Genuine Windows (dis)Advantage

This weekend I configured a three-tiered backup system to protect the three Macs in my home. Throughout the research and implementation process I kept thinking “Gee… If I were trying to do the same three layered approach for three Windows PCs it wouldn’t be this easy.”

Now I have found another difference between Mac and Windows…. Microsoft’s draconian Windows Advantage.

First the back-story:

I use Quicken to manage personal finances, and Intuit can’t seem to get Quicken Mac right, so I run the Windows version on a Mac using VMWare Fusion. This has worked great for years. A 30 Gb VMWare partition manages the Windows XP install and I have never had a problem with stability, upgrades or security.

Current problem:

The latest Quicken release requires 1 Gb RAM, so I bumped up the RAM setting for the Windows XP virtual instance, and now Windows Genuine Advantage thinks this perfectly legal copy of Windows is not licensed. All because the OS detected a RAM “upgrade.” After a wasted hour of research, it appears the only way to “license” this copy of Windows is to input the CD key, of which I do not have anymore, since this setup has worked great “for years.”

Lessons Learned:

  • Make a photo copy, or snap a photo, or otherwise find a place to store a copy of the Windows activation key.
  • The Mac’s unified approach to hardware and software doesn’t require Apple to have to resort to excessive OS copy protection.

 

 

Posted on April 9th, 2012 by in Commentary FWIW | No Comments »