The MS Obstacle Course (latest WGA)

[Seeker47]

I am tasked with setting up a new laptop for older relatives, and I'm happy to help them out with this. It's a laptop with 64-bit W7 Pro already installed, ordered directly from Lenovo, so there is no question about the Windows on it being genuine. One of the things I want to put on it is XP Mode (a.k.a. Virtual PC, now a Microsoft product), but this is one of a number of items that requires validation in order to download it. However, the GenuineCheck utility they direct you to download first and run to "qualify" for this does not work, throwing out the error message that it is outdated, and a later version is needed. Apparently, this later version -- IF it exists, and wherever you may need to go to track it down -- is Active-X based. (Some say it wants to "phone home" regularly, and for that reason alone they are very resistant to installing it, as a matter of principle.) I was under the impression that this new WGA-checker might actually be KB971033. There is nothing to hide, so I installed this. Still NO DICE -- can't validate to be able to download the (free) XP Mode product.

The maze-like frustration and chasing one's tail is pretty well covered in this thread I found online:

http://windowssecrets.com/forums/showthread.php/149131

Some posts in the thread state that you must be using IE, which must be your default browser. The laptop's ultimate users don't like IE, and neither do I. Not willing to do that. Other posts said that validation still won't work, even after doing this.

Such a load of needless BULLSHIT ! MS is doing whatever it can to send customers packing. (Just consider the abysmal market reception to Windows 8.) This has been confirmed to me by a veteran computer consultant, who had one of the highest standings you can attain among the MS elite. In this particular case, I chalk it up to an extreme Sony-like paranoia over piracy, and a Samsung-like disdain for their customers.

Back to XP Mode | VPC. I have little doubt that there are quite a few places to obtain these items besides from Microsoft.Com. Would any of you happen to know if this -- for example -- is the exact same kit ?

http://www.softpedia.com/get/System/OS-Enhancements/Microsoft-Virtual-PC.shtml

Failing that, MS can go take a flying jump. I'll go with VMWare or Virtualbox instead, if necessary.

[jagabo]

Windows Virtual PC doesn't include an XP license -- you have to supply your own. I don't think it's as tightly integrated with the Desktop as XP Mode.

[El Heggunte]

1) go to https://www.google.com, and then

2) look for

"WindowsXPMode_en-us.exe"

and/or

"WindowsXPMode_N_en-us.exe"

I have never tried those things, though. I only know how to workaround that stupid "Validation required" annoyance.

[davexnet]

Not sure why you would have this trouble. I went to the download page in IE8 under Windows XP and
it passed the check with no further WGA downloads.

http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=3702
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=8002

I don't believe installing the activex will harm your PC.

[El Heggunte]

^ Well, it's not a matter of harming or not harming a PC, it's a matter of...

OFTEN THE DAMN THING JUST DOESN'T WORK.

[Seeker47]

Not sure why you would have this trouble. I went to the download page in IE8 under Windows XP and
it passed the check with no further WGA downloads.

http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=3702
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=8002

Thanks to the various responders for their comments. I don't know what the problem is either, but if you read the thread I linked, obviously a number of others have run into this also.

I have borrowed an older laptop with XP + IE-8 (don't know if it's the default browser on it, but it likely is), and right now I seem to be downloading these files. (Judging by the size, they appear to be stub installers, only ?) I will then xfer them to the new W7 laptop for the installation, and hopefully take it from there.

What is the difference between the XPMode_en and the XPMode_N_en ?

If this works out, I may try to put this on an x86 Win-7 as well, provided the RAM requirement is not exceeded.

@ El Heggunte,
If I may ask, what is your workaround for this Validation rigamarole ?

[davexnet]

What is the difference between the XPMode_en and the XPMode_N_en ?

Seeker47,
see this:
http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/windows/en-US/4f22bcb5-0cc5-4453-a454-6d9dc...owsxpmodenenus

[jagabo]

_N_ has no Media Player.

[El Heggunte]

@ El Heggunte,
If I may ask, what is your workaround for this Validation rigamarole ?

The "Download details" pages always show the filenames of the EXEs.

Select, copy, paste onto Google, press ENTER.

[davexnet]

I did a bit of further reading, one dude got his WGA to work by using the 32 bit IE browser.

I see Seeker47 is using 64 bit Windows 7, perhaps he could try this and let us know!

[Joe The Dude]

Is it safe to assume that the laptop manufacturer does not provide Drivers for XP, so you can simply set up a dual-boot environment, and/or Classic Shell for Win 7 isn't able to do what you need the XP Virtual thing for?

[Seeker47]

Is it safe to assume that the laptop manufacturer does not provide Drivers for XP, so you can simply set up a dual-boot environment, and/or Classic Shell for Win 7 isn't able to do what you need the XP Virtual thing for?

Re Dual-Boot: based on my experience to date trying this with W7 -- which is limited to attempts on two computers -- I've concluded that W7 won't play nice with earlier versions of Windows, or possibly another OS of any sort, period. Both experiments came to grief, with only one OS surviving, and not 100 % intact at that. I have set up dual-boot environments that worked, involving pre-Vista editions of Windows, a few times in the past. So, I don't think that path is going to be productive. (In my most recent attempt, I tried out Acronis Selector. Something "ate" it, and it just vanished, along with bootability of the other OS, which is also probably still resident on the HDD.) Maybe there are some uber-Geek maneuvers for overcoming this, but I just don't have the time to grapple with such problems right now.

I'm hoping the XP-Mode VM can be a means for installing some older apps that simply won't install into Win-7, which the users of this laptop really don't want to give up.