Fuck Microsoft - a new thread

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December 1st, 2006, 07:52 PM
Gromgor

Fuck Microsoft - a new thread

Ok. So. When my comp was built an illegal copy of Windows XP Pro was put on it. Due to me not having the registration code for the copy I was told that it's illegal ($10,000 fine) for any computer repair places to even check it out. It was suggested that I purchase a copy of Windows and then they would fix it.

I got smart and bought Windows 98. A LOT cheaper and will allow me to run virtually everything I need to run. I can upgrade later but I don't have the finances to get XP.

My problem is that everytime I try to do anything all I get is a notice window saying there's a DLL error. I can't format my HD. I can't get the disc to read. I can't do anything.

Is there a way to boot to DOS? Is there a way I can do anything without having to spend $75 for a tech to do it for me?
December 1st, 2006, 08:02 PM
Darion

You know, I'm all for software piracy and against anti-piracy measures, but that's still pretty goddamn funny.
December 1st, 2006, 08:05 PM
Gromgor

Were I not the one it was happening to I would fully agree. Since it's me though =(

Microsoft sucks. Big bunch of meanies.
December 1st, 2006, 11:40 PM
Zyth

Yeah, there's a way, but hahahaha that will teach you to pirate the most fundamental piece of software on your entire computer! You were asking for trouble :-p
December 2nd, 2006, 02:11 AM
Savaric

Show'em the way Zyth.
December 2nd, 2006, 09:20 PM
Gromgor

Well. Thanks for the help with this. It's much appreciated. =)

And for the record I didn't install the pirated windows. The guy who built my system did. I'm just the one stuck with the fucked system.
December 3rd, 2006, 01:14 AM
Rosuav

Re: Fuck Microsoft - a new thread

Quote:

Originally posted by Gromgor
Ok. So. When my comp was built an illegal copy of Windows XP Pro was put on it. Due to me not having the registration code for the copy I was told that it's illegal ($10,000 fine) for any computer repair places to even check it out. It was suggested that I purchase a copy of Windows and then they would fix it.

Okay. First off, this is a load of rubbish. There's no $10K fine for checking it out. It's not the repairer's business whether your software's licenced or not! But I gather you're now satisfied with W98 so the issue's gone.

Quote:

I got smart and bought Windows 98. A LOT cheaper and will allow me to run virtually everything I need to run. I can upgrade later but I don't have the finances to get XP.

What kind of computer have you? I could probably sell you a secondhand OEM XP licence for way less than retail price. (No promises though - we might not have any available.)

Quote:

My problem is that everytime I try to do anything all I get is a notice window saying there's a DLL error. I can't format my HD. I can't get the disc to read. I can't do anything.

Is there a way to boot to DOS? Is there a way I can do anything without having to spend $75 for a tech to do it for me?

Boot the computer, and just before the graphical Windows logo comes up, hit F8 a whole lot of times. You should get a menu that lets you choose Safe mode, and a few others including Command Line Only. But if you want to format the hard disk, your best bet is to boot a floppy/CD and do it from there - your Windows install disc should let you format before installing.
December 3rd, 2006, 02:08 AM
kestra

curious how I was able to buy pirated Office XP on Kaosan Road in Bangkok, and never had any troubles with mine.
December 3rd, 2006, 09:02 AM
Rosuav

Did you get the licence key? (If so, it's probably a duplicate of a key that someone else uses.) Without a key, you can't reinstall - but you can most certainly continue to USE the piece of rubbish.

(Of course, you don't have to. But that's different.)
December 4th, 2006, 08:50 AM
anthson

My Windows XP is legit, but now every time I boot up it says it's not and asks me to "get genuine." I have the damn sticker on the back of my machine, but Microsoft doesn't really care. I'm told I can fix this with a series of phone calls, but who wants to spend time on the phone with Microsoft? I just keep using it as is, and other than the pop-up screen when I boot, I don't have any troubles.
December 4th, 2006, 02:45 PM
Leshrak

Dude, why would you buy win98?

It's 10 years old and garbage.

Anthson: Yes, you can have it fixed pretty easily. If you don't, they won't let you download any new security updates/patches, so not really too big of a deal.
December 4th, 2006, 02:52 PM
Leshrak

Windows XP Pro Media Center OEM - $123.87

Much better than Win98. If you really want to troubleshoot it instead of going back to wherever you bought Windows 98 and punching them in the face for selling you outdated software, follow Rosuav's advice. :)

Most places won't even help you troubleshoot it anymore (including Microsoft, even if you pay them).
December 4th, 2006, 03:47 PM
Darion

Somewhat off topic - why is the title of the thread "Fuck Microsoft" when the main problem seems to be the end user having a pirated version of Windows?
December 4th, 2006, 03:53 PM
Leshrak

Re: Fuck Microsoft - a new thread

Quote:

Originally posted by Gromgor
Due to me not having the registration code for the copy I was told that it's illegal ($10,000 fine) for any computer repair places to even check it out.

