What happens when you get locked out of your XP system because of the stupid M$ activation?

[Psychoholic]

<< Users are too stupid or lazy or (for Psychoholic) the company in question is too cheap to stop spending thousands+ on MS licenses. >>


Uhh, n0cmonkey, did you get hit over the head once too many times??? The only time I mentioned money and my company was when I said even if the software and hardware was supported under Linux it would cost too much to implement across the board. Right now that wouldn't even be an option due to the fact Linux couldn't even come close to cutting the mustard with what has to be run here.

There is millions of dollars in hardware that would have to be scrapped even if we could do what, say we run Linux??? What exactly would that gain me other than that??? So if your company will fork out several million dollars just so it can say it runs Linux and for no other reason then your company is full of fools.

 

[skace]

&quot;Why is it so hard for you to believe, Skace, that I haven't had any problems with W2K???&quot;
I can make Win3.1 look stable [as long as I don't run anything] but nevertheless I will agree with you, &quot;Your Win2k is perfectly stable&quot;. I'm glad Win2k is a perfect OS with absolutely no stability issues. Makes me even wonder why they are making WinXP with such a flawless OS already on the market. How can Linux even hope to compete with the perfect stability of Win2K. Why arn't we running Win2K on every server around the world? Why didn't anyone tell me sooner!?

&quot;And W2K software suppoters don't have a quick turnaround???&quot;
I said go to Microsofts support page and read about all the MS related issues that never get sorted out. And what about Software thats no longer being worked on - in the linux community if there is a demand for it someone else will pick up the project and bring it up to date. In the Windows community someone has to start out from scratch and attempt to match the product.

Heres a fun thing to do: Go to search.support.microsoft.com and do a search for &quot;Work Around&quot;. You will find tons of articles where the Official MS Status of a real resolution is, &quot;Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed at the beginning of this article.&quot; Jee thanks for confirming it MS!

&quot;However, Windows is more familar and requires less training of the employee. I can also bring in the average Joe off the street and there's a 99% chance they will not require training to know how to use Windows. That's a big plus to a company's bottom line.&quot;
You said it but didn't even notice it. &quot;Windows is more familiar [TO YOU].&quot; You can bring in the average Joe off the street and there's a 99% chance they will not require training to know how to use Linux either. The average Joe won't share your familiarity bias and therefor wouldn't find Windows easier to use.

&quot;If Linux was king of the hill there would be less Windows viruses.&quot;

Perhaps, but the question is whether there would be as many Linux viruses as there are Windows viruses. I think the answer would be no, but I can't prove it and neither can you.

&quot;How do I respond to this??? Windows can be stripped down what cannot be done during the install can be accomplished by an experianced Administrator.&quot;

Riddle me this, Can you run Win2k entirely off a Floppy? You can't strip down Windows in the sense that you can strip down Linux (and still maintain functionality).

&quot;As for the potato deal, I guess Windows users just seem to live in areas where electricity is available.&quot;
Theres no Windows users in california?! Bwah...

 

[Hecky]

TextMakes me even wonder why they are making WinXP with such a flawless OS already on the market.

Because they are competing with Real, Roxio, WinFax for your dollars. If media streaming, CD burning, faxing, maintenance, diagnostics, video, etc capabilities are built into the OS, you'll spend your money on MS and not on competitors' software. MS will grow and the competitors will weaken and be subsumed by MS.
On one hand this approach makes sense to me...I'd rather buy, install and learn one routine, rather than three or four. On the other, once competition is reduced, MS loses the incentive to continue to improve, debug, innovate and we are stuck with a one-size-fits-all OS. And I doubt that XP will be any more stable than 2K, if anywhere near as stable.

 

[n0cmonkey]

<<

<< Users are too stupid or lazy or (for Psychoholic) the company in question is too cheap to stop spending thousands+ on MS licenses. >>


Uhh, n0cmonkey, did you get hit over the head once too many times??? The only time I mentioned money and my company was when I said even if the software and hardware was supported under Linux it would cost too much to implement across the board. Right now that wouldn't even be an option due to the fact Linux couldn't even come close to cutting the mustard with what has to be run here.

