Vista Restrictions [Archive] - TBCS Community Forums

DaveW

10-21-2006, 07:55 AM

No offence, but for gamers, you havn't got a damn choice.

No matter what people say, Macs and Linux aren't real alternatives for Windows in terms of games, which most 'power users' mentioned in the article built their 'power PC's' for.

I think i'll stick with XP. I can see a lot of people doing the same...

-Dave

gaz_the_chav

10-21-2006, 08:40 AM

I agree with that I mean I have several computers which I upgrade regularly and I don't want to having to buy a new lisence everytime I put a new Hard-Drive into my computer.

-gaz

Silenced_Coyote

10-21-2006, 04:35 PM

I think I need to post a link to another article that gives more clarification. From this article from TG Daily, Vista is the same as XP on this matter. So if it is the same as XP (which we didn't have licensing problems with), then there should be no problems with Vista.

Here is the article. (http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=4548)

simon275

10-21-2006, 10:31 PM

I want DX10 but I dont want to upgrade to Vista because if I do I want the version that has no restrictions and that version of Vista is $700 Aus here as much as a cheap computer. Not cool. Let's hope somehow someone gets DX10 going on XP they have manged to get DX9 working on Linux so they must be able to get DX10 going.

Ironcat

10-22-2006, 09:01 PM

I am sticking with my 2000 until I see a reason to switch.

GT40_GearHead

10-23-2006, 05:00 AM

I am sticking with my 2000 until I see a reason to switch
i totaly agree, i have XP professional sp2 on my crock, plus NOD32, and i have no problems, as for Dx10..... i have an nVidia FX5200, a aint gone spend 500$ on a video card...
looking at how you guys(and lots of other people) reacted to the new OS, i think it is safe to say this has a good chance to turn in a failure

SgtM

10-23-2006, 09:52 AM

A friend of mine read that IBM isn't switching to Vista. They're going to linux. I haven't read that anywhere though.

Airbozo

10-23-2006, 11:27 AM

Well as far as most of my customers are concerned XPsp2 is what they will be running until it is impossible to do so. Then again most of my customers use linux anyway and all of their xp systems are in a secure firewalled location, so the vista security features/limitations are not applicable to them anyway. Vista is being viewed in my userbase as a non-useable option due to cost of upgrading (time and materials), and due to past experiences with upgrades from microsoft being a major headache and time waster.

onelegout

10-23-2006, 04:02 PM

There was a restriction like this on xp. You could get round it by phoning them up and answering their questions meant to ensure that people wernt using the same copy on more than the allowed amount of computers....
The questions were these:

Is this an illegal copy of XP?
no.

Is this copy installed on more than one computer?
no.

Ok, here is your activation code sir...

DaveW

10-23-2006, 04:28 PM

I only ever got asked question 2. Sometimes, they ask me to describe the computer. I tell them it's a Laptop every time, regardless of what i'm doing with the code.

-Dave

klingelton

10-23-2006, 06:59 PM

Airbozo

10-23-2006, 07:09 PM

i've neverhad to ring up microsoft for an activation code.

I for one will probably get vista when it's release, price depending of course.

There is talk of ceasing support for xp in 2008 (along with 2000 i suppose) a mere 6 months after they release service pack 3 (which has been delayed until mid 2007) basically, we're stuffed.

I have had a couple of custy's mention this and one big house in particular has mentioned that several large corporations are going to try and push support for XP into 2010 or 11 due to some legal issue that concerns security holes in vista and hardware requirements. Expect to see news on this by years end. Basically they will argue that vista is still beta and until it is fully patched and running secure, they cannot depricate the older OS (or even plan to do so). I think it is a ploy to force M$ to fix vista before it gets released. It seems to work ok for most home users, but without exception all of our customers that have been interested in vista for business, dropped plans to upgrade until they are forced to.

