked into some places that have been suggested to me for to look to get computers for kids but so far all I've found are sites that want to send them to Africa or some other equally deserving country. Have found a couple from California and Virginia but since I don't live there they suggested that I look elsewhere because my name would be constantly on the bottom of any lists, as they take care of their own first.

I live in one of those Small Town America towns where the population is around 2000 people (total, in town and outlying areas) and the next closest *big town*, which is 30 miles away, has a population of around 17000 total.

There is only one second hand store here (2 in the "big town") but none of them accept computers because they are small and independent and can't afford to have someone check them out to make sure they work.

Before I bought this one I did look everywhere some of the websites say to look and there is no help available. Now if I wanted a firearm then it seems I'd have no trouble finding help to get the proper training and certificates needed for one as well as the firearm itself! Don't know why the hell I moved here. :(

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"don't know why the hell i moved here ."

yeah , i have asked myself the same question from time to time . <_<:lol:

so , you are sort of out in the sticks . that does make things a bit more difficult .

i have looked around the MS site and forums for a way to easily purchase an activation key ... gawd , what a mess .

it seems to be no more difficult than nailing jelly to a tree (sans david freezing it first) .

--- this should be *simple* --- <_<

alas , my two prior experiences in this area were remedied by purchasing the keys through an acquaintance that ran a comp shop .

fortunately he was a hip and honest person .

i could do a little more footwork on this , however ...

a "real" full copy of XP (with key) is hard to find (at least as i have seen) .

it looks as if the easiest solution would be to purchase a full copy of W7 and install it .

this will be more than you wanted to spend , but as you have seen the old saying "if it sounds too good to be true ..." is applying nicely .

i do not know if W7 will run on your machine ...

some important specifications would be needed in order to help determine this .

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i did some checking and found this :

http://www.newegg.co...N82E16883157269

it may not be a racehorse when compared to the current stuff ... but ... it will work and has XP pro on it . no monitor though (you have one) .

(the cost of a *real* copy of XP pro is more than the comp !)

this is a refurbished unit that comes with a 1 year warranty .

free shipping too .

while caveat emptor does apply to refurbished equipment , i don't believe it would be any worse (and possibly better) than what has transpired to date .

i came into possession of a machine similar to this one (bad hard drive and i built the replacement comp for it) .

i popped in a new drive and loaded ubuntu ... i was pleased with the performance and the internal build .

while it is a used machine , at least newegg stands by the stuff they sell ... unlike that first individual that ripped you off (i think) .

if you could get your money back from that clown and the money from the second guy , this might be a solution to the whole mess .

for your needs and uses this machine will suffice .

you would have to keep the crap and background programs pared down in order to help the machine run the needed stuff efficiently (say antimalware and antivirus) .

there is plenty of help available here to help you fine-tune the machine .

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CWB,

Thank you for reaching out to me on this issue.

While I really don't like having to "air my dirty laundry", so to speak, in public, I am grateful for all the help that has been attempted.

At first I was only trying to get some help to make sure I had gotten the backdoor.bot off of my computer when out of the blue I was branded with the Pirated Software title. To say I was shocked doesn't describe how I felt, it was more like someone plucking me from a wide open country meadow straight to the electric chair.

I have no idea what to expect when I'm on the internet with this copy of windows on my system. I envision Pirate Software police coming out of some shadow somewhere, either/or in real life or online and taking me to pirate jail and unleashing some kind of destructive software onto my computer in order to disable it permanently. I know, I know. My imagination is my own worst enemy. :unsure: Then there is the shame of it all. How could I have been so stupid? Now everyone in the world knows I have a machine with something on it that it shouldn't have but they have no idea of the circumstances so the court of public opinion is now in session.

But, a couple of good things have come of this journey. I've met some great people here that have befriended and taken pity on this stupid old woman and are trying to help get this whole issue fixed before I have a heart attack. :D And I have learned some GREAT computer buying lessons!

As far as buying another computer. The price of the one you sent the link of isn't all that bad I guess. But it's going to take me a few weeks to save up enough money to buy another computer. But if I do that then I think I'd like to buy one that I can use parts off of this computer with. Maybe I can save some money that way. I have 2 hard drives on this machine. A pretty good sound card and I just installed a better video card then what came with it. Not sure of how to go about even looking for something compatible so I will probably ask questions here as I go along.

