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evaluate whether windows is legal

I need a tool that can:

1. Evaluate whether Windows (98, XP, Vista, W7) is legal, but WITHOUT taking a chance of adverse effects.

2. The tool should be able to be run without internet access.
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Thomas Turner
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Thanks,
The statement on the site "Once installed, it will attempt to repair Windows 7               licensing components that may have been damaged, moved, or  deleted.  " makes me believe that it will "break" the copy if it is illegal or at least hinder it's performance or updates.

I want to give the customer only their legal options, but don't want to break what they have currently in the mean time.
I know with Vista and Windows 7 will say Genuine Microsoft software in the system when you right click on my computer.  I dont know how to with windows xp.
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Daxit
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Trturner,
Thanks for that.  When I right click on a suspect computer (W7), I get the genuine intel but nothing else.  Can you send a screenshot of what this screen should look like?

Daxit,
Fantastic links.  I checked them all.  I could not use the rockxp because my virus software won't let me but made copies of the relevant page to be used from other locations.  I love this option (typing oobe/msoobe /a).  Unfortunately, the W7 I am on is showing command not available.  How else might I accomplish this one?
Hello

Yes with 7 dos and other stuff is out of the game, if there is something is virtualized and a lot of ol' good programs might have been wiped out.

By the way a similar looking thing is to type activate windows in the search box and then click the resulting "activate windows, a panel showing a logo and other informations is shown then.

For win 7 there are 3 main methods described in the links below, always be sure about the internet connection as said before if you do not want to twist yuor clients setups but only show them some evidence.

The third method in the first linked page might be the less invasive and most straightforward one, it also have a  look of  "Pro's knowledge".

http://helpdeskgeek.com/windows-7/check-if-windows-7-is-genuine/
http://windows7news.com/2009/12/07/how-to-check-if-windows-7-is-genuine/

There are also some extra informations in the short articles.

As a matter of fact you can also call microsoft, they normally are quite gentle, who better than them can explain you what to do best? i mean that after all, calling them and telling that you need to be sure that your clients have a regular license even in places where for any reason they don't have an internet connection and/or do not want it, they are forced somehow to tell you the right way, at least I hope so, it may be that the person at the phone do not really know it or is instructed not to tell a way for which internet is not used. Let's discover it.

Please if you do it and get nice informations post it here so that we can know it too.

Bye

Bye
Microsoft has all sorts of tools to check if your copy of windows is legal.
Unfortunately,they all require internet connection.
Right now,Microsof has developed a tool that verifies windows 7
machines and is available for download through their W7 updates....
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ASKER

It looks like I have to find a hacker forum to figure that one out completely.  It's troubling that don't provide a way to check while ensuring you that it won't harm your current setup.  That's difficult.
Basically the check is made during the first installation.
When you install W7 you have to activate it on line anyway
so I see no point in doublechecking.However pirates are 'always'
one step ahead of Microsoft and that's a never ending story.
XP has the option 'is this copy f windows legal?' in explorer menus,
WGA checkcs ettc...but all this can be easily circumvented.
Personally,I hate this spyware Microsoft and other companies place on your computer
they call 'legality checks'.I can understand their need to protect their property
but that's a wrong way to go on about it.
But I do not see a problem you have actually.
If your copy of windows was not legal, first time you have internet access you will get
a 'reminder' from Microsoft.Otherwise the copy is legal.No need to check.
One way or the other....
But if I remember correctly XP had a tool you downloaded which checked
the legality of the copy (offline).But that needs internet access too....
So your windows copies are actually easily checked in the control panel (legal or no).
So actually I really do not see a problem you have.If a customer wants to check if the copy is legal
he just goes and checks in the control panel.What you want is a tool that will tell you this copy is
legal when you are off line i.e disconnected from internet.Unfortunately these tools are illegal (they violate microsoft copyrights) so I suppose you can get them on some warez site.But you should take into account security issues in doing this.Not much they will tell you anyway....info is already there in CP....
So....
Hello

It is all true. it is so difficult to have to manage the clients, microsoft and so amazingly high prices for licenses. Many persons just would buy straight right if it would cost a reasonable price, lets say 50 $ for the top version, that's according to me the real value of this product. But being the price well over the double than what I erote for the minimal version of course a lot of people try to turn around it.