There is millions of dollars in hardware that would have to be scrapped even if we could do what, say we run Linux??? What exactly would that gain me other than that??? So if your company will fork out several million dollars just so it can say it runs Linux and for no other reason then your company is full of fools. >>



Sorry, meant it as a joke this time.

 

[Psychoholic]

<< Heres a fun thing to do: Go to search.support.microsoft.com and do a search for &quot;Work Around&quot;. You will find tons of articles where the Official MS Status of a real resolution is, &quot;Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed at the beginning of this article.&quot; Jee thanks for confirming it MS! >>


If there is a problem they will acknowledge it even before they have fixed the problem. Sometime the solution isn't available until a SP, sometimes there's a Hot Fix. Sometimes you can actually call Microsoft and they will give you a copy of the fix that's not on their website if you tell them the problem you're having. The reason the fix (in a case like this) isn't on the website, is due to the fact that the fix has not been tested enough. Sometimes the answers to our questions don't come as quickly as we want.



<< Perhaps, but the question is whether there would be as many Linux viruses as there are Windows viruses. I think the answer would be no, but I can't prove it and neither can you. >>


You're entitled to believe what you want. However have you heard of a cross platform virus??? Do a little research and you might find Linux has a few things in common with Windows. It doesn't matter what the platform, there's always security holes, and the virus author is always going to try to do the most damage.



<< Riddle me this, Can you run Win2k entirely off a Floppy? >>


Yeah, I can make a boot disk.

 

[n0cmonkey]

<<

<< Heres a fun thing to do: Go to search.support.microsoft.com and do a search for &quot;Work Around&quot;. You will find tons of articles where the Official MS Status of a real resolution is, &quot;Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed at the beginning of this article.&quot; Jee thanks for confirming it MS! >>


If there is a problem they will acknowledge it even before they have fixed the problem. Sometime the solution isn't available until a SP, sometimes there's a Hot Fix. Sometimes you can actually call Microsoft and they will give you a copy of the fix that's not on their website if you tell them the problem you're having. The reason the fix (in a case like this) isn't on the website, is due to the fact that the fix has not been tested enough. Sometimes the answers to our questions don't come as quickly as we want.



<< Perhaps, but the question is whether there would be as many Linux viruses as there are Windows viruses. I think the answer would be no, but I can't prove it and neither can you. >>


You're entitled to believe what you want. However have you heard of a cross platform virus??? Do a little research and you might find Linux has a few things in common with Windows. It doesn't matter what the platform, there's always security holes, and the virus author is always going to try to do the most damage.



<< Riddle me this, Can you run Win2k entirely off a Floppy? >>


Yeah, I can make a boot disk. >>



And that floppy will hold all the ESSENTIAL parts of win2k and give you a working system? Thats amazing! I thought it was awesome when I got a working system on a 240MB hard drive (OpenBSD)!

 

[BreakApart]

<< What's the use of migrating to linux only to have the OS look just like Windows???? >>



???? Why did Windows copy Apple in the first place?

Sorry, just found that question really odd. The question suggests MS invented the Windows interface, which they did NOT!

&quot;Blind faith is a beautiful thing, till you bust your pinky toe on something&quot;
-me

 

[skace]

&quot;The reason the fix (in a case like this) isn't on the website, is due to the fact that the fix has not been tested enough.&quot;
They sure have a hell of a lot of testing to do if thats the case, as their are still work arounds for NT4 related issues and they have gone on to NT5!

&quot;Sometimes the answers to our questions don't come as quickly as we want.&quot;
Yea... they would come quicker if open source was at the helm.

&quot;You're entitled to believe what you want. However have you heard of a cross platform virus???&quot;
You still can't prove there would be AS MANY viruses as there are in the windows world. There are literally tons of viruses for windows. It is sick how many ways you can get screwed over.