This machine does have Windows 7 Ultimate on it but even if I could find one with XP I'd be happy. Or even with whatever it was that was before XP and see about doing upgrades (assuming upgrades are cheaper then full versions) along the way. I don't *have to* have XP or Win7. Although I do like win7 a lot and will miss some of the features I'd rather be legal first then worry about what OS I have after that.

As far as nailing jelly to a tree....I haven't heard that one in a long time! My Dad used to say that a lot. Great memory you sparked for me and a good chuckle. I really needed that. Thanks. :D

Well goodness how I've rambled on. I tend to do that sometimes just ask D-Fred, he could tell ya. :P;)

Thanks again and look forward to hearing from you again soon.

lilpeanut

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Geez D-Fred! You told me that before and I forgot about the danged pawn shops!

*slaps herself in the head*

Now to come up with the gas money to get to the pawn shop in order to price some out so I can put the money aside for it!

*stupid, stupid, stupid woman*

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there is a difference between stupid , ignorant and just having a case of CRS . :lol:;)

i guess that one can find rip-off artists in any field of endeavor these days . <_<

it sure seems to be a lot higher percentage wise than in the past .

i check the pawnshops around here from time to time ...

i get disgusted with their prices and wind up walking out the door .

mind you , this is after haggling with them on the price and they won't budge an inch .

it seems they think the stuff they have is made out of gold and are trying to cut a fat hog in the arse .

some of the parts from your old comp may fit into a new unit ; much depends on the slots (type) and physical size of the cards .

the ram may be an issue ...

it has to match the type used and be equal to or better than the original , plus the MB/processor can only address so much (GBs) and at a maximum speed .

a list of the numbers and so-forth of the stuff in the old machine would help .

i put a better video card in the machine i obtained ... i had to use the "low profile" bracket .

one of the things to remember about those desktop machines ; low headroom .

just think of trying to stuff wilt chamberlain into a volkswagen .

(man , i am dating myself with that analogy !)

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Went to a couple of different pawn shops to look and see what they had. Nada. One had a computer but the store was filled with mostly tools and the place was so dirty and gross that I took one look at the computer, no idea what it had in it because it too was extremely dirty and they wanted $200 for it. Not a chance am I going to even look at if they don't care enough to make it even look presentable.

The second store didn't have any.

There is only one Goodwill in the "big town" but they don't carry computers.

Just wanted to let you all know I'm still trying and thanks again.

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Oh my word. :huh:

I just clicked through the link and I'm afraid I'm absolutely lost as far as how to go about figuring out the best computer for me would be. I have been trying to avoid buying anything on credit because I really don't want the payments but if I decide to get something that is going to last me a good long time then I probably have no choice.

Maybe if you could help me explore and discover what my needs are in a computer I could narrow something down and decide from there. For now, put price aside other than best value for the money. I do know I want something that I'll be able to use for a long time without running into memory and space issues. I do have 2 kids that do use the computer for school and the older one is just starting to get into wanting to play some games. Nothing to major on the games, at least not yet. The other has learning disabilities and we use the computer to help him with learning.

Me, I use it for volunteer work at FamilySearch. I index information for them. Most of my time on the computer is for indexing, email, getting plans for building little projects like playhouses, storage cupboards etc, looking up recipes and the most important to me, genealogy. Finding and saving a lot of images. Be it census records, birth, marriage and death records as well as pictures, lots and lots of pictures and hopefully soon family videos.

If you have the time to help me figure this out I'd be grateful.

Thanks again,

lilpeanut

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  • 1 month later...

Hello all you wonderful people that have tried to help me.

I finally have a new computer (again) and I would like to make absolutely sure there is no software problems like the last time. Can someone do whatever they did before to make sure this is a legal copy of XP?

Just tell me what you need and I'll provide.

Thank you so much,

cassiereroni

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http://go.microsoft....k/?linkid=52012

Please run the MGA Diagnostic Tool and post back the report it shall produce:

  • Download MGADiag to your desktop.
  • Double-click on MGADiag.exe to launch the program
  • Click "Continue"
  • Ensure that the "Windows" tab is selected (it should be by default).
  • Click the "Copy" button to copy the MGA Diagnostic Report to the Windows clipboard.
  • Paste the MGA Diagnostic Report back here in your next reply.

The MGA Diagnostic Tool will return a report on whether or not the Product Key is invalid, or if Windows Validation is being blocked.

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Hello CW. It's good to be back and as long as I have confirmation that this computer is legit, I'll be back more often now. :)

As far as I could tell everything checked out but then again, I made a big booboo last time so I figured I'd check with the experts to make absolutely certain this time. I sure as heck don't want a surprise like last time.