Of course there are persons who would do it anyway, but lets face it would you risk a crapped OS experience, always on the hide side, instead of spending a 50$ fee every some years? I don't think so, so crackers would have no biz.

Costing so much crackers have a easy way because many just do accept the risk in order to save money.

But let's say something more, mac os x is marketed at a lower price, and is definetelly much more stable than windows, how could they do it? It is simple, they got a lot of work ready done from unix world, they dressed it well for a gala party, they completed it, and bingo, they created a relativelly cheap high quality OS. But still is a rip off for two reasons, coming from a very cheap as free product and running only on their dongled gala dressed regular pc it is still a very expensive product and does not offer the chanche to easily use a large software choiche. On top of this software for mac is not often free or open source, and to use open source from linux you have top do a lot of things, it is not straight forward at all.

So the only scientific and open minded high level philosophy OS which is spread and common in the world is linux, but it is beaten by the most instead of awarded.

So we have what we deserve, expensive systems that work worst, a lot of confusion and malware and so on....

Try to call microsoft and ask, it is costing noting, if you are afraid call them from a public place. I wont loose time on warez, if the windows OS was original or not might become infected, so you do not invalidate it with microsoft but could be with high probability get invalidated by the warez tool.

The invoice, sticker and some official tools working offline are more than enoughto check out.
Another way you can make the turnaround is to check the ilenames for all warez used to crack windows, make a list of this files, then search them in the pc you need to check. if you find them and are installaed were expected to be found you a re sure that is a cracked windows installation, if you do not find them and the client do not have nor an invoice nor a good sticker than it highly probable that is cracked but not sure, if you do not find these files, there is a sticker and maybe also an invoice tha you are sure that is a genuine windows installation.

Better than this + all what was written above,  I think that is not possible to do.

Bye


You could click Start - Run - and type 'appwiz.cpl'

Scroll the list of  installed programs to see if the likes of 'Windows x Activator' are installed.
You have your answer.

Windows didn't come with copy-protection in the form of verification prior to Windows XP, so I don't know how you'd check that.
Still no Edit button on these forums?  =)

I think there are various registry keys you can also check to see if anything has been tampered - but you'd definitely need to go to a hacker-type forum for that. (Make sure you have good antivirus software installed if you do go down that path).

Basically what you would end up doing is the same thing as Microsoft's WGA software - only manually. If you knew basic programming skills, you could write up your own little WGA app that doesn't modify anything.
Hello

Yes, the registry is also a very good place to look at, you might do a comparative work, first check the and save an image of a virgin registry so just after installation and before activation, then do it again just after activation and find out what changed, so to point out where microsoft did modify the registry.

Doing this you get an idea of what you need to check out. Doing further comparisons you will get more informations on more windows versions and  you will make for yourself a moreless complete picture of the scheme microsoft generally use.

With this scheme then you can start trying to understand what crackers do and get an idea of what you find when is genuine and when is not.

This is basically the work to be done, but note that unless someone already did it, (very probable otherwise what are crackers doing?) BUT also shared the informations with others,  AND you will have the luck to find it.... if all of this does not happen, you have a quite long work to do...:-)

Even though it is legal to dig your registry Is it really worth?

Check the EULA and all the microsoft tips on the links point by point, use the tools available, warn the client of the risks and make very clear that if the copy is counterfeited he might need to spend the money to make it genuine.

There is also the chanche that a genuine copy comes to be invalidated because is installed on several pc, if this happened because someone wrote the code of the sticker on a note a began using it somewhere else it can be a problem.

Otherwise if it was done by the client, remove it from those with no sticker of course, call microsoft for activation and declare that it is installed only on one computer, the copy will be reactivated.

You will see that there are several ways to tell in a matter of minutes, it is not a perfect way, but I think you should also consider the benefit/time cost ratio.

Bye
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ASKER

Wonderful Daxit,
You guys mentioned "call MS" and that does seem like a good idea.  Is there a particular number where I am likely to have the most luck without holding until the end of time?
Hello

It depends on were you call from each continent nation and state have it's own numbers, best thing you can do to know this is to install a win xp or later, when it's time to activate it do not do it online (disconnect internet not to fail triyng) then choose the option to make a telephone call, a list of possible numers is shown depending on where you want to call from.