I'm guessing this is why? Dunno.
December 4th, 2006, 04:51 PM
Gromgor

Re: Re: Fuck Microsoft - a new thread

Quote:

Originally posted by Rosuav
Boot the computer, and just before the graphical Windows logo comes up, hit F8 a whole lot of times. You should get a menu that lets you choose Safe mode, and a few others including Command Line Only. But if you want to format the hard disk, your best bet is to boot a floppy/CD and do it from there - your Windows install disc should let you format before installing.

This doesn't work. I can reboot with F8 and it brings up the options to reboot in safe mode. The problem is that it never boots to safe mode. It goes to a notice saying something (I'm not at my comp right now, obviously, so I can't quote it) along the lines of:

"DLL User Interface is fubar. Contact your system administrator or reset user interface"

I haven't been home for a couple of days. When I go there I will try to write down exactly what it says. The point though is that I can't do ANYTHING at all. I can't boot to safe mode. I can't boot into anything whatsoever.

As for why I went for WIN98: WIN98 = $40 Anything else was $100+. I don't really need anything better than that right at this time. I've been told however that I could use WIN98 and when I could afford it I could use the WIN XP Home "upgrade" and it would update 98 as well. If so then I still come out cheaper than if I bought a standard WIN XP Home edition from anywhere even having to purchase the two.

But I can't get into anything that lets me format my HD. I can't get to anything other than that stupid ass DLL error message.

As for the $10,000 fine...I have no idea if it's true or not. It's what I was told by the guy at the comp repair place when I was inquiring as to how much it would cost to get this problem fixed.

I'm hoping you guys can help me out. If not I guess I just cough up some money and feel sad on the inside.
December 4th, 2006, 04:59 PM
anthson

Quote:

Originally posted by Leshrak
Dude, why would you buy win98? It's 10 years old and garbage.

If memory serves me right, Windows 98 was released in ... 1998? I can't remember for certain, but I doubt it was released in 1996 or early 1997.
December 4th, 2006, 05:04 PM
Gromgor

Quote:

Originally posted by anthson
If memory serves me right, Windows 98 was released in ... 1998? I can't remember for certain, but I doubt it was released in 1996 or early 1997.

Who really cares? It's old......but it works and my piece of shit doesn't!
December 4th, 2006, 05:08 PM
Darion

Re: Re: Fuck Microsoft - a new thread

Quote:

I'm guessing this is why? Dunno.

Somehow I doubt that Microsoft installed a pirated version of Windows on Gromgor's computer.
December 4th, 2006, 09:13 PM
Rosuav

Re: Re: Re: Fuck Microsoft - a new thread

Quote:

Originally posted by Gromgor
This doesn't work. I can reboot with F8 and it brings up the options to reboot in safe mode. The problem is that it never boots to safe mode. ........ The point though is that I can't do ANYTHING at all. I can't boot to safe mode. I can't boot into anything whatsoever.

Try turning on Step-By-Step Confirmation. Answer 'No' to a whole lot of things, especially to "win" (which, same as it did in old 16-bit Windows, starts the graphical interface), and it should get you to a command line. (Reboot to get back to Windows.)

Quote:

But I can't get into anything that lets me format my HD. I can't get to anything other than that stupid ass DLL error message.

Do you have a Windows install disc? That should work completely independantly of your current messed-up system. It'd let you format, install, and completely start fresh.

Quote:

As for the $10,000 fine...I have no idea if it's true or not. It's what I was told by the guy at the comp repair place when I was inquiring as to how much it would cost to get this problem fixed.

Yeah, I reckon it's bogus. That's not to say that the repair guy was lying to you though - it's entirely possible he got laid into for aiding and abetting piracy, and got told a big fabrication about fines. It's also possible that the person who told HIM was himself merely passing on a rumour. Microsoft would be unlikely to sue successfully for this.
December 4th, 2006, 10:11 PM
Carrah

Re: Re: Re: Fuck Microsoft - a new thread

Quote:

Originally posted by Darion
Somehow I doubt that Microsoft installed a pirated version of Windows on Gromgor's computer.

Darion is so awesome. :biglove
December 5th, 2006, 01:24 AM
Leshrak

Quote:

Originally posted by anthson
If memory serves me right, Windows 98 was released in ... 1998? I can't remember for certain, but I doubt it was released in 1996 or early 1997.

Don't be a jackass.

Quote:

Originally posted by Rosuav
Do you have a Windows install disc? That should work completely independantly of your current messed-up system. It'd let you format, install, and completely start fresh.

Pop the CD in, reboot the computer, it *should* boot into the Windows installation program. You may, on some older or re-configured PCs, need to go into the system BIOS and edit your startup sequence to boot the CD-ROM first.
December 6th, 2006, 06:31 AM
Savaric

I personally wouldn't mess with BIOS, if you wanna fix it right and for sure, get a legit version of xp and save yourself the hassle. And as far as the fine goes, a lot of those computer geeks are idiots.
December 6th, 2006, 07:06 PM
Rosuav

This isn't fiddling with the BIOS. But if your BIOS is set to try to boot hard disk before it tries the CD, it won't boot the CD. It's usually fairly easy to set the boot order, doesn't require much fiddling. Actually, these days you can't kill things much by randomly fiddling in Setup - setting a password is probably the worst thing you can do. (There was a time when you could do much worse. But not any more.)
December 8th, 2006, 09:25 AM
Leshrak

Quote:

Originally posted by Rosuav
Actually, these days you can't kill things much by randomly fiddling in Setup - setting a password is probably the worst thing you can do. (There was a time when you could do much worse. But not any more.)

