posted
Activation code should be in the box it came in; usually on the back of the manual or on the installation disc itself.
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quote:Originally posted by Cherry In Hove: Install linux?
Man, that's a fucking brilliant idea!
Hang on, let me think of a couple of the main reasons I have a PC:
Being creative with Adobe Creative Suite.
Playing decent computer games.
Hmm, looks like Linux is out then...
quote:Originally posted by Thorn Davis: Activation code should be in the box it came in; usually on the back of the manual or on the installation disc itself.
posted
I keep misreading CiH's name as Cherry in Love. Like the title of a romantic comedy or something.
Closer to topic for this thread, wouldn't one way around the Vista problem be to reinstall the OS from the same presumably questionable source media used to install it the first time? A royal pain, sure, but at least you'd have the chance to install and 'activate' the OS using the same steps that worked the first time. And then kill all automatic updates to make sure the Vistanazis don't find you again.
or am I missing something obvious ...again?
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posted
Misc, did you use the bios emulation hack or some other way?
If some other way, let me know and I'll send you the bios emulation. If bios emulation, /me turns off auto-updates.
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quote:Originally posted by sabian: Misc, did you use the bios emulation hack or some other way?
Yes, I did use the bios emulation hack.
There's been talk on various forums about avoiding the update to SP1 in order to circumvent the Service Pack's planned anti-piracy measures.
After doing some more research, I've found out that this is Microsoft's response - a sneaky pre-SP1 update that checks for two of the most common activation workarounds (OEM BIOS and Grace Timer). It doesn't actually fuck anything up yet, just informs you of the 'problem'. However, I'm pretty sure it's now possible for Microsoft to fuck up my install at some point in the future.
quote:If you do not repair Windows, Windows might disable the software...
I like the use of the word 'might'. Makes MS come across like some kind of mafia figure.
quote:Hey, if you don't pay us, we might break your legs. Capisce?
quote:Originally posted by MiscellaneousFiles: After doing some more research, I've found out that this is Microsoft's response - a sneaky pre-SP1 update that checks for two of the most common activation workarounds (OEM BIOS and Grace Timer).
They tried a few months back with the bios crack and it bollocked up tens of thousands of legit machines because it couldn't tell the difference between the emulated one and a real bios license key so they hurriedly back tracked and removed the update.
quote:Originally posted by MiscellaneousFiles: It doesn't actually fuck anything up yet, just informs you of the 'problem'. However, I'm pretty sure it's now possible for Microsoft to fuck up my install at some point in the future.
XP does this... You get a nag screen and a shitty blue star but XP still works as normal. I have heard tell though that they won't be so kind with Vista. Supposedly, you'll get a black screen with only two options - "Shut down" and "Activate".
/me turns automatic updates off.
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quote:Originally posted by MiscellaneousFiles: Makes MS come across like some kind of mafia figure.
I was reading elsewhere that because it says 'Windows' it's almost like MS are saying 'We want you to pirate our software, but Windows man, it will do what it likes'
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Did a System Restore last night. Afterwards, the Update History still listed the troublesome update, plus the two others I'd installed yesterday. However, after a reboot, Windows update offered me all three updates again... so I just downloaded the two I wanted and "hid" the other bugger.
I mean, it can't be that easy, can it? Surely you can't just use Windows' own tools against its anti-piracy measures...
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posted
if it helps anybody out, I actually paid for my copy of vista ultimate oem, so this hasn't caused me any problems. email me with any questions.
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posted
I actually have access to about 30 Vista Biz licenses... Gotta love business clients and buying their own bulk licenses...
I just don't wanna downgrade to Biz!
*petulant frowny face*
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posted
with Ultimate, you get all the benefits of the Windows Ulimate extras. So far, this include
animated desktops
I'm sure you'll agree, that's definitely worth it. Up until now, I've had to spend two to three hours a day staring at my non-animated desktop. Thank goodness Microsoft have come to my rescue.
quote:Originally posted by New Way Of Decay: Yah, cos I'd love to be hooked up with business Vista, you know, depending.
Me too...
Me three!
I've got my components listed and I'm a ready to start buying to replace my melted PC. In new news, I have a copy of the Hacintosh leopard at home, so I'm going to look into triple-booting my machine. Vista for films, XP with Cubase SX3 and Hacintosh with Logic. Oh, frickin, yeah.
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Top tip - install XP first, then install Vista as Vista doesn't use NTloader so if you put XP on afterwards it stops Vista from working. Good old MS, eh?
ETA - as Misc suggests, an even topper tip is not to bother with Vista at all unless you have some requirement for its advanced (stupid/pointless) features, or if you're hardcore into gayming and want to use DX10. And even then it's only worth it if you're throwing at least the better part of a grand into your system to get parts which actually take advantage of Vista. Otherwise XP Home/Pro/MCE or whatever will be fine and actually perform better for pretty much anything you want to use it for
posted
There's some good stuff in Vista that I've really got used to. The instant search boxes in the Start Menu and explorer Windows, for example, are a godsend. Sometimes it's frustrating to be stuck with XP at work, although I have installed the clean black "zune" theme, which at least makes the desktop look a little less horrible than XP vanilla. Why Microsoft took so long to develop a black skin, I have no idea.
On the other hand, I can confirm that Vista is slower than XP, and things like UAC can be annoying until you disable them. Also, the way the new audio system works means that your old soundcard won't be able to use hardware acceleration, which is pretty lame. Luckily I've got a separate (XP) system for Cubase.
What has Vista got to do with films though? I didn't understand that bit.
quote:Originally posted by MiscellaneousFiles: On the other hand, I can confirm that Vista is slower than XP
I disagree... My old laptop is an AMD 2800 with 1.5gb of ram. Vista runs, both visibly and benchmark confirmed, 30% faster than XPpro.
Similarly, my new laptop won't run XP at all, nor does any of the new machines I just put into an someone's house because the components are Vista only and no XP driver support.
Which poses it's own problems for business environment because Vista does not play nicely with MS Server tech (2000/2003SBS), so much so it rarely will recognise a network at all. The last office install I did, I had to speak to Dell and pay a £50 premium per machine for the machine to be built using XP ready components.
So, fact fans... If you are a home user, Vista = teh shit... If your a business user OR you have to connect to a MS server, XP all the way.
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posted
Well my Core2Duo E6420 @ 3200 MHz with 2GB RAM takes about five minutes to boot. It's okay once it gets going, but that's rather a long wait, right?
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