Porthos,

Here is the information I got from MGA. Hope all is clean.

Diagnostic Report (1.9.0027.0):

-----------------------------------------

Windows Validation Data-->

Validation Status: Genuine

Validation Code: 0

Cached Validation Code: N/A

Windows Product Key: *****-*****-9TCCK-JPCBM-B2FQ8

Windows Product Key Hash: B/IohRcCzV6LJrex8WpCdnxgTvg=

Windows Product ID: 76487-OEM-2211906-00803

Windows Product ID Type: 2

Windows License Type: OEM SLP

Windows OS version: 5.1.2600.2.00010100.3.0.med

ID: {2C7D2A8D-438B-4123-957B-5A24085CF7FE}(3)

Is Admin: Yes

TestCab: 0x0

LegitcheckControl ActiveX: Registered, 1.7.69.2

Signed By: Microsoft

Product Name: N/A

Architecture: N/A

Build lab: N/A

TTS Error: N/A

Validation Diagnostic: 025D1FF3-230-1

Resolution Status: N/A

Vista WgaER Data-->

ThreatID(s): N/A

Version: N/A

Windows XP Notifications Data-->

Cached Result: N/A, hr = 0x80070002

File Exists: No

Version: N/A, hr = 0x80070002

WgaTray.exe Signed By: N/A, hr = 0x80070002

WgaLogon.dll Signed By: N/A, hr = 0x80070002

OGA Notifications Data-->

Cached Result: N/A, hr = 0x80070002

Version: N/A, hr = 0x80070002

OGAExec.exe Signed By: N/A, hr = 0x80070002

OGAAddin.dll Signed By: N/A, hr = 0x80070002

OGA Data-->

Office Status: 109 N/A

OGA Version: N/A, 0x80070002

Signed By: N/A, hr = 0x80070002

Office Diagnostics: 025D1FF3-230-1

Browser Data-->

Proxy settings: N/A

User Agent: Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 8.0; Win32)

Default Browser: C:\Program Files\Internet Explorer\IEXPLORE.exe

Download signed ActiveX controls: Prompt

Download unsigned ActiveX controls: Disabled

Run ActiveX controls and plug-ins: Allowed

Initialize and script ActiveX controls not marked as safe: Disabled

Allow scripting of Internet Explorer Webbrowser control: Disabled

Active scripting: Allowed

Script ActiveX controls marked as safe for scripting: Allowed

File Scan Data-->

Other data-->

Office Details: <GenuineResults><MachineData><UGUID>{2C7D2A8D-438B-4123-957B-5A24085CF7FE}</UGUID><Version>1.9.0027.0</Version><OS>5.1.2600.2.00010100.3.0.med</OS><Architecture>x32</Architecture><PKey>*****-*****-*****-*****-B2FQ8</PKey><PID>76487-OEM-2211906-00803</PID><PIDType>2</PIDType><SID>S-1-5-21-2025508980-387823912-3947065979</SID><SYSTEM><Manufacturer>HP Pavilion 061</Manufacturer><Model>EG134AA-ABA a1230n</Model></SYSTEM><BIOS><Manufacturer>Phoenix Technologies, LTD</Manufacturer><Version> 3.15</Version><SMBIOSVersion major="2" minor="4"/><Date>20070125000000.000000+000</Date><SLPBIOS>HP PAVILION</SLPBIOS></BIOS><HWID>C53C370F0184C076</HWID><UserLCID>0409</UserLCID><SystemLCID>0409</SystemLCID><TimeZone>Central Standard Time(GMT-06:00)</TimeZone><iJoin>0</iJoin><SBID><stat>2</stat><msppid></msppid><name>Hewlett-Packard Company</name><model>HP Pavilion</model></SBID><OEM/><GANotification/></MachineData><Software><Office><Result>109</Result><Products/><Applications/></Office></Software></GenuineResults>

Licensing Data-->

N/A

Windows Activation Technologies-->

N/A

HWID Data-->

N/A

OEM Activation 1.0 Data-->

BIOS string matches: yes

Marker string from BIOS: 1E0D3:Compaq Computer Corporation|1E0D3:Compaq Computer Corporation|1E0D3:Hewlett-Packard Company|1005F:Hewlett-Packard Company

Marker string from OEMBIOS.DAT: HP PAVILION

OEM Activation 2.0 Data-->

N/A

cassiereroni

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