Question: Microsoft says my Windows 7 is pirated; now what am I suppose to do? We have a Windows 7 laptop at our office which has been in use for last couple of years. One fine morning, it started saying that our Windows 7 copy is not valid. We reinstalled Windows 7 using the key provided by the vendor at the bottom, and even tried Microsoft's toll-free number for support, but Microsoft said that it is a pirated version. But that is an OEM version with the sticker intact on that laptop. What are we supposed to do now? --Submitted by Vishnu M. I have actually had this happen on several of my clients computers, and it seems with so many people using Win7 key generating software, that if someone generated your key and used it to install Win7 on their computer, Microsoft will flag yours as non-genuine. Try re-registering your Windows, but using the phone registration. You may even have to talk with someone to get it sorted out, but say you have it installed on only 'ONE' computer. If they say your copy is not genuine, you may have purchased an illegal copy of Windows. If you have a computer that came with Win7 pre-installed and have the Windows key sticker on your computer, be sure to tell the Microsoft agent as such. If Microsoft still says your copy is pirated you will then need to talk with the computer manufacturer. There is a known registry error occuring with Windows 7 (not sure if it is version specific, or even specific to 64-bit), but Microsoft has provided a fix. I encountered this error two days ago after one of my roommates accidentally unplugged the modem (not sure how that worked out. Internet goes out, and suddenly Windows is not genuine. This came on a 'budget' AMD-based HP desktop (that I use for media and basic web browsing). I decided to run a Google search, and this result came up. I hope this helps. This is running Windows 7 Home Premium x64 build 7601, so your results may vary. How to Activate Windows XP. In order to get the most out of Windows XP, you'll need to activate it using your Windows XP product key. If you have an internet. The main reason you might want change the Windows XP product key is because your key is pirated or otherwise. This command opens the Windows XP Activation Wizard. I don't know what you can do. I had the exact same problem. I called Microsoft and they said I had to deal with the vendor. The vendor accessed my computer remotely and found a place where it said my Windows was genuine and said they couldn't fix it because it wasn't broken. That didn't help and my next computer probably won't be from Velocity Micro despite the good machines and the (usually) great service. I didn't want to risk it happening again so I chose to take the opportunity to buy a copy of Windows 8 instead. While I was at it, I upgraded to a touch screen (if I had it to do over, I wouldn't do that!) and an SSD. So far the new OS is working ok though I've got a major driver issue trying to use our Gestetner DSC525 copy machine. But that's part of the joy of a new operating system version. I can't help but wonder if MS hasn't just found a new way to bump their revenue? I hope someone figures out what is causing this. It is a pretty serious kind of failure and neither Microsoft nor Velocity Micro seems to have taken it very seriously. I take you don't have a recent backup. This is just one of dozens of reasons why it behooves you to do it. Three excellent backup programs I'm familiar with and like are Norton Ghost (which I've been using for 8 years without the 1st problem), Easeus Todo Backup Free, which you can download from and Memeo which has a 30 day free trial and you can buy it for $29.99 - you can download it from. You can get Ghost for next to nothing (like I did) if you watch the sales. The March 2012 issue of PC World was very high on the FREE program from Easeus and so is CNET. In my experience with a variety of configurations I have to say I'm very impressed. Like Ghost it will back up to a networked drive, and it will create a boot CD for when your PC won't boot. See CNET's review of it. - CNET has a lot of backup program reviews. Some of these are free (last time I checked there were over 300), some have free trials (over 1000), and some are purchase only (over 200). - External hard drives are best for backup. You can get a 500 GB one for around $60 and a 1 TB one for around $70. You can also buy a 32 GB flash drive for under $15. It's the best insurance you can ever buy! Luckily for you, you can afford to pay a minimum of $1200 for a laptop. Most people cannot. Unlike Apple, MS makes their money from the software sales, not from hardware, so they have to protect themselves from piracy. With millions of Windows users out there, it is inevitable that a lot of people will have issues. I use and support both Mac and PC and can speak from experience that neither are perfect, each has their own problems and good points. I have seen the Apple Store quote what it would cost to buy a new PC laptop just to put a new hard drive in a Macbook. I have seen Apple's slow down, crash, have hardware failures, just like PC's. They are not bullet proof either. I have been here with many customers. I have tried to convince MS that it was legal and they will always try to explain that it must be illegal. They claim that it is volume media, a subscription version, installed too many times, and installed on more than one computer. The first one is a loser. If they claim that it is volume media, your only recourse is to buy new software. The second one really gripes me. You can buy a program from a legal source but it was branded as for subscription use (MSDN). You will never know if this one hits you until sometimes months after the software is installed and validated at least once. If you get caught with this one, all you can do is contact the company were you purchased the software and complain. Force them to replace the media and key. You must have all of your documentation and it may be time consuming. What bothers me the most about this is that there is no way to tell the difference with this type of media until it is installed and then later rejected. Microsoft should be required to change the packaging so that a comsumer can easily identify this type of purchase. Some