Warning: Microsoft is anti consumer and encourages piracy

tomwakefield

philneedham wrote: »

I decided to send my media off to be evaluated by the Product Validation team as I'd read that Microsoft sometimes replaced realistic counterfeit copies. Waited about 10 days then got a letter back thanking me for helping them fight piracy but with no offer of help, and they'd kept all my media - although in fairness this was advised in advance.

The problem with making this standard policy (from Microsoft's point of view) is that large numbers of people would pay as little as possible for a pirate copy, knowing they could get it replaced with a genuine one, rather than paying for a legitimate one to begin with.

bluenoseam

Here's a few basic truths for you.

1 - you should always, without fail, have a physical back up of your OS available - this is not up for debate, hard drives like all machinery are subject to sudden & cataclysmic failure.
2 - if you "need" your computer for work in the way that you say you do, then simply put you should ALWAYS keep regular & complete backups, hell i know standard leisure users who update once a month every month as a habbit!
3 - You have ZERO recourse, you went to an UNAUTHORISED source to get your OS on the cheap, i don't care who you are, what price it is in the US or if you thought it was "genuine" because it had all the bells & whistles. Newsflash for you, pirates are not the backstreet artists they used to be, they can knock up anything to look so good that even the most trained of eyes struggles to find the difference between genuine & fake, they've gotten better over the years as the authorities have caught up with them out of necessity!

If you're using it as a business purchase there is potential for you to have the ability to claim back the tax from the product anyways (i would assume) & given it's use as a business tool should have been purchased above board in a way which left you under no illusions as to the safety and validity of your product. Your work depends on this, it's the one situation in business which is crucial to ensure that the tools of your trade are without question legitimate - which is why you pay the RRP for it, regardless as to if you think it's a ripoff or not, simply put your business DEPENDS on it!!

If you really wanted a cheap OS then as people have pointed out, you could have legally & rightfully aquired an OEM version for half the retail boxed price - the only requirement for such is that it is bought with a piece of hardware, that's something which savvy users have been doing for YEARS and has saved no doubt a small fortune and all 100% legal, above board & without issue. You could have saved yourself hours of hassle & anger by doing something as simple as buying a £10 DVD drive along with OEM W7 - agreed you'd have spent a tenner which you probably didn't "need" but doubtless worth it wouldn't you agree!

I have sympathy for you, honestly as much as you'll doubt it, but all of your woes have come as a direct response of you NOT following BASIC logic - Microsoft have nothing to answer for in this case, you on the other hand, sorry to say it, have plenty to learn.

Apples2

Did I miss something in all this text?

If the PC was purchased from DELL, wasn't the COA sticker attached to the case of the machine?

If so, with the new download link you could have downloaded the Win 7 Business edition and used your existing COA sticker Prod ID from the sticker on the case.

This would have also worked even with the dodgy ebay disk, the "chunk" of data is the same, it is just the Prod ID you are interested in (borrow someone elses disk if necessary).

Or maybe I missed a bit of info so disregard my ramblings.

aheaton46

bluenoseam wrote: »

You have ZERO recourse, you went to an UNAUTHORISED source to get your OS on the cheap, i don't care who you are, what price it is in the US or if you thought it was "genuine" because it had all the bells & whistles. Newsflash for you, pirates are not the backstreet artists they used to be, they can knock up anything to look so good that even the most trained of eyes struggles to find the difference between genuine & fake

bluenoseam wrote: »

If you really wanted a cheap OS then as people have pointed out, you could have legally & rightfully aquired an OEM version for half the retail boxed price - the only requirement for such is that it is bought with a piece of hardware, that's something which savvy users have been doing for YEARS and has saved no doubt a small fortune and all 100% legal, above board & without issue.

So you're saying that the OP has no recourse as they went to an unauthorised source, its hard to spot these unauthorised sources, and what they should have done is bought an OEM version with a random bit of hardware. So how would they have known the OEM version wasn't also an unauthorised source?

Apples2

aheaton46 wrote: »

So you're saying that the OP has no recourse as they went to an unauthorised source, its hard to spot these unauthorised sources, and what they should have done is bought an OEM version with a random bit of hardware. So how would they have known the OEM version wasn't also an unauthorised source?

Isn't it a fair assumption that a registered, well established online retailer like Ebuyer wouldn't be selling fake copies of Windows??

Peter999_2

oldone wrote: »

What you now need to do is make a clone copy of your new hard drive and store it on external media, i.e. DVD, external HDD or USB stick.

If you hard drive fails again, you can be up and running again in twenty minutes.

Macrium Reflex do a free version of their software which I have used for a number of years without problems. Find them at
http://www.macrium.com/

Free version here http://www.macrium.com/reflectfree.asp

You can only use the free version for non-commercial uses - if you want to use it on a business PC you have to buy a licence for it.

mttylad

The problem with COA stickers is they are made of paper and wear away pretty easily.

rogue_element

I hope this link is helpful to you:
http://www.microsoft.com/uk/licensing/homeuser/product-identification-service.mspx

Send them the counterfeit software and they should send you a genuine copy back.

Also

Read these FAQs for more about Microsoft's programmes, the pop-up notices, and how to get genuine software. If you have unwittingly bought counterfeit software, you may qualify for a complimentary replacement under our genuine offer. (We offer a free replacement when you have high quality counterfeit, not a CD-R with Windows scrawled on it! And you'll need to give us a receipt.) If you don't qualify for a replacement, you can buy a genuine copy from us at a special online price. This option is called "Windows Genuine Advantage Kit". There is also an equivalent special deal for Microsoft Office.

If you prefer to talk to a real person call us on 0844 800 2400 and select option 0 (zero).

http://www.microsoft.com/uk/licensing/homeuser/notifications.mspx

http://www.microsoft.com/uk/licensing/homeuser/is-your-software-legit.mspx