&quot;Yeah, I can make a boot disk.&quot;
You misunderstood - Linux would run entirely off the floppy disk. Win2k cannot run entirely from a floppy disk.

 

[Psychoholic]

<< They sure have a hell of a lot of testing to do if thats the case, as their are still work arounds for NT4 related issues and they have gone on to NT5! >>


After a while you have to concentrate your efforts towards what's current instead of a OS that becoming outdated. I guess the Linux community has eough manpower to deal with issues even if the release that has the problem is 5-6 years old right??? Last time I checked Linux had a few unresolved issues itself so what's your point to begin with???



<< Yea... they would come quicker if open source was at the helm. >>


In your opinion.



<< You still can't prove there would be AS MANY viruses as there are in the windows world. >>


And you can prove their wouldn't be, so where do that leave us???



<< You misunderstood - Linux would run entirely off the floppy disk. Win2k cannot run entirely from a floppy disk. >>


No I didn't misunderstand, you did. First of all do you think I really want to run off a floppy??? They're too damn slow. Secondly, you may have access to the core of Linux but what good will it do you to run it off a floppy??? If you want to do anything worthwhile you'll still need the storage of a hard drive too. So it all boils down to the fact you can boot up Linux and that's about it.

 

[Psychoholic]

<< Sorry, just found that question really odd. The question suggests MS invented the Windows interface, which they did NOT! >>


No the question suggest why does Linux try to copy something that it's proponents claim is so inferior??? I find it real amusing that you're trying to bash Microsoft for copying Apple when Linux is trying to copy Microsoft. If Linux is as revolutionary as you would have us to believe why would they want to even think about something like that???

 

[ToBeMe]

<< You said it but didn't even notice it. &quot;Windows is more familiar [TO YOU].&quot; >>


And about 90% of all other users!!


<< You can bring in the average Joe off the street and there's a 99% chance they will not require training to know how to use Linux either. >>


Umm, wanna' bet????? Been there, done that! I can't even begin to tell you how many people have walked into my business, or came back as returning customers, and decided they, or their kids, wanted to &quot;try&quot; Linux. I usually start them out with Mandrake or Red hat. Some have preferred us to load it, others have just bought a copy. Either way, my tech support and return rates for these people invariably makes Abit's RMA numbers look GREAT!!! If I had the time, I'd like to work up figures on how many have come back with their system unusable (to them) and demand I put Windows back on!

By contrast, I can sell someone Windows 2K, or ME, or 98SE, and very few ever even call with a question!

Why you ask? Well, you know the number one reason, driver support! Others whom manage to load it just fine, get into Linux.......then want me to teach it to them!!!! They're lost!

Now you tell me.......how can your statement be true? Yes, for you and I and a lot of members of Forums like A/T, Linux isn't so bad.........but for &quot;Average Joe&quot; as you stated, Linux is ussually a nightmare whether they have Windows expierience, or no expierience at all! Windows is just much simpler!

 

[skace]

&quot;I guess the Linux community has eough manpower to deal with issues even if the release that has the problem is 5-6 years old right???&quot;

The Linux community wouldn't have let the issue go on for 5-6 years, that was the point. If they did let it go on for 5-6 years at least they would have kept the rest of the community more informed as to why.

&quot;<< Yea... they would come quicker if open source was at the helm. >>&quot;
&quot;In your opinion.&quot;

By nature when you have an incredibly large group of people with differing views that are all coming together to find the best solution to a problem they will usually find a better solution than a close-minded company. It is like the law of the jungle - the strongest[ideas] eat the weak and the best solution comes out ahead.

Not to mention the fact that the large group is geared towards bettering their own work while the company is geared towards making cash.