internet stores will buy this type and even they may not know that it is illegal. I had a copy that was sold to a retailer from one of Microsoft distribution companies. They never would fix the problem. The distribution company required me to go back to the retailer and the retailer stood with the answer that the software was legal and not their problem. Be careful where you buy. If you installed it too many times, sometimes if you stick with the call to Microsoft, they might give you a new install number. If you can prove that you replaced hardware that is causing the conflict with the authorization, it may be authorized. They will stand with there license restrictions if they feel that you have installed the software on more than one computer. The good news with Microsoft is that recently, they will allow you to move your software to a new computer. You may find hiccups with this for a while since this is a change in direction for licensing for MS. I have had this happen several times. Unfortunately, I don't remember how I fixed. In the past there have been a couple of updates that have messed up how things function. But believe it or not, Microsoft blocks its own downloads. You should access all of your Windows firewall and antivirus. Add the exception of www.Microsoft.com. I think this was the way I fixed it. A last try is to turn off all of your firewall and antivirus, restart and see if that will work (activate and restart after). Notably this is not a problem with Microsoft licensing. It's a function of you computer A great resource for this kind of thing is Black Viper (www.blackviper.com). He seems to have a tremendous amount of information for Windows, etc. Hope this helps. Especially Microsoft's answers. Then, go back to the vendor. You may have to take your lappy with you--actually, the more I think about it, the better this part sounds. Then get the vendor to write his/her/its position on some handy paper. And make sure that Microsoft sees that position statement. The vendor must prove to everybody's satisfaction he/she/it has a valid OEM license from Microsoft. Using KeyGens is theft, pure and simple, and attracts a criminal trial. I'm sure Microsoft would at least help push the prosecution. Yes, this is time-consuming. But at the end of the day, even if you don't get your W7 back, there is a good chance the vendor won't ever be selling computers again: you can't do that from prison. Gordon Negative? Unfortunately, software piracy attracts many people who think it's a good money-spinner and don't care about your civil rights. So, in the words of JFK, 'The price of liberty is eternal vigilance.' From my experience, most OEM laptops from Dell, HP, Sony, Lenovo, etc. - they all come with a product key that is unique to that manufacturer. Dell's restore disks do not require the use of a product key as it's already baked into the version preinstalled on the computer. It makes assembly and installation THAT much faster with one less step to hassle with when they're putting your order together. They merely have to restore a DVD image of Windows and the stock preinstalled wares that come with the laptop and they only have to install drivers for the few remaining items that you custom ordered for that machine. The product key sticker on the bottom of the laptop (or side of the desktop for that matter) is unique and should be protected. It's not the same product key that is installed on the machine by default. So if Microsoft is saying the product key is pirated, I have to wonder who made the laptop? Some smaller OEMs without the bulk license agreement that the bigger makers have may have cut corners somehow. If I were in your shoes, I would likely contact the OEM of that laptop and find out why the hardware you purchased from them is reporting that the copy of Windows 7 you have installed is NOT genuine. Is it possible the system is reading the wrong windows file? Is there any kind of network backup that might be confusing the system? My C drive was dying and lucky for me I was able to start moving files off it. In the middle of a somewhat desperate moving process, I moved my entire windows directory. When I got my new drive and had everything installed (all the updates and such) I took the DVD out of the drive and that was when I got a black screen. The lower right hand corner said the copy I had was not valid and a build number. If I kept the DVD in, Win7 pro would run pretty much as normal After trying to fix it myself,(Change this setting, check that file, research on the net) I did what most of you did. First I called Microsoft. Three transfers later they told me to call the place I bought it from. I called them and they did the 'take over your PC thing' and they could not find a problem. (Guess who they told me to call?) I called Microsoft again and after telling them my story again, they told me I had win7 installed incorrectly and to start over. After which, I was to call them back and they would do their validation thing. Somewhere in there they floated the possibility of having to pay $99 to get a new number or something. I should also note I looked around the net and saw all the OEM, only able to be installed 'X' amount of times, (that one REALLY did not sound right to me) and the brute force number stealing thing. I called Microsoft again. I'm a nice guy and I don't like to get upset because the people on the phone they are just trying to get by like the rest of us. Not their fault if I or Microsoft mess up something and my computer does not work, right? I called Microsoft again and this time I had me some righteous anger and after three more transfers I got a guy and I let him have it with one and a half barrels. Told you I was a nice guy. Fact that he was hard for me to understand did not help either. After some back and forth he figured out that the problem I was having was the system was reading the wrong windows folder. With all the hectic work I was doing moving files and trying to figure out what was wrong before I came to the conclusion that it was the hard drive and not the software. When I changed it to the right drive, it worked like it should. I wish I knew who the guy who helped me was so I could say something good about him. I almost feel bad