Someone told me windows xp proffesional checks for pirated software..... question:

[Victor Galis]

Bah, I use XP and never worry about this sort of thing... I've really stopped pirating software after Microsoft gave me a bunch of free software. My income can clearly support buying a couple games each year now (unlike a few years ago) and Microsoft has provided me with any software they make that I would use (XP, Office, Visual Studio, etc.).

[Q Classic]

My brother uses Win XP professional on his computer successfully. And he is using it from a copied CD- supposedly. I would like to use Win XP pro as well as I'm still using Windows 98 SE.

the winxp cd has no copy protection for the reason that a) it's easier to make backups, and b) it's easier for sysadmin distributions that way.
product activation is in all windows xp unless it was cracked, except for the volume license ones ("corporate").

(How much of an upgrade was WinXP over 98? I mean, hell, I'm using ME and I don't feel any compulsive urge to upgrade at all.)

$159 for xphome, $199 for xppro, i believe.
improvements:
ntfs: the journaling file system means that you'll never have to wait for scandisk to go through on startup again;
nt kernel: helluva lot more stable than the old 9x-based kernels;
networking and security is much simpler and better, especially in pro. people can't just escape into the desktop and mess things up, it's easier to share folders and files, and you can encrypt things.
more posix-like command line. tab actually guesses and completes file names and directory names. up actually brings back the previous command. and "ls" does exactly what ls should.
that's all i really like over 98. the rest doesn't seem to affect me. talk to asher if you want the real marketing spiel.

[monkspider]

There are plenty of Win XP key generators out there, which I would heartily recemend to any in such a situation.

[optimus2861]

Originally posted by Asher
The legality has never been questioned, a software company has a right to restrict what you do with their software. And it has been held up in court before, in cases where piracy has been charged (the license also says how many computers you can install it on).

Dammit, what's the cite... I can quote this almost verbatim, it's from a shrinkwrap licensing case: "Shrinkwrap licenses are enforceable except in cases where they violate a term of positive law or are unconscionable." You want unconscionable? How's this, from the first line of MS's EULAs?

"This product is licensed, not sold."

Bull****. I've got a sales receipt from the retailer who was the legal owner of the copy of the software that I purchased. I made a single payment for a perpetual term and assumed all risk of loss of the product. That, by definition is a sale. I own every retail product that I buy. Copyrighted software is no different in this regard than any other copyrighted work; music, books, movies, etc. The copyright holder does not have the right to restrict fair use, especially not fair use that occurs in the privacy of my own home. The RIAA cannot restrict my use of a music CD to a single stereo. The MPAA cannot restrict my use of a movie DVD to a single DVD player. By the same analogy, Microsoft cannot legally restrict my use of my software in my own home for private, noncommercial use. Whether I own 1 computer or 5 is none of Microsoft's business. When I purchase a copy of Microsoft's software, I become the owner of that software and can use it within the full extent of copyright law. Microsoft would have to prove material harm in order to come after me for violating their bull**** 'one copy - one computer' EULA in the privacy of my home. Good luck. And, to my knowledge, Microsoft has never taken a citizen to court to attempt to enforce it. They instead rely on their distrustful WPA scheme to do it for them.

Unconscionable not good enough? How about a point of positive law? How's this, for the USA:

(a) Making of Additional Copy or Adaptation by Owner of Copy. - Notwithstanding the provisions of section 106, it is not an infringement for the owner of a copy of a computer program to make or authorize the making of another copy or adaptation of that computer program provided:

(1) that such a new copy or adaptation is created as an essential step in the utilization of the computer program in conjunction with a machine and that it is used in no other manner

Nowhere there does it state 'one computer - one copy'.

Now Canadian copyright law does have one distinction from American law when it comes to computer software; Canadian law does explicitly state that only a single copy is allowed. I don't for a second believe this is enforceable, however. What would MS do, petition the court to have the police search my home because they believe I may have installed WinXP on two computers?

For the record, I only have one computer anyway. But software activation is, at its core, a distrustful, dishonest practice that is only going to serve to piss off innocent consumers, like any hair-brained copy-protection scheme. Best it get stomped out ASAP before it finds its way into more and more software packages, and merely replacing hardware components triggers all sorts of software packages to stop working on you until you plead your case to copyright holders who have no right to know what you do in your home with copies of their work.

Finally - it is a different matter entirely if we're talking about commercial use of software by businesses. Businesses do not have the same extent of fair use rights that citizens do, and you've got commercial implications to licensing violations that carry much more weight in court. So if a business buys 10 copies of software, agrees to only install it on 10 computers, and installs it on 20, the vendor will have a much stronger case against the business than it would against a citizen, since presumably the business is receiving an economic benefit from those additional installations that the vendor has not been compensated for.

[BustaMike]

Dissident, PM me. I maaay know of a way to register and get full updates for XP, even after someone has "lost" their "legit" CD key.

[Kuciwalker]

This product is licensed, not sold."

Bull****. I've got a sales receipt from the retailer who was the legal owner of the copy of the software that I purchased.

No, it says you are owner of a LICENSE to the software that you purchased, part of which is the end-user license agreement. So if you violate that, it is just contract violation, which they can sue for. It's completely valid.