&quot;And you can prove their wouldn't be, so where do that leave us???&quot;

The point was this: I keep hearing this lame argument where people say, &quot;Windows only has more viruses and security holes due to its popularity&quot;. This is like having a brand of chair that everyone buys and that keep breaking. But everyones reason for continuing to buy that same brand of chair is because they assume that if a different brand of chair had that popularity they would all break also. So since the first brand of chair sets a standard - all other chairs afterwards must fit in that standard. No one can prove that the second brand of chair would hold up worse or better because it hasn't gotten the strenous testing of the first brand. Does this make sense at all?

&quot;So it all boils down to the fact you can boot up Linux and that's about it.&quot;

No, It was a simple example of Linux's flexibility. A real life example would be all the 486's people turn into Linux servers. I don't try and run Win2k off a 486... do you?


ToBeMe,

I think you have me confused. You are arguing how hard it is to setup linux and get it working properly for the Average Joe. I was arguing how, in a work enviroment where the pc is already setup, an intelligent Linux admin can make the Average Joe's experience with Linux just as good/if not better than Windows.

Even so, Linux isn't too bad to setup. The problem comes with troubleshooting it. People will troubleshoot Windows until they are blue in the face - but when their video card doesn't work in xwindows for Linux they get frustrated and format. The reason for this is because most of them do not know where to begin troubleshooting such problems in Linux while in Windows they have a set pattern of things that can be tried every time like clockwork and usually fix the problem. This is a completely understandable problem and IMO almost unavoidable.

 

[Electrode]

This has exploded into an ugly flamewar and I don't want to read through it, so sorry if this has been posted.
A serious answer to the question:

1. Boot into safe mode.
2. Unregister regwizc.dll and licdll.dll
3. Boot into normal mode.

No more lockout. Works for me.

 

[vinccic]

Are we comparing the quality of the two products or the popularity of the two products?

Windows is more popular than Linux among average desktop users, that is a fact, therefore Windows has a big advantage over Linux in this area.

UNIX/Linux is more popular/or equal popular than Windows among servers/development, that is also a fact, therefore UNIX/Linux has also an advantage over Windows in this area. (I know some ppl who just don't know how to use Windows, they have been using UNIX all their lives.)

Since popularity is a fact, there is no point in arguing about it, I think. I would like to see ppl bring out points that truly support the superior of the quality of one product, instead of saying that one product is more popular than the other, so the other product has no chance of competing.

E.g. since Windows is more popular among desktop users, hardware makers make Windows drivers before Linux drivers, so Windows is superior to Linux?!

Of course, a product's popularity has huge impact on its future, but since we are just discussing about the quality, I don't think we should bring in the product's popularity to support it.

Windows was less popular than DOS when it just started, but because Windows is better, more ppl started to use it. Can Linux do the same for desktop users?

 

[IHYLN]

Linux is for people who have a lot of time to waste on their hands. Windows does the job fine and gets my work done. Thanks.

 

[codepoet]

<< Linux is for people who have a lot of time to waste on their hands. Windows does the job fine and gets my work done. Thanks. >>



This is false. If you have two machines, both with preinstalled OS'es, both coming with a recovery CD, both with all of their hardware drivers already installed, and if one machine has Windows on it, and the other Linux, a novice user would not be able to tell the difference.

The impression of Linux being more difficult to use is directly linked to the dearth of computers you can purchase with Linux preinstalled. In most cases, the user has to perform the Linux installation himself, which is intimidating for novices. This contributes to the impression of Linux being difficult to use. On the other hand, a novice will almost never have to install Windows. His machine will come with Windows preinstalled and will also come with an idiot-proof restore CD.

I put it to you that a machine preinstalled with Linux, including a Linux restore CD, would be just as easy to use for a novice as a Windows box.

 

[n0cmonkey]

<< Linux is for people who have a lot of time to waste on their hands. Windows does the job fine and gets my work done. Thanks. >>



No, BSD is for users who want a lot of time to waste. w00w00

Now, since you were obviously going to post some info to back up this trol^H^H^H^H post but got cut off, why dont you explain

 

[raven82]

<< I'll tell you how to fix it:

Step1: Format c:

Step2: Install another OS....preferably Linux >>


other unsatisfied micro$oft customer