More Non-Genuine Operating Systems

Seems like we've come across a number of non-genuine versions of Microsoft XP in the last couple of weeks. What all of the PCs had in common is that they went into small repair shops for repair with Windows XP Home Edition on them and came out with XP Professional installed. Most of the customers didn't notice the difference between the two while one customer who did, was told by the repair shop that they "upgraded" Windows while it was in for repair.

The reason that most non-genuine versions of XP encountered are the Professional version is because of the existence of Volume License versions of XP Pro for use by businesses. A Volume License is a special version of a Windows OS, most commonly XP Pro, that is sold to big businesses, governments and educational bodies for installation on hundreds or thousands of PCs. Because it is not practical for such large numbers of PCs to go through the Windows activation procedure post-installation for each PC, a Volume License installation does not require activation. All Windows XP installations do require a product key, the 25-digit alpha-numeric code that must be entered from the certificate of authenticity during the installation process. However, if a product key corresponding to a volume license (a so-called Volume License Key or VLK) is entered then the installation does not require product activation.

What has happened in the past, and no doubt continues to happen, is that Volume License Keys are passed on from IT staff to individuals and they get into general circulation for use by less than scrupulous individuals. When Microsoft becomes aware of these they are blocked and marked as non-genuine in their database. Beginning April 25, 2007, Microsoft began distributing Windows Genuine Advantage Notifications as "critical update" KB905474 to Windows users. If you downloaded this update and have a blocked VLK installed on your PC you will get the nag screen that you have a non-genuine copy of Windows installed ever more. We expect to see more of these in the weeks to come.

Less than perfect OOTBE

Most computer manufacturers work hard to give you a good Out-Of-The-Box-Experience (or OOTBE), which is what happens when you turn on your brand new computer for the first time. A good OOTBE should see you having to take very few actions to get you to your operating system's desktop - perhaps accept a license agreement and input your name for your user account. Once at the desktop a good OOTBE continues with your computer behaving in a predictable fashion and it is in this regard that we were disappointed with a new Dell Inspiron Laptop that we set up for a customer during the week.

All went well until we got to the desktop and Vista's messaging announced that a problem had occurred with the sidebar which would now shut down. Hmmm, not what you expect when you turn on your PC for the first time and not a great OOTBE. Vista's messaging went on to inform us that the problem was caused by Google Desktop and that the vendor may have a more up-to-date version available on their website that might address this issue. And maybe they did, but we didn't wait to find out. Instead we uninstalled Google's application and the sidebar problem was resolved.

What we can't figure is why Dell bundles Google's Desktop application with their PCs when the version they bundle causes a feature of Vista to crash. You begin to wonder what level of testing Dell performs on the configurations they sell. Or, do they know about these issues before they ship them but leave it to their customers to resolve them. Take your pick.