Activating Windows On My New Laptop: Do I Really Have To Do This Again?

[SunsetT]

Go to http://www.acer.co.th and see if you can find your model there. If you can then check the specs to see what OS comes with your laptop. Many cheaper laptops in Thailand such as Acer don't come with Windows installed, it's usually Linux or DOS. As others have suggested, chances are you have a genuine Thai copy of Windows... if so then purchasing and installing genuine Windows will save you a re-occurrence of similar problems in the future.

It is quite hard to desk with comments like this because it is rubbish.

Every Acer machine world wide is sold with an operating system. To say otherwise is based on having no knowledge.

If you need assistance, PM me and I will assist remotely if you wish.

Sent from my GT-N7105T using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

U have checked Worldwide have u CO?.......Who has no knowledge?........... KK is right, and he wasnt even claiming they were sold with no operating system, which they actually are. In Thai IT showrooms many laptops, including Acer, are advertised without any operating system included in the price, so they are not pre-installed as they are in the UK. Thai stores usually offer to install whichever you choose. Copies r free but if u want genuine u must pay to purchase it separately.

[sunshine51]

Every computer I have bought, whether desktop or laptop/notebook/netbook (many)

has had Microsoft's authentication sticker on it somewhere. In the case of a desktop

it was a piece of paper stapled to the receipt. On portable PC's it's on the underside

(bottom) of the device and usually covered with a piece of celotape so one's fingers

won't rub the product key off. If the computer doesn't have the "sticker" I won't buy

it...plain & simple...because it's not worth the hassle to eventually go out and buy

a "real" version of the OS. That said I once bought a non legit version of MS Office

2K7...it worked great for about a month while I had Win Update on and while Win

Update updated the OS. Then one day there was a security patch for Office 2K7

and I installed it by accident. Not only did Office quit working but at the same time

my Win XP Pro licensed version quit working....the black screen of death. In my

case I was lucky...I just had to remove Office and having cloned the OS drive,

reinstall said partition. Then I bought Office 2K10...legitimate...and the problems

have never manifested their ugly heads again.

My advice to the OP...go legit...it's only money...and get a darn good antivirus-

anti nasties piece of software of your choice...and make sure it's not pirated

either.

I've run bootleg OS's in the past and it sure sucks when you go to check your

email the following day's morning only to find that your system which was working

great just before you went to sleep ain't working at all after you wake up.

It's just Microsoft's way of saying...Bad Boy/Girl.

Edited May 25, 2013 by sunshine51

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

I've bought a couple of HP desktop PCs from Tesco here over the years...

And in each case, there was no whiff of anything Windows anywhere to be found on or with the purchased PCs...

They came with a DOS disk and HP utilities, and that was it. No OEM Windows, No unlicensed Windows. No any Windows.

[USNret]

Regarding the illegal character in your product code, are you copying & pasting, or typing it in manually? I've found when you copy & paste the product code you will inadvertently pick up an illegal character, perhaps a line break at the end. Try typing in the key manually.

Still, I have to agree with the others above that you probably do not have a legal Windows license. If you did, there would be a holographic sticker on the bottom of the computer.

[retell]

this is one of the reasons why i did spend the money for a genuine dvd win 7 , however after the 3 rd install it did not activate so a call to the win callcenter did solve this problem ,, had to give them a big row om numbers and characters and they gave me a different row back , so now after 2 years and numerous installs on different pc's activation still works like a charm

so maybe it is an option just to give the callcenter a try ?

[OJAS]

Do you have a windows disk? Where did you get your product code?

From the System Properties as stored electronically on my laptop.

Take the computer back to where you bought it, they should be able to activate it, even if it is a "Thai" copy

Have already done this. This hasn't stopped the pop-ups requesting me to activate, however, so I'll presumably just have to live with these until or unless I get genuine software installed.

[retell]

Do you have a windows disk? Where did you get your product code?

From the System Properties as stored electronically on my laptop.

