Filed under: OS Updates, Windows, Microsoft
Can Windows Vista be run indefinitely without activation?
by Brad Linder Mar 22nd 2007 at 3:30PM
Last month we told you how to extend your Windows Vista 30 day trial period for as long as 120 days. The process is 100% legal, and was put in Vista by Microsoft. All you have to do is enter a rearm command every 30 days or so. We thought you could only do this 3 times, but now sites are reporting that there's a registry hack that allows you to rearm your system an indefinite number of times.
Of course, if you want a fully supported version of Vista, you're going to have to activate it. And if you want to avoid the hassle of having to reenter a key every thirty days or risk losing all of your data, you should activate your software. But if for some reason you might have a copy of the operating system and a reason not to activate it, this hack may come in handy.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Carlos said 4:39PM on 3-22-2007
Where can I get Windows Vista?
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Edwin Kwok said 5:12PM on 3-22-2007
at a local store
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StonedLogic said 8:12PM on 3-22-2007
theres cracks out that will ACTUALLY activate vista 100% (no resetting/stopping the timer)
of course this is all M$ fault.
They built in all this reset/activation stuff.
Theres also rumors of a new OS in development already, coming out in about 2 years.
Vista isnt worth it for me.. too many hardware/software compatibility issues for me. I have no problem sticking with XP for now :]
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StonedLogic said 7:18PM on 3-22-2007
theres cracks out that will ACTUALLY activate vista 100% (no resetting/stopping the timer)
of course this is all M$ fault.
They built in all this reset/activation stuff.
Theres also rumors of a new OS in development already, coming out in about 2 years.
Vista isnt worth it for me.. too many hardware/software compatibility issues for me. I have no problem sticking with XP for now :]
Reply
sam said 8:14PM on 3-22-2007
What this article fails to mention is that downloading Windows Vista is still very much illegal. For this "Registry Hack" to be "Legal" (As in, Microsoft said it was allowed) you have to buy Vista, and then not activate it for god knows what reason, and keep doing the registry edit. You can't fire up Bittorrent and download a copy of Vista and then use this "Hack" (though that is what people are doing). There are more permanent hacks for Vista (killing Activation altogether) that the warez community is using right now that basically make this "Registry Hack" worthless.
So if you don't want to activate your legal copy of Vista, this is the hack for you. Why you wouldn't want to activate? No idea.
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Peter said 7:59AM on 3-23-2007
sam - "So if you don't want to activate your legal copy of Vista, this is the hack for you. Why you wouldn't want to activate? No idea."
Because of Microsoft's crazy restrictions on activation. hardware upgrades and portability.
If I activate and then significantly change my machine, I need to re-activate. If I wipe my system and rebuild, I need to re-activate. If I buy a new machine and want to transfer my license, I need to re-activate.
MS has publicly stated that they will allow far fewer of these re-activations than in the past. Of course they won't state what the number is. I don't support piracy, but I don't want to have to fight with MS or be forced to buy a new copy of my OS just because I tinkered with my machine more than they would like.
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