Yeah, I would venture to say that most, if not all, new motherboards are pretty failsafe (e.g. they make you select 3-4 different options before you could change anything that would potentially be damaging), and also have a "Default Settings" option you can select to... well.. go to the default settings.

Anyway, like he said, all it would be doing is changing the boot order, which should be clearly labeled.
December 8th, 2006, 09:28 AM
Leshrak

Quote:

Originally posted by Savaric
if you wanna fix it right and for sure, get a legit version of xp and save yourself the hassle.

This would bring us back to the initial problem that he's having- he can't run anything within Windows due to his getting .dll errors.

If he's not able to boot into a Win98 installation CD, he won't be able to boot into a WinXP installation CD.
December 8th, 2006, 07:27 PM
Rosuav

Quote:

Originally posted by Savaric
get a legit version of xp and save yourself the hassle.

He has one. The sticker with the 25-character code is what makes it a legit copy of XP. If you don't have an install CD, it's perfectly OK to borrow one from someone else, or get a copy made.

Quote:

Originally posted by Leshrak
... motherboards ... have a "Default Settings" option you can select to... well.. go to the default settings.

Well, some do. Some, alas, don't. Or - they do _have_ a way to reset to defaults, but they don't tell you about it. Every brand of computer has its own way to reset to defaults - and some have their own uniquenesses, too. Dells reset the date and time when you pick defaults. *shrug*

Quote:

Originally posted by Leshrak
This would bring us back to the initial problem that he's having- he can't run anything within Windows due to his getting .dll errors.

If he's not able to boot into a Win98 installation CD, he won't be able to boot into a WinXP installation CD.

Booting CDs is nothing to do with Windows errors. Get the CD booted and all will be wiped clean.
December 10th, 2006, 10:26 PM
Grantref

Quote:

He has one. The sticker with the 25-character code is what makes it a legit copy of XP. If you don't have an install CD, it's perfectly OK to borrow one from someone else, or get a copy made.

I thought Gromgor's problem is that he didn't get a CoA with his PC?

Problem is that to reinstall he'd have to have a CoA.

Try this, Gromgor: OEM XP Home: $89 at Newegg.com

Would be cheaper than buying 98 now and then the upgrade retail version of XP. The only thing that the OEM version doesn't get you is that 1) you're technically not allowed to transfer it between PCs (although in practice you can) and 2) if you call MS for tech support you have to pay (retail includes free tech support).
December 11th, 2006, 07:27 AM
Rosuav

Quote:

Originally posted by Grantref
I thought Gromgor's problem is that he didn't get a CoA with his PC?

My bad. I got confused between his problem and Anthson's.

I actually have a few OEM XP-Pro licences sitting around not being used. They're perfectly legit and genuine, came with some computers that either aren't now being used, or aren't using Windows, so the licence stickers are up for grabs. You can have the product key for free, transmitted via TCP/IP, or you can have the sticker itself for postage and packaging cost. If you need a CD as well I can probably snag one from work :) Ditto cost.
December 12th, 2006, 06:32 PM
Gromgor

Tried changing the sequence to boot the CD-ROM first. It's still not working. I'm beginning to think the psychiatrist I'm going to need is more than the cost to have a tech look at it.

When I changed the boot sequence I set it so the CD-Rom boots first, then the floppy drive then the hard drive. During the reboot it showed that the comp was trying to boot the CD-ROM. It continued to run through the start up process and eventually I got the .dll error message. It never tried to read the disk.

Are there any other settings I might need to change? I don't know if it matters but I'm running a PCIE so there might be default settings that have to be altered.
December 12th, 2006, 08:18 PM
Rosuav

Was the CD in your drive bootable? Try booting that CD in another computer - if it's scratched or damaged, it mightn't boot. Also, have you used the CD drive recently? Does it definitely work?
December 13th, 2006, 05:55 PM
Gromgor

As of the last day of my using that computer the CD-ROM worked. The disc itself has no scratches, fingerprints or anything of that nature on it.
December 13th, 2006, 06:20 PM
Darion

I still read this thread and laugh.
December 13th, 2006, 06:30 PM
Rosuav

I'd be testing the CD elsewhere, in case it's damaged or not working.
December 13th, 2006, 07:14 PM
Leshrak

I would double check the BIOS and make sure that it saved your settings. With my old BIOS you actually had to tell it to save in two separate screens (once on the actual boot order screen and then again in the root menu before exiting) before it would save the settings.
December 14th, 2006, 04:33 PM
Loigan

Ed: Post removed due to irrelevant personal attack.
December 14th, 2006, 04:34 PM
Loigan

Quote:

Originally posted by Gromgor
As of the last day of my using that computer the CD-ROM worked. The disc itself has no scratches, fingerprints or anything of that nature on it.

It's funny you should say that...my XP CD wont boot either...