>Take the computer back to where you bought it, they should be able to activate it, even if it is a "Thai" copy

Have already done this. This hasn't stopped the pop-ups requesting me to activate, however, so I'll presumably just have to live with these until or unless I get genuine software installed.

productcode is not activationcode

[asupeartea]

In my experience with Windows 7 I have been allowed 30 days on a bootleg version of Win7 that I got off the internet. After 30 days it stopped working little by little. By 60 days I had a full blue-screen-of-death event. After a good deal of research, the hack I found was reinstalling a bootloader that got Win7 back and running. Unfortunately, I turned update on and wham I was back to a blue screen. The bootloader's "method" of getting around registration caused me to loose all of the data on my C drive, fortunately, I kept My Documents on D drive so it was just a whole bunch of software that could be reloaded.

With the bootleg copy you have, you can pay for a key from Microsoft, use it and have a valid copy of Windows 7 without having to re-install everything. Just go to Microsoft's website and find the place that allows you to buy the key. It's worth the money not to lose all of your stuff.

Oh, move your Documents folder to D drive to prevent a crash from causing you to lose your stuff AND get in the habit of putting everything in Documents (D:) not on the Desktop or anywhere on C drive.

Another note: According to international copyright laws that Microsoft actually does abide by (since THEY wrote parts of them), you can put a REAL valid copy of their software on up to 3 machines YOU own. It's the law. The blather in the media makes it sound "wrong" but its just the media/software companies advertising/paid-writers getting the most money out of you.

Edited May 26, 2013 by asupeartea

[BudRight]

I have a genuine Windows 7 Home Premium with never used code and sticker. It is the 32 nit verison, which I why I cant user it as my computer reqiures the 64bit one.

I paid over 3500 baht for this, and store wont buy it back. So anyone interested, the price is 2000 thb. I can guarantee that it is genuine and that the code has never been used.

Just get a 64-bit disc and use the key. It will work.

[sanukcode]

If you're flexible enough to consider another option besides Windows - just install Ubuntu.

http://reviews.cnet.co.uk/software-and-web-apps/how-to-migrate-from-windows-to-ubuntu-50006231/

I switched 3 years ago and I would never consider going back. No more viruses, no more defragmenting, no more bloat and slowdown after a few months - much more powerful and intuitive UI, massive ecosystem of free software, etc. Most importantly it does what I tell it to, not the other way around. It never bothers me with pop-ups, forced updates, "security warnings" and so on.

Linux distros aren't just for hardcore IT people anymore (note that android runs on top of the Linux kernel and Mac OS X runs on top of the BSD Unix kernel). Ubuntu also runs on top of linux and is extremely user friendly for most "casual user" use cases (checking email, surfing the net, watching movies, listening to music, word processing, etc.).

A quick demo:

Try it out and see what you think:
http://www.ubuntu.com/download/desktop/install-desktop-long-term-support

[Crossy]

A post suggesting an illegal Windows activator has been removed.

This is the final warning to please not promote means of bypassing Windows activation, next one will net themselves a holiday.

[sirchai]

It's pretty obvious that most shops put copies on new PC's and notebooks. If you really want a genuine one, you'll have to pay some extra 6-7,000 baht just for the program, with a registration.

Those programs showing that they're "genuine" are very common here. But then you'll have to switch your updates off, you don't really need them. Microsoft's always sending KB bla bla bla files to check your validity.

If you still need help, please page me.-

[OJAS]

In my experience with Windows 7 I have been allowed 30 days on a bootleg version of Win7 that I got off the internet. After 30 days it stopped working little by little. By 60 days I had a full blue-screen-of-death event. After a good deal of research, the hack I found was reinstalling a bootloader that got Win7 back and running. Unfortunately, I turned update on and wham I was back to a blue screen. The bootloader's "method" of getting around registration caused me to loose all of the data on my C drive, fortunately, I kept My Documents on D drive so it was just a whole bunch of software that could be reloaded.

With the bootleg copy you have, you can pay for a key from Microsoft, use it and have a valid copy of Windows 7 without having to re-install everything. Just go to Microsoft's website and find the place that allows you to buy the key. It's worth the money not to lose all of your stuff.

