volume license keys?

[K e n]

hey, i have a question.

Why can't we have an adult and meaningfull discussion on a topic without some folks getting their panties all in a wad and poking accusations of "Piracy" at someone?

It's a fact of life like hemorroids.....get over it! 

As long as no-one is offering to sell you a pirated version of some "Holy" software what's the big deal anyway?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

We cant talk about such because most in power here will suggest were

engaging in pirating software when the mention of NO ACTIVATION

is mentioned.

Edited September 20, 2005 by K e n

[xper]

Discussion of circumventing activation/timebombs/keygens or any other illegal activity will also not be tolerated. If you ignore any of the aforementioned you will receive a final warning. If you choose to continue, you will be banned without notice.

Forum Rules

Anyway, I never got mail from MS about what we (tcpip.sys, uxtheme.dll) do here. They even send people here for help.

But I got several mails about VLK discussions. Think about it.

[ODC]

I do not think any of the regular contributors here are pirates. The VLK discussions appear occasionally because even though we have purchased XP legitimately, a VLK is sometimes necessary for testing purposes. Activating XP every time I test my UADVD is simply not an option.

I will assure you; MSFN never has, and never will, condone piracy.

[Gladd8tor]

Hi.. From what I heard school and charitable organization do get a discount on windows operating system , its a lot cheaper then what we would pay for it ....

[thegafferazzasatz]

hey, i have a question.

well two, actually.

first off, my school has over 400 PCs, and they bought seperate licenses for each one, wouldn't they just get a volume license key?

and secondly, i remember reading somewhere that i can change a value to get my XP cd to accept a volume license key, and therefore, not require activation. can someone tell me if there is any truth to this?

thanks.

no one had to tell him how it is done (if it can be done) you could have just said either

yes it can be done

or

No it cant be done

Cartoonite is quite right in saying that some stuff that is discussed is most probably illegal as it is violating the EULA of the software

I would also like to ask why this post has not been deleted or locked due to its illegal nature. also why this one hasnt http://www.msfn.org/board/index.php?showtopic=55355

1. This is not a warez site! Links/Requests to warez and/or illegal material (porn, cracks, serials, etc..) will not be tolerated. Discussion of circumventing activation/timebombs/keygens or any other illegal activity will also not be tolerated. If you ignore any of the aforementioned you will receive a final warning. If you choose to continue, you will be banned without notice.

Edited September 19, 2005 by thegafferazzasatz

[trickytwista]

hmm you do actually have a point there but hey, we know nothin officer,lol

[Zxian]

Cartoonite is quite right in saying that some stuff that is discussed is most probably illegal as it is violating the EULA of the software

Yes, but I don't think that Microsoft would really crack down on modifying files that make people like their software even more (the uxtheme.dll patch for example) if no one is profiting from it. They will crack down on people not paying for their products by using illegal methods, such as VLKs. Like xper said...

Anyway, I never got mail from MS about what we (tcpip.sys, uxtheme.dll)  do here. They even send people here for help.

But I got several mails about VLK discussions. Think about it.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

===============

I would also like to ask why this post has not been deleted or locked due to its illegal nature. also why this one hasnt http://www.msfn.org/board/index.php?showtopic=55355

1. This is not a warez site! Links/Requests to warez and/or illegal material (porn, cracks, serials, etc..) will not be tolerated. Discussion of circumventing activation/timebombs/keygens or any other illegal activity will also not be tolerated. If you ignore any of the aforementioned you will receive a final warning. If you choose to continue, you will be banned without notice.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

My interpretation... the discussion of piracy itself is allowed... how to go about performing it or doing something illegal isn't. To give an extreme example, we could talk about why people steal cars, but the moment that someone starts writing about how to circumvent security systems and hot-wire a car, the thread would most likely be closed.

[TrAvELAr]

Not a big deal, however, I was most interested in my first question.  They did buy ALL Their PCs from Dell.  I Wasn't sure if they could just buy one key for every PC and pay like around $1,000 (maybe I'm shooting a bit low) or what.  And, I know they didn't do this, so I couldn't use their key anyway.

If they install off of the Dell CD, it does a bios check and skips the screen for key input, using a different key than the OEM key printed on the COA on the outside of the case.