I personally have not used it since I am probably not upgrading until forced to do so also... I rarely try any of M$'s beta software due to the frustration level it has caused in the past. Hell I considered XP beta until SP2. Talk with most people who do OS programming and they will say almost the same thing. Hehe M$ started the practice of selling beta software with win3.0 and continue to this day. What a fiasco!

klingelton

10-25-2006, 05:25 PM

i've seen in another post on this forum that ati seem to be having trouble with drivers relating to vista. guess i'll wait a bit longer. just don't fancy installing any naughty software on my new computer, i'd prefer it if it was all legit (for once)

Airbozo

10-25-2006, 05:36 PM

Ati has always had driver issues. That is one of the major differences between the 2 companies. Ati usually has the better hardware but the drivers are usually not optimised or as functional as they could be. Nvidia on the otherhand has the lesser of the hardware, but is able to make up for it by writing better drivers that enhance the performance and stability of their cards. (This is the reason most linux boxes have nvidia cards. The driver works.)

Speaking of ati:
http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=4689

Similar issue that sgi had with nvidia years ago and sued them and won.

jdbnsn

10-25-2006, 07:28 PM

Couldn't agree more with Airbozo, I've been an ATI user for years and the drivers are always seemingly "almost there". As for the codes on Vista, hopefully it is like the dial-in as mentioned before. I have had to dial in for re-activation many times, they informed me that for Win XP home you can re-activate 20 times before dial in is necessary, but for Windows Media Center 2005 you can only activate twice. Maybe the same will go for Vista, surely MS would see the problem with limiting the OS to 2 uses exclusively.

CanaBalistic

10-25-2006, 09:18 PM

That 20 use limit cant be accurate. My mom bought winxp as soon as it came out. The same copy has been installed in every computer we've owned and a bunch that we didnt. Back when viruses were a real threat and before i knew any better, we would have to format the computer almost on a monthly basis. I cant say for sure how many time the same activation key has been used but i can guarantee its been more than 30 times. I just tell them i had a problem with my old computer and had to get a new one.

There are also key generators. If you have another computer, you just run the program, enter in the code you'd normally give MS and the program writes you up an activation key. I've never used this method but im sure it works because key generators work.

jdbnsn

10-26-2006, 12:08 AM

I'm sure you are right and it's not an absolute, perhaps it was added to later versions or something. I am only repeating what the MS operator told me when I discovered I could no longer activate mine. I don't really understand how they have it all set up, but I can attest to that fact that at somepoint, my versions did have a limit, but were still viable as long as I phoned MS to re-activate.

a.Bird

10-26-2006, 03:55 AM

My idea is that M$ is going to try to use Vista as nothing more than a money making tool. One way of emphasizing this is to somehow phase out their older OS's (discontinued support for XP?). With this in order, they can start working angles like for instance, the maximum of 2 re-activations before the purchase of another disc, proprietary hardware, DX10, all of these things.

If they were really in this for the advancement of technology and computer programming (not to mention standardization), wouldn't I be able to use my Thrustmaster joystick from like 10 years ago that worked perfectly fine until XP came out and suddenly driver support is nearly imaginary?

klingelton

10-26-2006, 05:50 AM

can they do that, would some consumer watchdog not step in and insist that microsoft not be so annoying. picture if you will, a quiet day, a spyware infestation and a computer with vista running on it. you would probably need to reinstall if the infestation was bad (as is the case with most user pc's around at the moment, where the vast majority of people have no idea what they're doing and click ok to every dialogue box that pops up on i.e.) so there's one install gone. just after the installation, a bad virus sweeps in while your antivirus is off guard (let's face it, vista won't be that secure in a stand alone sense) there's a second reinstall. so you've used both your installs in 3 hours. what now. you've got a pretty looking brick sat on your desk.

IMO M$ can't do this to us because i always thought a licence was based on a time constraint rather than a maximum number of uses. I'm not paying to use my own computer. if that's gonna be the case, M$ can shove it up their corporate japs eyes.

This is a consumer product that people will be paying for, not some shareware program from download.com

klingelton

10-26-2006, 05:54 AM

hmmmmm, just had a discussion here at work. what do you think microsoft would have to say about ghosting your copy of vista (if it's possible!)

GT40_GearHead

10-26-2006, 06:10 AM

i dont think they say very much, after all you are just backing up you data...
but you never know what "brave" ideas they get
:dead:

klingelton

10-26-2006, 09:12 AM

i suppose we'l lnever know what's happening until it actually gets release, whether it be in january or august next year!!

