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February 14, 2007 9:21 AM PST
Vista upgrade workaround revealed
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As part of the Vista launch, Microsoft is offering Windows users a range of upgrades allowing them to move to one of six flavors of Vista without paying the full cost. These upgrades are supposed to work only on a PC that contains an existing copy of Windows.
However, Marc Liron, a Microsoft MVP, said he has discovered a way of circumventing this procedure so that a Linux user, for example, could get Vista while saving several hundreds of dollars. Other Web sites also have published the workaround.
The key to the method is that the upgrade package contains a complete version of Vista, which it can be encouraged to install on a machine without checking for an existing authorized copy of Windows. The WindowsITPro site, for example, posted information on the upgrade and the workaround at the end of January.
Microsoft confirmed that the workaround would be successful, but cautioned that anyone using it would violate their license terms.
"People who use this workaround without a licensed copy of XP or earlier versions of Windows are violating the terms of use agreed to when they purchased the upgrade version of Windows Vista," said a Microsoft representative.
However, the company is not--at this stage at least--threatening to penalize anyone who uses the workaround, or block them from important upgrades via its Genuine Advantage. In fact, it does not seem especially concerned, and does not appear to have taken action against Liron.
"We believe only a very small percentage of people will take the time to implement this workaround, and we encourage all customers to follow our official guidelines for upgrading to Windows Vista, which can be found at WindowsVista.com, instead," the Microsoft representative continued. "Following these guidelines will allow customers to easily and validly upgrade to Windows Vista."
How it works
Marc Liron has posted a full explanation of his method on his Web site. In summary, the trick is to install the upgrade version of Vista but not to enter the product key. Once all the Vista files have been copied across, the user starts the installation procedure again rather than attempting to activate Vista. Once the installation procedure has been followed again, the user is left with a fully functioning version of Vista.
Colin Barker of ZDNet UK reported from London.
See more CNET content tagged:
workaround, IT professional, Microsoft Windows Vista, upgrade, Microsoft Corp.
33 comments
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This was all over the place the day Vista shipped.
<a class="jive-link-external" href="http://www.winsupersite.com/showcase/winvista_upgrade_clean.asp" target="_newWindow">http://www.winsupersite.com/showcase/winvista_upgrade_clean.asp</a>
I ask because I've yet to see any Windows upgrade work well - a fresh install is always best.
You simply install Vista as a full install - then instead of activating it (it won't activate because your key is for the upgrade version not a full install) you proceed to install Vista again - this time using the Upgrade option rather than the clean install option.
Vista then sees a valid OS on the hard disk (it doesn't know or care that this valid version hasn't been activated) and will happily proceed.
The reason this came about is not because someone wanted to save $40, but because people have been downgrading their operating systems from XP Pro to Vista Home Premium, or worse, Vista Home Basic.
The way the installation works is to install the full Ultimate version of Vista on every hard disk, then unlock the purchased portions via a key. If you want to officially upgrade XP Pro then you need a Vista Business or Vista Ultimate upgrade key, anything else is a downgrade.
They could have made all the upgrade versions of Vista compatible with all the versions of XP, however then you would have people complaining that they've been cheated (which indeed they have been).
Like anything, if it's not broke, don't fix it. MS old upgrade process was broken in there view.
cuke2u
Gotta get "in" plenty of "quotes""!"
I would pay X10 upfront cost for Linux what I would for Windows.
Linux is years ahead of Windows, in some cases(no performance degradation, no running AS or AV software, no need to run defrag tools) decades ahead of Windows.
I can get a copy of Vista Business for free(through MSDNAA) and it still can't compete at that price.
So I can't see this being a major issue. Years back it used to be that Upgrade versions simply asked you to confirm that you had the product with a checkbox, and the onus was on the reseller to ask for proof of prior ownership. (I recall having a box full of old Wordperfect manual titlepages we had to take as proof of ownership). So this is nothing new.
This bug in the installer/deployment system for Vista doesn't have anything to do with Linux, and there's no reason to single out Linux users in regards to trying to steal MS software without paying for it.
I know plenty of windows users who've never touched or considered another OS like Linux or OSX who run illegal copies of MS operating systems. As a Linux/Mac user I don't have a need for MS latest bloatware because I've already got a better alternative.
So keep on trying to blame Linux users for Microsoft's lack of anything resembling quality control. It's obviously done a really good job for you up to this point...
--posted via Mozilla Firefox from a paid-for copy of Novell/SuSE Linux--
Now we can said WOW