Update for Microsoft Windows (KB971033)

[X7]

Update for Microsoft Windows (KB971033)

Don't install this update.

http://lauren.vortex.com/archive/000681.html









X7

[Slayer :D]

Isnt that the Windows Activation phone-home update?

Saw that last night for my Windows 7 machine and said "ABSOLUTELY NOT!"

[Whirlingdervish]

yeah it's the newest incarnation of the crappy DRM bullshit that they used to call the WGA "tool".

why they ever considered it a tool, I do not know, as it didn't do shit other than break your windows and call you a criminal if you'd done a major hardware change to a Dell system or a swapped out the OS' hard drive from one computer to another.

Don't install it, and don't let windows do "automatic" updates.

Set it to notify you of new updates and ask BEFORE downloading or installing in the windows automatic update settings to make sure that they don't sneak some crap like this past you as a "high priority security update" like they did before.

It can be an absolute nightmare for the average user to undo what this does to your system if it happens to flag your copy of windows as "possibly pirated".

[[BTF]Sigma]

Verified that my PC was set to notify only by rolling back my settings after finding it had been reset by WU. It got pushed on me. I wonder if it understands I'm using a student install authorized by my school. Let's hope I don't get the auto shutdown process in a little bit.

[Whirlingdervish]

I wouldn't bet on it being understanding. 

I think you can remove the WAT/WGA update in the add/remove programs control panel as long as it hasn't flagged you yet.

[jägermonsta]

hmm strange, never once had a issue with wga

[[BTF]Sigma]

Whew...it was waiting in the Important Updates screen of Windows Update.

hmm strange, never once had a issue with wga

Never upgraded a computer and had it make you update your licence? (not purchase a new one but have you tell MS that you have upgraded your CPU or HDD.)

[QwazyWabbit]

My XP system updated itself last night. No problems and no 971033 patch. Probably no WAT pending for XP at this time.

WGA never downgrades your system, it merely makes updating with WU harder or impossible. I recently encountered this problem with a friend's Dell notebook. WGA said his system wasn't "authentic" even though it had the hologram sticker on the bottom and was delivered with XP Pro. It took a reinstallation to fix it.

[jägermonsta]

Never upgraded a computer and had it make you update your licence? (not purchase a new one but have you tell MS that you have upgraded your CPU or HDD.)

No actually... I think we have WGA on about 40 workstations, not once have I seen a problem with us pushing what ever updates we want to the systems. Nor have I had a issue on my home computers. Strange?

[[BTF]Sigma]

I guess it's not unusual to see it behave when someone who knows what they are doing is at the helm. I've only had a hiccup in the past because I moved my OS HDD over to a new MOBO and CPU. I believe cchanging either of those warrants it to check that you aren't just using the same key on another system by ghosting the drive.

My particular W7x64U is an OEM provided for keeps by the professor through my school's licence with MS. I have been meaning to purchase my own standalone version because it's been in the back of my mind that it may not be valid due to the course being over and I'm not yet enrolled in the rest of the program matrix.

I should actually just call MS support and get the info straight from the horses mouth. They've been really helpful in the past with clearing up any confusion.

[jägermonsta]

Ahh ok I see what you mean about moving parts around...

As far as moving a HD to a different computer, at that point I start over. I pull what ever data I need to save and load up the HD with a new Windows installation once it's in the new system.

Now that I think of it, I do recall something to the nature of what you're explaining... I had a simular issue when I converted a XP system into a VM. When I loaded the VM, it yelled at me saying that my CD Key is no longer valid due to the changes with "hardware" environment. But again, I don't tend to save environments even when creating a VM, I normally start fresh there too so that's most likely why I never run into this.

So I either take the time to start fresh... or I take the time to troubleshoot Windows crap like this. I choose fresh over sloppy.