Activation and SP2 Build 2120

[BeenThereB4]

Hmmmm, build 2126 is just as restrictive about PIDs as 2120 or possibly more so. Looking less and less like 2120 was just a mistake.

[RyanVM]

Wait until RC2 is released before making any judgments. Don't forget that they're doing daily builds and 2126 was probably already built internally before 2120 was even released to WindowsBeta. This bug occurs with ALL volume license keys, legitimate or not. It's been confirmed as a bug by MS and will be fixed with the next release (I wouldn't put any stock in leaked builds as indicative as what to expect for releases).

[Marsden]

Pirates are not forced at gun point to obtain or use pirated software. They do so by choice. MS has every right as owner of the content to not allow those who pirate software to update their systems. EVERYONE has the free choice to abide by the ELUA or not to. There are many alternatives to MS software…

[RyanVM]

Pirates are not forced at gun point to obtain or use pirated software. They do so by choice. MS has every right as owner of the content to not allow those who pirate software to update their systems. EVERYONE has the free choice to abide by the ELUA or not to. There are many alternatives to MS software…

That's not the matter of discussion in this thread.

EDIT: To clarify, this thread is about a BUG that requires activation on Volume License copies of WinXP with legitimate VLKs, not MS blocking people from installing SP2 on pirated copies in the first place.

Edited May 17, 2004 by RyanVM

[BeenThereB4]

I disagree. The topic as I see it (as started by gosh) is: Was the change in PID checking in SP2 build 2120 a bug, or increased checking by intent, or a combination of both? The evidence mounts to point towards the last: a buggy attempt to implement increased checking.

[RyanVM]

I disagree. The topic as I see it (as started by gosh) is: Was the change in PID checking in SP2 build 2120 a bug, or increased checking by intent, or a combination of both? The evidence mounts to point towards the last: a buggy attempt to implement increased checking.

And the post I quoted said Microsoft had a right to keep people from pirating their software. Nobody's saying they aren't as that's not what this thread is about.

[BeenThereB4]

I think that this thread has been put to rest now. PID checking was not a mistake or bug. It was considered and tested along the way and abandoned at the last moment as I thought.

Many users have questioned why illegal PIDs are being allowed on a Windows XP SP2 installation when they were blocked in previous betas. This is due to Microsoft's new approach on security in Service Pack 2 to prevent any further Windows XP machines from getting infected with viruses and malicious attacks. Microsoft's Gary Schare answers:

"There have been a number of discussions on this newsgroup regarding whether SP2 will install on non-genuine (aka "pirated") versions of Windows. Here is the official Microsoft position on this topic:

We expect that nearly all Windows XP users, running genuine or pirated Windows, will have access to the security technologies in SP2. The same users that were blocked from installing SP1 - those that have used a small set of legacy pirated product keys - will be blocked from installing SP2. We believe that there are very few systems in use today that use these keys -- in other words, the pirates have moved on to other keys which we are not blocking.

So how do we charaterize our policy?

We want to make sure that the broadest number of people can install SP2. The nature of malicious attacks on computer users is constantly changing and we will continue to evaluate how we deal with security updates for pirated versions of Windows to best protect our genuine Windows customers.

Thanks,

Gary Schare

Microsoft"