Microsoft XP (I feel Cheated!!!)?

Question

I paid about £90 to buy XP Pro a couple of years ago and my mate has a "pirate" copy. he went onto Ebay and paid £2.50 to make his copy receive updates (therefore to make it "genuine") that was just under a year ago and he still gets them. I went to his earlier and he even showed me by going onto windows website, he was able to validate his copy and it passed.

How can this be so??? I feel I spent £90 for nothing now!!!

I always thought Microsoft would eventually block him, but nearly a year later he's fine.

He had to go onto some programme on his comp where he put a new "activation" key in, which was supplied by the seller on Ebay and it worked!!!!

How can Microsoft allow this???

And he even got to get IE7 and Windows media player 11, which validates your copy first and it passed

Answer 1

It's all down to the product key that you enter when you install XP if he's got a good one even though it pirated Microsoft wont know and he'll be able to get the updates
Oh you wasn't cheated you did the right thing buying the real thing you've got the piece of mind knowing you're legal and your friend isn't

Answer 2

To be undemanding there is not any longer assorted distinction between living house windows XP SP3 and Vista living house person-friendly. the main clarification why persons are complaining approximately Vista is as a results of the fact they are having subject ageing hardware or application to paintings with Vista. whether, maximum human beings can get those issues to paintings. each and every so often it demands downloading a clean driving force or a application patch. there is little element in going backwards and setting up XP as Microsoft are engaged on liberating living house windows 7 to interchange living house windows Vista.

Answer 3

I bet you feel a bit fed up having spent all that money on a genuine OS when your M8 managed to get a copy for next to nothing . Thats just the luck of the draw. Microsoft don't allow this but their are a lot of clever people out there

Answer 4

He paid £2.50? A fool and his money...

Anyway, what makes you think Microsoft has any control of it? If they did, it wouldn't happen. The honest (or dishonest) fact is, Microsoft can't stop people from pirating and hacking their software. Not possible. Ever.

£2.50! That's half a packet of smokes.

Answer 5

not all people can buy the original copy of an OS of a pc. its normal this days to have an illegal copy of a windows xp. it has no difference from the original. one thing good about the original cd is the cool cd case. and besides.. piracy cant be stop nowadays.. in our country you can buy the illegal copy of windows for just a dollar. or you can even download it from the net for free. its hard to stop piracy. it is already spread across the world

Answer 6

He paid 2.50 to get his activated? lol he got screwed. I did mine for free and so did thousands of others. But anyway this is not the place to talk about that stuff...not legal and also you will not goto jail lol

Answer 7

Microsoft doesn't care if people pirate their software, as that means more people not using their competitors software. They became the dominant force they are not because their software is good, but because it is easily pirated.

Answer 8

wait a while, ms slips little things through with hotfixs. sooner of later the problem will come up.

Answer 9

Don't feel cheated you sound like the honest one that won't end up in jail.

Answer 10

vista stops all that for now so.............if you need a vista upgrade go to ebay same thing £300.50 less! no get your own operating system for free with ubuntu or other recomeneded free!!!! yours free !!!!!!! p.s. chill