Redundant

10-26-2006, 05:18 PM

I just read that "Vista license transfers [are] not as restrictive as initially reported"

Bit-Tech Excerpt:
A Microsoft spokesman from the Licensing Dept told bit-tech that this would not be the case. He told us that Windows Vista will not require a system re-activation unless the hard drive and one other component is changed. This means that enthusiasts will be able to swap CPUs, memory and graphics cards out without any worry about having to re-activate with MS, either on the internet or by phone.

Should you change the hard drive and another piece of hardware - for example for a major upgrade such as a motherboard change that requires a re-installation - Microsoft will allow you to re-activate up to 10 times. You will not, however, be able to have more than one machine activated concurrently.

Here's the link to the entire article:
http://www.bit-tech.net/news/2006/10/26/Microsoft_clarifies_Vista_activation_to_bit-tech/

klingelton

10-27-2006, 05:35 AM

well that's a little better, but i still don't like the limit. jeez the amount of times i've changed mobo's in the past

GT40_GearHead

10-27-2006, 06:52 AM

last year i busted 3 mobos in 2 months, me still thinks its now right to put this kind of limits

Cannibal23

10-27-2006, 01:43 PM

in the end of things a group of software crackers will just end up breaking the activation feature im sure anyways. they did it for xp why not vista. im quite sure there will be a few shady ways arround the latest microsoft move to squeeze its customer base for every penny we got. personaly i think i will working with linux as much as possable and try only to use windows when linux cant do what i need (games) and even then i expect it to be a cracked copy.

GT40_GearHead

10-27-2006, 04:14 PM

no wonder cracked copys or becoming a problem for micro s#!+, with all this activation crap

Silenced_Coyote

11-02-2006, 10:41 PM

Microsoft has changed it. You can now install it on another pc. As long as only one pc is using the license.

http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=4802

meticoeus

11-03-2006, 06:21 AM

wow, M$ did something smart for the first time in a couple of decades...

opengswede

11-03-2006, 08:57 AM

but for Windows Media Center 2005 you can only activate twice.

what's the use of having a media center that you can only rebuild twice (or don't people use the recording feature)? Good to know, though -- I'm sticking to my mythtv.

-.erik

SgtM

11-03-2006, 11:42 AM

I can't believe my eyes! Smart move on their part.

ajmilton

11-03-2006, 11:53 AM

a.Bird

11-03-2006, 07:47 PM

yeah, microsoft said "oops, guess we annoyed a couple too many people" and reversed their "only move it once" clause, apparently.
i still won't be using vista until (and maybe not then) their "business" license drops in price. home versions ftl.
fun to learn? for the leet? maybe f*cking too ludicrous?

Honestly, I'm frightened by Vista and I don't know why. I feel like there is a very terrible snake of evil and hatred behind that colorful, tempting flower. I can't quite put my finger on it.

tybrenis

11-03-2006, 10:53 PM

Honestly, I'm frightened by Vista and I don't know why. I feel like there is a very terrible snake of evil and hatred behind that colorful, tempting flower. I can't quite put my finger on it.

You know, I know exactly what you mean. I don't know quite what it is, though...

ajmilton

11-06-2006, 01:16 PM

hah, sorry, slipped into gamerspeak there

ftl = for the lose

:P

Exley

11-06-2006, 06:34 PM

Customers may uninstall Vista and install it to another machine as many times as they wish

That is AWESOME! you bought the operating system why shouldnt you be able to re-install it when you get a new PC (or after you tosted your bios :lick: ). This is a very smart move for microsoft, and i now plan on buying vista.

GT40_GearHead

11-06-2006, 06:37 PM

Exley, dont belive it 'till you see it with your own two eyes,
i for one tend to not trust Microsoft that much

Exley

11-06-2006, 06:43 PM

Exley, dont belive it 'till you see it with your own two eyes,
i for one tend to not trust Microsoft that much

Thats true they could change it. Lets just hope they mean what they say, It's a smart move and just makes sence, considering vista home premium is said to cost $200.