about how I spoke to him. The I think that if I had gotten upset a week and half earlier, the problem may have been solved then. If it's a laptop then there shouldn't really be an issue. Most laptops are pre-assembled by mainstream manufacturers and so really shouldn't be using pirate keys. If it was a desktop then I could understand as sometimes dodgy computer shops will use pirate copies of Windows on their desktops to undercut computer shops using genuine copies - which really does annoy me 'cos I always install genuine and I've got to compete against these cowboys. There are a few things to check as well. You've never lent this laptop to anyone that may have taken it away and copied the number from the bottom have you? If it's used in the office it could be that an employee has maybe had the laptop out of the office, or even just lifted it up and made a note of the Windows 7 key so they can use it on their own home PC and thus invalidated both your copy and his. Or in some cases if you send your laptop in for repair to a non-reputable IT firm they may take note of the key and start using it on other people's computers, or as I found out in one place someone had a new computer built for them and the IT company that built their new computer just used the same key off their old computer and told them they'd be fine as they're licensed to run it on as many computers as they want, it wasn't until they started having a few issues with their old computer that I came in, and discovered that he'd been using one licence on two machines. Your first check is to make sure that you are not using that code on any other computer anywhere in the office. If you are then your best bet is to call up Microsoft and buy a second genuine licence so both computers have genuine licences. If your not accidentally using it on two computers then your next port of call is to call up Microsoft and see if there is anyway they can rectify the situation, explain to them that it is on a laptop and tell them the make, and model number of the laptop and see if they are willing to do anything about it. I'm quite sure if some major laptop brand name is using pirate copies of Windows then they would love to hear from you. Many years ago in the days of Windows 95 and 98 there was a number of well known PC firms that were done by Microsoft for replicating installation codes, but you'd have thought they'd have learned their lesson by now. If you get nowhere with Microsoft (other than them insisting you need to re-purchase Windows), then contact the manufacturer, or the store where you bought the laptop from. Explain to them what has happened and that they made be breaking trading standards rules by supplying illegal software with the laptop. If you threaten them with legal action if they don't rectify it then they most probably will buckle and offer to sort the problem out, as a court case against a major computer manufacturer for supplying illegal software could be a lot more damaging to their image than just rectifying it by giving you a genuine licence. If finally you don't get anywhere then your only option is then to go and re-purchase Windows 7. To do this I'd recommend going for an OEM version and buying some small piece of cheap hardware with it - a mouse or something - you don't need to use the hardware it's just part of Microsoft's T&C's. OEM versions are normally about half the price of the commercial package, they're like a 'no-frills' version usually in a plain box with just the disc and the code inside (in a position that the code cannot be seen from the outside) and are for system builders (hence the reason you need to purchase a piece of hardware to buy it). I have a near-3-year-old Dell 435mt that came with XP (OEM), went to Vista (disc), then Windows 7 Ultimate (upgrade card requiring download). Never had a problem with the 'piracy' issue. However, since installing IE10 (Win7 version) about a month ago, about 1 out of 5 times, I get the 'you have pirated software' notice when I boot up. I got it maybe twice in Windows 7 prior, and each time I ran MS's verification, it said my copy was NOT pirated. So I did nothing but close the notice. With this new series of notices, I did the same thing, and it says my copy is NOT pirated, yet I still get it occasionally. I have and will continue to ignore it unless it does something. Microsoft will not call me (or you) about it. If your computer continues to work, my experience says to simply close the notice and ignore it. I believe it's a glitch. When I close IE10, I get a notice that IE is not working properly, which quickly becomes 'do you want to close the program'. I comes every time I close a window (even with other tabs open), and a year ago when I had the same problem, MS told me to uninstall IE 9 and reinstall it: it will ask if you wish to retain your settings and data, and I said yes. Took about 25 minutes, but worked. Haven't yet tried it with IE10, but these continuing issues (piracy, closing IE) indicate to me that MS is not as sharp as it used to be, spending their time on pushing Windows 8 (which has been a problem on my HP dv6t laptop even though MS and HP said I could upgrade to Win8 with existing hardware/software). So now I expect issues to pop up periodically, and do what I can. So far, nothing has totally stopped, sent me a nasty letter, etc. And yes, I do still get the calls from India that my computer has an issue and they need to take it over. I just hang up now (sadly with and unaccustomed curse word if I'm in the middle of something important). Hope this might help a little. Contact Microsoft if necessary. If you have used your Windows XP product key on a different computer or installed new hardware, you may be prompted to contact Microsoft by phone. This is a step required by Microsoft to prevent piracy. As long as you are not violating your license, you should have no problem getting the support rep to activate your account. • You will be asked by the support rep to provide the 'installation ID', which can be found on the activation wizard screen. • After providing the installation ID, Microsoft will verify and will provide you with the code you need to enter to activate Windows.
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