PC Hell: Windows Genuine Advantage Problems and Fixes

Windows Genuine Advantage is Microsoft's not so subtle crackdown on illegal piracy of Windows XP and Microsoft Office products. Microsoft started with an ActiveX component to force owners of Windows XP to validate their version before downloading security updates. Unfortunately this particular scheme was rather easily foiled by groups on the net and workarounds appeared almost instantly including cracked files and javascript fixes.

Now Microsoft is becoming more advanced in their attack on pirated versions of Windows XP or Microsoft Office. They are including a Windows Genuine Advantage security patch in the updates of Windows XP. The newest patch, released the first week of June 2006, actually produces popups on the login screen and on the desktop explaining that this version of Windows XP is not genuine and the owner may be the victim of software counterfeiting.

If your version of Windows XP is not genuine and does not pass the validation schemes, you will not be able to download security patches from Windows Update, or install the latest version of Internet Explorer 7 and other software. For those users that do have a valid version of Windows XP, Microsoft offers some special promotions.

Microsoft is offering a variety of options to customers who unknowingly purchased a counterfeit copy of Windows XP. Customers can submit a proof of purchase, the original counterfeit CD, and fill out a report with the details of the purchase and Microsoft will give the customer a complimentary copy of Windows XP. However only high-quality counterfeit Windows versions will qualify for this copy.

For customers who received a computer from a friend, off the Internet or another way and an illegal version was installed, the only option is to buy a fully licensed version. Microsoft is offering the Windows XP Home Edition license kit for $99.00 to customers, while the XP Pro Edition is $149.00. The Windows Genuine Advantage Kit for Windows XP will include a new 25-character Product Key and a Windows Product Key Update tool that will allow customers to convert their counterfeit copy to genuine Windows XP electronically.

The other option is of course to buy a legal version of Windows XP off the Internet or in a retail store. Generally the prices for these versions will be more than the price Microsoft is offering for their Windows Genuine Advantage Kit. Although there are some internet sites like Newegg.com, greatsoftwaredeals.com or edirectsoftware.com that have great prices.

Remember though, if you purchase an OEM or full edition of Windows XP, you'll have to format and reinstall your operating system. You can however purchase an Upgrade edition and change a pirated version to a fully licensed version. Just be sure you have a previous version of Windows (95,98,ME) in case you need to completely reinstall Windows XP someday. Also one other note, if you currently have XP Pro (pirated), you'll need to purchase the XP Pro Upgrade to upgrade your system. XP Home can only upgrade the Home Edition, where XP Pro can upgrade both the Home and Pro versions. Hopefully, that's clear enough to understand.

The other option of course is to go through Microsoft's site and purchase a software key. They will send you a program to upgrade the counterfeit version to a legit version.

I Have A Legal Copy of Windows XP,
but My Computer Still Fails Validation, What Now?

First of all, your computer may not be properly configured to allow the validation process to complete. For this reason, one of the first things you'll want to do is click on the link below to check your computer's configuration and fix any problems that may exist. After checking for problems, you can click on a link to validate Windows.

If your computer checks out ok, you may be experiencing one of the following issues.

The Security Update for Windows Genuine Advantage (KB905474) fails to install.

Another reason why the validation may fail occurs when the ActiveX control for the Windows Genuine Advantage Validation Tool has been disabled. Follow the steps below to make sure the ActiveX is enabled.

A third error deals with Cryptographic Errors. If you are receiving the following information when running the WGA diagnostic tool, the problem is generally with corruption in the digital signatures of some files and they will have to be reregistered.

Diagnostic Report (1.5.0545.0):
-----------------------------------------
WGA Data-->
Validation Status: Cryptographic Errors Detected

1) Click on Start, click on Run
2) In the Open box, type CMD and then click OK.
3) At the command prompt type the following command and Press Enter

4) You should receive a message that DllRegisterServer in Softpub.dll succeeded, click OK
5) Repeat Steps 3 and 4 to re-register the following files

This error message occurs when you do not have appropriate permissions for the DATA folder for Windows Genuine Advantage. Follow the steps below to fix this issue or click on the link above for the Microsoft article concerning this problem.

Windows XP Professional or Windows XP Home
1. Click Start, click Run, type the following in the Run dialog box, and then click OK:
%systemdrive%\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Windows Genuine Advantage.

3. On the Security tab, click Users (username\Users) in the Group or user names section. If the Security tab is absent, you'll need to follow these steps as well.

4. In the Permissions for Users section, make sure that each check box in the Allow column is selected for the following permissions:

• Read & Execute
• List Folder Contents
• Read

5. Click OK, and then restart the validation check process.

If you experience other error messages or problems with the Windows Genuine Advantage, please email me so I can add these to the list.