Posted on 05/05/2012 12:50:49 PM PDT by library user
Yes, I'm logged in. Tanned, rested, ready, cheese, moose, sister....
I'm trying to help a senior citizen on a fixed income, in my neighborhood, with a computer issue.
He bought an HP desktop back when Win 7 first was issued (I think Nov. 2009) and all was well until about a month ago.
Now, whenever he boots up the PC, a message pops up saying his copy of Win7 isn't genuine.
He's called both HP and Microsoft and each company blames the other.
Most of the time, his phone calls go to India and he has a hard time understanding the tech. support person on the other line.
I've heard of a file at Softpedia called RemoveWGA.exe which I've used on XP but never on Win7. Is it safe to use RemoveWGA.exe on Win7?
BitDefender flags the file as a trojan, but I'm pretty sure that conclusion is a false positive.
I see from googling this problem, that many users have a similar problem (Windows all of a sudden saying their software isn't genuine), but I haven't found a cost efficient solution.
This gentleman already paid for Win7 once, when he first purchased the computer, so I would think he wouldn't have to pay for it a second time.
Unfortunately, when he made the purchase, HP did not include a Win7 disc with his shipment (otherwise we could do a re-install).
I know there should be an option to re-active Windows by right-clicking COMPUTER and going to Properties, but he doesn't have this option.
Any tips, suggestions (even "Buy an iPad, you fool!") appreciated and welcome.
Thanks so much.
Go to HP and place an order for the recovery disks. I did this last year and it cost me $20 and I received them in a couple of days.
Go here: http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?lc=en&cc=us&docname=bph07143
At this link, go to the section ‘Ordering recovery discs from HP in the United States and Canada’.
That is all you need to do. Very easy.
Desi, Desi,
Give me an answer, do.
I’m half crazy,
trying to understand you...
Neither one of you have a sense of humor — ever heard of tongue-in-cheek? Next time I’ll put a smiley face at the end of my sentence just to alert you two.
Sheesh.
Linux is your friend. I’d switch to Ubuntu and never look back... but that’s just me.
That's not something somebody normally types when they're being tongue-in-cheek.
Ever hear of sarcasm? Neither of you has a sense of humour, i say.
My e machine has been doing that since 2010 e machine and best buy both agree its each others fault and there’s no disc to fix the situation from either so i just use it with the little prompted at the bottom .... but a few months ago it started throwing up big prompts telling me i may be a victim of software privacy and sends me to the microsoft website which is a joke they want to sell me a number for 125 bucks .... and im not the only one that has had this problem they just go on and on !
Thanks for the post. You have XP or 7?
“his phone calls go to India and he has a hard time understanding the tech. support person on the other line.”
The tech support person was probably actually in Los Angeles. I’ve noticed that it’s getting easier to understand the phone support in India, and harder to understand them in LA.
“Are you being racist?”
Cue the racist kids including the Asian one!
Ain’t it sorta like playing the Blackjack Tables at Indian Casino to buy a Gateway or HP?
I bought what I could afford and it’s worked well for 3+ years. Feel free to send me a check for the new one of your choice.
ping
PC manufacturers haven’t shipped OS disks for years, folks.
They do if you demand it
Depends on what those magic fingers can do and who owns them.
Don’t take the HP dig seriously.
I have had 3 refurb Dell Inspirons which have each lasted 4 or 5 years each and finally they get so worn looking I can’t carry them to customer’s office (but still work). Inspite of what some may say, Dell is the easiest Tech Service to work with and their laptops are equal or better to any in the price range.
Well, no, not really.....if you want disks you will probably have to pay for them.
Why spend so much money - download a copy of Linux - Ubuntu is good for beginners - and install it over windows. It’s free - and reliable.
Are you on the wrong board? Perhaps you were looking for 'Politically Correct Republic'.
I got an excellent tech support from India one time - she figured out the solution and I hung up happy. But usually the folks in India are ignorant of the product, and page through the screens one at a time. Between the lack of product knowledge and an inability to communicate in American English, it's usually not a productive exercise.
But it's cheaper to lose customers than it is to keep them.
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