Microsoft genuine validation tool says software 'not genuine'

surreysaver

So, will this WGA bug actually stop the program from working, or does it just cause this annoying message to keep coming up?

jeggburt

You'd be surprised how many genuine installations of MS products are not passing their "Genuine Validation" test.

A copy of XP I purchased directly from MS didn't pass their own test :rotfl::rotfl:

When I contacted their customer services, they made me sound like a thief until I pointed out that my credit card details would show the purchase I made if they fancied me taking them to trading standards.

They sent me out another licence number :rolleyes:

Don't always believe these warnings, I have a feeling some of this is an attempt by MS to force you to upgrade but that would be a conspiracy theory too much

aliEnRIK

jeggburt wrote: »

Don't always believe these warnings, I have a feeling some of this is an attempt by MS to force you to upgrade but that would be a conspiracy theory too much

I wouldnt put it past them at all

surreysaver

So, will this WGA bug actually stop the program from working, or does it just cause this annoying message to keep coming up?

eatscoobysnax

software4students.co.uk/Microsoft_Office_2010-software.aspx

you can buy the professional version for £40 odd on this site.

I bought a student copy the other day (for mac) and all they did was ask what uni I was at, no other details asked for. (they would have to state they were going to check if they were I would have thought?)

You can also get it if you are a parent of a student etc etc.... but to be honest how are they ever going to know if you are or not??

Theres a good thread somewhere on this site about the whole thing, sorry dont have time to find it and link.

Hope this helps you before you go and buy a full price copy!!

Scooby. x

****EDIT: just realised that thread was from a year ago! oops.

alwynfolk wrote: »

Hi everyone, thanks so much for spending time on my query (I own a computer bought with preloaded software from PCWorld and it has recently been deemed illegal by Microsoft’s Genuine Validation tool).
I am a small business and this has had me in bits to be honest (and no, none has had access to my computer to put a pirate copy of Office on). Good idea about the display copy - yes, they only had one Compaq computer in stock - and it was on display at the time.

It took two days to find a number for my local PCWorld at Garston, Liverpool (PCWorld only has a central number that takes through lengthy menus then cuts you off). When I finally got through they said I would have to prove I hadn’t put an illegal version on myself. I pointed out that Microsoft had flagged that this ‘illegal’ version was registered to PCWorld. I also asked aloud if there was an ‘installation date’ of a programme on the computer - thereby proving it was loaded before I bought it. PCWorld said I could do what I liked - they weren’t interested.

I’ve been a regular customer at this branch of PCWorld for years, but both they, and Microsoft have been brusque. A chat with either of them really does leave you feeling like a lesser being. I was sold a computer with Office preinstalled and assumed it was a valid copy. It makes me laugh (in between the teeth-gritting at the thought of having to pay our £399 for a new version of Office) that when I asked, in full irony, where to buy the software, Microsoft recommended that I pop into PCWorld.

Hmmmn, I wonder which marketing genius decided to come up with this strategy: ‘make em buy it twice!’ Each time I log on to Word I get the pop-up: ‘This copy of Office is not genuine’. What happens in the end? Will my computer self destruct? Will I be barbequed, smoke rising off fingers still clawed over the keyboard….

Seriously, I am hearing more and more people mentioning this: software bought preloaded from High Street retailers being deemed ‘illegal‘ via Microsoft updates. Obviously a lot of genuine customers are being re-labelled as pirates. Any chance of someone at Money Saver.com looking into it? Cheers, Alwynfolk

John_Gray

usignuolo wrote: »

We used to licence our copies of MS software and would get a master copy and the right to make multiple copies on our users pcs, up to a certain number, depending on how much we paid.
It was fiendishly complicated and I seem to recall it went by the name of the Genuine Advantage programme.

More likely Volume Licence!

And, yes, it WAS a year ago!