[Press any key]

I find it hard to believe that there is nothing in the EULA that prohibits users from modifying the Windows files, but how many people here do not make use a "patched" tcpip.sys file to allow more simultaneous connections

You know more than me about this tcpip.sys, but I just hacked the Registry as per the instructions I found at Microsoft Knowledge Base.

I only have a 44 K connection, so I am allowed. You are NOT with your high speed connections. And should not. Shame on you. "Greed is good."

[thegafferazzasatz]

it would be ok in my eyes to change how a os asked 4 the keys etc if one had lost their cd but still had their key written somewhere, for example making a retail into oem so you could use your oem key (which will probably be on the sticker on your case)

[Andromeda43]

There are versions of windows XP out there, floating around in cyber space, that require NO keys and NO activation. If you want one....... go git one! It's really that simple.

And they aren't even that hard to find. (urls's deleted)

Shucks, jus PM someone that you might think would have one.....but, don't push a Legal Forum like this one to the breaking point by discussing it here. OK.....get the message?

[peachy]

There is an Academic VLK available and it's about 30% cheaper then the Corporate VLK. We have the Academic VLK for all our Microsoft products where I work (a college).

[Cartoonite]

My interpretation... the discussion of piracy itself is allowed... how to go about performing it or doing something illegal isn't. To give an extreme example, we could talk about why people steal cars, but the moment that someone starts writing about how to circumvent security systems and hot-wire a car, the thread would most likely be closed.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

That was my interpretation as well, Zxian, and it is one that my communication with the admins here seems to support. It also makes sense to me just from a logical point of view.

To continue and expand on your extreme example of Grand Theft Auto (with no appologies to the gaming brand that I, personally, can't stand), if discussing this illegal act where as illegal as the act itself, how many honest citizens would be guilty? From reporters of all mediums to authors of fiction to Joe from two blocks over who has that strange fetish with compiling criminal statistics, all would have to be round up and tossed into the slammer. Not to mention police officers, lawyers, court recorders, etc... who all become involved in the process of trying those offenders that are caught.

The point I was more interested in making, however, was that Superlevel did not deserve the overwhelmingly negative response that his question received. As I recall, another of the board's rules revolves around the fact that this is an environment of mutual respect. In my opinion, more harm is done to the board's reputation by having members brutally flame a new-comer (or even a long-time member) for posting something that doesn't belong than any one out-of-place thread ever could.

Seems to me that any Microsoft employees wishing to monitor this site could care less if 50 other members were to respond to a suspect question with "Shut the hell up, fool." Far more likely to be of scrutiny is the actions of the administration team.

Boards have admins for a reason. It's the same reason you have a manager at work. And the same reason your manager has a manager. If users truely believe that a poster is in violation of this board's rules, or that something they've seen posted will pose some threat to this site's credibility or legal liability, perhaps rather than flaming the offending poster they should consider informing the admin team. Let the administrators deal with administrative issues. They seem to have done a remarkable job thus far; let's not insult them by trying to do their jobs for them.

Edit: Seems my original choice for the word "fool" was considered too offensive by the board's sensors. It has been updated and hopefully this choice is safe.

Edited September 20, 2005 by Cartoonite

[SwimmerB]

I don't know if this has already been said about VLK but I will post it again. It is my understanding that with this key you can install it on as many computers as you would like as long as you pay for them.

But the other thing I have been told is that as long as you have an existing license say for example XP pro then you don't have to pay a second time. So if you have bought Comps from dell with XP already installed then later signed up for a volume license agreement and had to reimage you should technically not have to repurchase another XP license.

If this is untrue sorry but this is the information I had been told previously. So Like what I do at the school where I work is get the computer from dell or whoever then immediatly reimage, but I also remeber to store the XP CD on site to verify # of pre puchased copies

[brainstane]

Would it be legal, then, to rebuild the OEM machine using the VLK key which is installed on the computer by the manufacturer? Lets say you want to put XP pro back on the box, using Unattended and RIS to your companies specs...is it legal to use the OEM key, or must the one thats supplied on the side of each box be used when rebuilding each machine?