In this way you get the best number possible for your area and it is a number dedicated to solve straight right this kind of matters, so you can't get any better solution than this one.

i know that is a bit a contorsionist way, but as far as I know trying to get this numbers in another way seems to be a harder work, I suggest you to do it with a lateast windows installation so to be sure to be able to copy (and keep well in your agenda for next times) a actually working number for your area.

They normally are very friendly but have very strict rules, do not say strange things to them as instead of helping you they might mark the serial given as pirated, be careful, read very well the eula before, because they make you questions to check if you are following the rules or not, as for example install one license on one computer only, if you tell them that you installed on two pc they will invalidate the license of course, you can say whatever they might check it later of course, but they cannot accept a declaration of non conformity to eula rules in order to help you.

Nowdays the first part, and often ending with, is done by a robot, if something does not work out a human will answer and guide you to a more advanced check and will make you questions. The call can be redirect (toll free) to very far countries as in south america, india etc. a person speaking your language will attend for your case so do not worry, but be sure not to use a weak cordless or a telephone with audio problems during regular calls too as in this case it might become very hard to listen them.

Bye

rtod2 -- ANY microsoft tool that you use will deactivate the installation if it even suspects a bad serial.  Said another way, you cannot use a microsoft link to do non-disruptive checking -- period.  You will need to get something that is not written by microsoft.
Hello

On top of this you might even get a reactivation warn even if you remove and add too much hardware boards, in fact it is very tricky, sometimes it does it sometimes not, the point is also that being used to genuine windows I do not know every possible case for which it could happen.

Anyway I am not sure that it will deactivate just because it suspects it and without a internet check. You should try it to be really sure, also consider that microsoft changed it's checking tool so many times also in a very fast way each time a class action was borning, each time the news spoke about, eache time they were accused of introducing a spyware, ... so there amany versions with different behaviours around..... .... wow it is a real maze.

I knew a guy who discovered to have a fake windows after a pair of years, he just went on internet regularly and one day it happened to receive the warn could not explain himself how nor knew to have a fake one, that's at least what he said.

In other cases changing motherboard the license was not accepted because the hardware was not from the same producer, but in other cases not....

You know what, if someone wants to have windows should pay it, tat's the final thing, otherwise should accept the risk, if he was ripped off also should accept the matter as it happened and eventally get his money back from the ripper or at least the money to pay the license finally.

Myabe is just better to speak properly to clients explaining it all well and clear and prepare them to face it when happens to discover that the license is not ok.

Also nowdays unless they really do not go on internet first or late they get blocked, windows is tendencially always turning on this feature with an excuse or the other.

For example on pc at work on which I need to not have any kind of interference during critical workflows for cnc works, I just abandoned the idea of turning off the update feature, It always will bother you in one way or the other.

If it is turned off warns you that is turned off, if it is available something to update it continuosly bother you because you do not want to dowload it at that moment, if you did download then bothers you to indstall it to death, then very often wants to restart, and if you do not bothers you a lot to do it, sometimes decides to it anyway, in ten minutes it says, you a re still sending bits to a robot of two tons and are obliged to stay there watching it up to the end as it will restart your machine if you don't tell the system to wait some more every ten minutes.......AAAARGH...... it is a sort of very intrusive as bad as piracy thing, no peace for windows users....

Armies of viruses and malwares, worms, spyware, and then microsoft itself make the experience just lousy and tragically boring. All of this having regularly bought a genune licence at a quite high price, a very high price considering all this hassles.

Generally speking if someone do not like a thing should not use it, if if do not agree with the price should not use it, if is forced to use it then have to accept it and is an unjustice, so should help those who legally find solutions to this, for example linux, reactos, unixoides and so on, it is not possible to have drunk wife and a barrel full of wine......
This situation is alike a dog which bites it's own tail, it sort of crazy.

Expecially in the past it was plentyful of conterfeited licenses around, evryone wante window but no one wanted to pay or knew that had to pay it, why they never complined and made other coiches is not really cleare. As a matter of fact was enough to refuse the whole thing to force a policy change and the rise of some concurrent. It did not happen....

Bye
Good luck with this genuine windows checking.....
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ASKER

scrathy,

YES, exactly.  That's actually what I was hoping to find.
Hello

I am afraid there is not such a third party tool, it is a very searched thing if it was available should have come up already.

Idf you find a legal one please post it here too.

Thank you.

Bye