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spikey_richie
01-31-2007, 09:32 PM
I read this on Neowin and felt compelled to share it:

"In the past, early adopters of new Windows versions have had some small hurdles to overcome. Such hurdles may be software incompatibility, or lack of driver support. These sorts of things are almost expected with each new Windows launch. But what would you do if you bought Windows Vista and your product key didn’t work? What if Microsoft had no solution and was unwilling to issue you a new key?

Many (if not all) users who took advantage of Microsoft’s Vista Family Discount have been issued invalid installation keys and cannot install Windows Vista Home Premium. Microsoft confirms that the keys are indeed valid, but not for Windows Vista. The CSR I spoke with was unable to tell what the key was for, but it did appear to be a valid key, for something.

Microsoft says, “This is a known issue and has been escalated to the program manager.” When asked what could be done I was told, “I can take your name and number and call you back when there is a solution. If that is not acceptable, I can cancel your order and issue you a refund.” I was also told, “There is no expected time period for a fix at this time.”

If Microsoft does not have this issue fixed very soon, they are going to have a lot of unhappy customers. In the past Microsoft has just issued new keys when this happened. Why is Microsoft being so tight gripped about handing out new keys? If I purchased a valid key, what is it for? How long is this going to take to fix? So many questions, so little answers."

M$ Family discount homepage (http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/windowsvista/buyorupgrade/familydiscount.mspx)

Keith75
01-31-2007, 09:47 PM
I was going to take MS up on this offer but after hearing this I am definitely going to wait a while before doing any upgrades.

AMDave
02-01-2007, 08:01 AM
Another "lockout" issue posted by ComputerWire contains a nasty little surprise for anyone who installs Vista to a standalone machine with no internet access.

Here is the crux of it:

Vista's Software Protection Platform contains a feature that will lock users out of the operating system if it is not activated within 30 days after installation. This is designed to cut down on piracy by ensuring that users are running genuine software, but the beta program threw up at least one example of a user being locked out of software they had legitimately acquired simply because they were unable to connect to the Internet in time to activate it.

The fun thing about this is that they cannot patch it - no internet access. LOL. Nice one.

gatekeeper53
02-01-2007, 11:42 AM
I wonder if had they stayed with just working on 3.11 if they would have had all the bugs worked out yet?

spikey_richie
02-02-2007, 10:40 PM
Update:

"It looks like Microsoft is ready to settle the score with customers who took advantage of the Vista Family Discount offer earlier this week. As reported on Wednesday, anyone who purchased Windows Vista Home Premium using the keys provided by Microsoft’s Vista Family Discount was unable to use the keys. Windows Vista reported them as invalid.

Microsoft still will not tell me what the keys are for, however as promised I did get a call back today. I was told by Microsoft, “We do not know how these false keys where issued, but we do know the solution.” What is Microsoft’s solution?

Anyone who took advantage of the Windows Vista Family Discount should be on the lookout. Microsoft will be emailing those customers new product keys for Windows Vista Home Premium within the next 3-5 days. The new product keys should work without a hitch. "

Steve Lux
02-03-2007, 04:02 PM
E-mailing new product keys to people that don't have internet access because their OS doesn't work? Does this seem well thought out?

gatekeeper53
02-03-2007, 10:31 PM
Very Microsoft LOL