| Thread Tools |
24th October 2007, 14:55 | #1 |
Madshrimp Join Date: May 2002 Location: 7090/Belgium
Posts: 79,022
| Driver Update Can Cause Vista Deactivation After weeks of grueling troubleshooting, I've finally had it confirmed by Microsoft Australia and USA — something as small as swapping the video card or updating a device driver can trigger a total Vista deactivation. Put simply, your copy of Windows will stop working with very little notice (three days) and your PC will go into "reduced functionality" mode, where you can't do anything but use the web browser for half an hour. http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/10/23/1255235
__________________ |
24th October 2007, 15:54 | #2 |
Posts: n/a
| This looks/sounds exactly like what I had happen on my second Vista install. Except the OS wasn't actually "deactivated", it was just locked down like it was. Manually starting the failed-to-start software licensing service then slapping on all the patches seemed to fix it... I've not swapped GPU's since though, just drivers. |
24th October 2007, 15:56 | #3 |
Madshrimp Join Date: May 2002 Location: 7090/Belgium
Posts: 79,022
| I'm actually starting to think that having Vista on this Acer is a good thing... since I can't swap out hardware
__________________ |
24th October 2007, 16:27 | #4 |
Member Join Date: Mar 2004
Posts: 15,738
| Swapping memory several times; different size and brand, taken out HDD also, so far I did not have the problem.
__________________ lazyman Opteron 165 (2) @2.85 1.42 vcore AMD Stock HSF + Chill Vent II |
24th October 2007, 16:41 | #5 |
Posts: n/a
| I didn't have a problem the first time I installed Vista either, but then again I never activated to preserve the key. The only difference I can recall with the 2nd install was I did not input the product key at all, and after installing mainboard drivers/rebooting Vista claimed my time limit had expired. So I had to activate it... later I got this lockdown issue. Simply enough fix to just start the stopped service, but for those that don't know about it it can be a royal pain. |
24th October 2007, 19:47 | #6 |
Posts: n/a
| No activation needed if you have an OEM Vista . Vista checks your bios if you have a OEM computer and then decides whether activation is needed or not. It's actualy pretty easy to fool Vista, there are some drivers around that let vista believe you have a OEM laptop that doesn't require activation |
24th October 2007, 21:46 | #7 |
Posts: n/a
| Last I heard that required some custom BIOS modifications... since I'm constantly updating and reseting the BIOS that's not something I want to hassle with. Much easier to pay $29 for Vista Ultimate 32-bit through my University, just wish it was 64bit. Or they would let me buy more than one. |
24th October 2007, 22:21 | #8 |
Madshrimp Join Date: May 2002 Location: 7090/Belgium
Posts: 79,022
| custom OEM bios is not hardware mod; it loads before the OS. and 32 >> 64-bit for few more years for sure
__________________ |
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
AMD's ATI 10.3a Catalyst Driver Update | jmke | WebNews | 1 | 17th March 2010 09:22 |
ATI Catalyst 9.7 vs 9.6 Vista Driver Performance Comparison | jmke | WebNews | 0 | 27th July 2009 15:52 |
ATI Catalyst 9.4 Vista Driver Analysis | jmke | WebNews | 0 | 13th April 2009 09:51 |
ATI Catalyst 9.3 Driver Performance Analysis - XP & Vista | jmke | WebNews | 0 | 24th March 2009 17:07 |
Vista update KB940510 detects "bad" OS | jmke | WebNews | 0 | 12th March 2008 11:34 |
Latest Vista Update Helps Keep Your Copy Genuine | jmke | WebNews | 1 | 28th February 2008 09:21 |
Microsoft yanks Vista SP1 update causing endless reboots | jmke | WebNews | 0 | 21st February 2008 10:09 |
ATI Driver Flaw Exposes Vista Kernel to Attackers | jmke | WebNews | 0 | 10th August 2007 16:30 |
Nvidia to switch to monthly driver update schedule | jmke | WebNews | 1 | 10th February 2007 01:51 |
NVIDIA & Vista Driver News | jmke | WebNews | 0 | 26th January 2007 14:15 |
Thread Tools | |
| |