Oh, move your Documents folder to D drive to prevent a crash from causing you to lose your stuff AND get in the habit of putting everything in Documents (D:) not on the Desktop or anywhere on C drive.

Another note: According to international copyright laws that Microsoft actually does abide by (since THEY wrote parts of them), you can put a REAL valid copy of their software on up to 3 machines YOU own. It's the law. The blather in the media makes it sound "wrong" but its just the media/software companies advertising/paid-writers getting the most money out of you.

Have now moved all my stuff to the D: drive in line with your suggestion – and also copied it to external devices for good measure. Many thanks for this tip.

It's pretty obvious that most shops put copies on new PC's and notebooks. If you really want a genuine one, you'll have to pay some extra 6-7,000 baht just for the program, with a registration.

Those programs showing that they're "genuine" are very common here. But then you'll have to switch your updates off, you don't really need them. Microsoft's always sending KB bla bla bla files to check your validity.

If you still need help, please page me.-

Isn't it risky to switch your updates off? You would then miss all new important security-related updates, would you not?

[whybother]

OJAS, on 26 May 2013 - 15:36, said:

sirchai, on 26 May 2013 - 15:10, said:

It's pretty obvious that most shops put copies on new PC's and notebooks. If you really want a genuine one, you'll have to pay some extra 6-7,000 baht just for the program, with a registration.

Those programs showing that they're "genuine" are very common here. But then you'll have to switch your updates off, you don't really need them. Microsoft's always sending KB bla bla bla files to check your validity.

If you still need help, please page me.-

Isn't it risky to switch your updates off? You would then miss all new important security-related updates, would you not?

You have a choice. Turn off Windows Update or buy a legitimate licence.

You won't be able to continue to use a pirate copy of windows as Windows Update will eventually shut it down.

[OJAS]

OJAS, on 26 May 2013 - 15:36, said:

sirchai, on 26 May 2013 - 15:10, said:

It's pretty obvious that most shops put copies on new PC's and notebooks. If you really want a genuine one, you'll have to pay some extra 6-7,000 baht just for the program, with a registration.

Those programs showing that they're "genuine" are very common here. But then you'll have to switch your updates off, you don't really need them. Microsoft's always sending KB bla bla bla files to check your validity.

If you still need help, please page me.-

Isn't it risky to switch your updates off? You would then miss all new important security-related updates, would you not?

You have a choice. Turn off Windows Update or buy a legitimate licence.

You won't be able to continue to use a pirate copy of windows as Windows Update will eventually shut it down.

After 2 pages of this thread, I think that the fundamental issue is finally clear to me! But many thanks for all the useful info I've garnered on the way.

Forum administrators - please feel free to lock this thread (so as to prevent other posters risking a holiday in the MS sin-bin)

[proovms]

OJAS, on 26 May 2013 - 15:36, said:

sirchai, on 26 May 2013 - 15:10, said:

It's pretty obvious that most shops put copies on new PC's and notebooks. If you really want a genuine one, you'll have to pay some extra 6-7,000 baht just for the program, with a registration.

Those programs showing that they're "genuine" are very common here. But then you'll have to switch your updates off, you don't really need them. Microsoft's always sending KB bla bla bla files to check your validity.

If you still need help, please page me.-

Isn't it risky to switch your updates off? You would then miss all new important security-related updates, would you not?

You have a choice. Turn off Windows Update or buy a legitimate licence.

You won't be able to continue to use a pirate copy of windows as Windows Update will eventually shut it down.

Actually I don't think Windows Update will 'eventually shut it down', you will be unable to change the black desktop background and be annoyed with notifications telling you it's not genuine, while being restricted with using some programs which require genuine Windows. If I remember correctly, you can use it indefinitely, because it may not be the user at fault if they were sold some dodgy version, and it wouldn't be fair for them to lose their data.

[asupeartea]

Ditto!

OJAS, on 26 May 2013 - 15:36, said:

sirchai, on 26 May 2013 - 15:10, said:
It's pretty obvious that most shops put copies on new PC's and notebooks. If you really want a genuine one, you'll have to pay some extra 6-7,000 baht just for the program, with a registration.

Those programs showing that they're "genuine" are very common here. But then you'll have to switch your updates off, you don't really need them. Microsoft's always sending KB bla bla bla files to check your validity.

If you still need help, please page me.-

Isn't it risky to switch your updates off? You would then miss all new important security-related updates, would you not?

You have a choice. Turn off Windows Update or buy a legitimate licence.

You won't be able to continue to use a pirate copy of windows as Windows Update will eventually shut it down.

[asupeartea]

You can change the properties on the links to Documents and Libraries in Win7 to reflect the relocation, so when you click them they take you directly to the new location and ignore the C drive location. You want to add the new location to your Libraries and Indexing locations so it's easy to find stuff.

BTW, google windows 7 tutorials OR tips and tricks to learn a lot. The net has a bunch of places and so does Youtube.

Have now moved all my stuff to the D: drive in line with your suggestion – and also copied it to external devices for good measure. Many thanks for this tip.

Edited May 26, 2013 by asupeartea

[whybother]

Actually I don't think Windows Update will 'eventually shut it down', you will be unable to change the black desktop background and be annoyed with notifications telling you it's not genuine, while being restricted with using some programs which require genuine Windows. If I remember correctly, you can use it indefinitely, because it may not be the user at fault if they were sold some dodgy version, and it wouldn't be fair for them to lose their data.

There are a couple of posts above that indicate that Windows eventually becomes unusable.

MS give options to deal with pirate versions, so it becomes the users fault if he doesn't deal with it.

[proovms]

Actually I don't think Windows Update will 'eventually shut it down', you will be unable to change the black desktop background and be annoyed with notifications telling you it's not genuine, while being restricted with using some programs which require genuine Windows. If I remember correctly, you can use it indefinitely, because it may not be the user at fault if they were sold some dodgy version, and it wouldn't be fair for them to lose their data.

There are a couple of posts above that indicate that Windows eventually becomes unusable.

MS give options to deal with pirate versions, so it becomes the users fault if he doesn't deal with it.

From experience working with computers, this does not happen, unless this has changed.

[onlycw]

I bought 2 T-61 Thinkpads on Ebay.com They came with some Ebay version of Vista Business - couldn't be booted a 2nd time. Now I'm buying product keys (whole OEM DVD) for around 600 Baht on www.ebay.de in Germany. Hope this will work.

[KRS1]

I have a genuine Windows 7 Home Premium with never used code and sticker. It is the 32 nit verison, which I why I cant user it as my computer reqiures the 64bit one.

I paid over 3500 baht for this, and store wont buy it back. So anyone interested, the price is 2000 thb. I can guarantee that it is genuine and that the code has never been used.

what city are you in?

[notmyself]

Actually I don't think Windows Update will 'eventually shut it down', you will be unable to change the black desktop background and be annoyed with notifications telling you it's not genuine, while being restricted with using some programs which require genuine Windows. If I remember correctly, you can use it indefinitely, because it may not be the user at fault if they were sold some dodgy version, and it wouldn't be fair for them to lose their data.

There are a couple of posts above that indicate that Windows eventually becomes unusable.

MS give options to deal with pirate versions, so it becomes the users fault if he doesn't deal with it.

From experience working with computers, this does not happen, unless this has changed.

Maybe on Win 8?

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

I've never reached the absolute end point of continuing to try to use an unlicensed version of Windows.

But, if someone heads down that road, I do know that after a couple weeks various things start happening... you get a black desktop screen behind your desktop icons, reminder nagging, at some point Windows Update stops working, and I believe you're also unable to download and update some supporting components to Windows, unless your OS passes the MS "genuine" validation checking.

That said, if you don't mind running an OS that isn't updated or patched easily, there do seem to be ways of continuing to use the software. Thais do it all the time.