Windows Watcher

Padlocks, pirates, and open windows ... by Tom S. Bair, Jr.

As many of you know, I have been pretty patient with Microsoft over the years. After all, they managed to throw together an operating system that worked on several hundred different brands of personal computers that were configured a zillion different ways, hardware-wise. You have to respect talent that can accomplish that feat.

Now Microsoft has decided to adopt a new anti-piracy measure called Product Activation. This measure is an attempt to curtail the activities of serious software pirates. Yet it does more damage to unsuspecting home users with multiple computers. And the home user is the bulk of today's consumer market.

Let's face facts. Many homes in this region contain two or more personal computers. Dad has his, Mom might have hers, and the kids have at least one to get them on the Internet to assist with homework, among other fun and joyous things to do. And this has helped drive the growth of the home networking industry.

The first MS product to contain this product activation (PA) measure is the upcoming Windows XP, due to be released in October of this year. XP is really nothing more than Windows 2000 with Windows ME features added. There are a few graphic whistles tossed in, but in my opinion, the public should continue using either W2K (Windows 2000) or ME (Windows Millennium Edition). This certainly holds true if you are one of those households with more than one computer. You wouldn't be happy with having to buy an XP Installation CD with its own unique product key for each of your computers in the home.

I've logged in almost two months and a record 27 operating system crashes to discover how a 'software pirate' might get around this PA measure. Naturally I wasn't hacking with the final retail release of XP, but rather the Beta 2 release. Yet I did manage to discover three possible maneuvers to avoid registering the Beta 2 release. I admit I'm not your average user; however, I am also not at the technological level of your typical software pirate. This leads me to think that Microsoft is padlocking the XP door while leaving all the windows open for ventilation. 

Editor's Note: Computer Bits magazine respects the rights of all owners of intellectual property and does not endorse software piracy on any scale for any reason in violation of any legal license agreement.

How Does PA Work?

When you have finished installing XP on your computer, a screen will pop up asking if you wish to activate XP. Clicking on the "No" button results in XP booting and working flawlessly, use after use. But when 30 days have passed, you will again see this Activation screen. Your only option will be to quit XP, or to activate it by registering. Please note that 30 days is Microsoft's prediction of the length of usage allowed in the final retail version before activation is required. I've heard from many in the industry that the days might actually be limited to 15, along with any number in-between.

Clicking on the "OK" button will result in a 50-digit number known as the Installation ID being sent to Microsoft's Product Activation Center (PAC) via the Internet. PAC will send back to your computer a 42-digit Activation ID that allows XP to operate. All this is done in less than 20 seconds, and it really is a painless procedure.

How is the Installation ID generated? When you install Windows XP, PA looks at your unique hardware configuration on your computer and generates a long Hardware ID number, which is then combined with the 25-digit Product Key ID (the number found on the back of your Installation CD's jewel case). These two combined numbers generate the 50-digit Installation ID.

Attempting to install the same Installation CD of XP on your second computer will result in XP working for only 30 days at a time. You cannot activate it since the Hardware ID number on the second computer will be different from what is registered with PAC. Beginning to see the dilemma?

Installing a new hard drive will require you to either mirror-image the contents of the old drive to the new, or call Microsoft PAC and tunnel through the process of proving you purchased a new drive. Microsoft will need to accept a new Hardware ID number from your upgraded computer for the system to work past the 30-day non-activation period.

This new plan of Microsoft's doesn't sound consumer friendly to me. Sell each XP package with a 3-computer licensing agreement and all might be well. Remain inflexible and even the most loyal may move on to greener, possibly Linux, pastures.

Removing Boot Track Viruses

[95/98/SE/ME] Seems the latest twisted fad is to spread the old-style Boot Track viruses around again. The most common method of infection is via floppy disks that are shared with many computers. The virus jumps to the hard drive when the floppy disk is accessed.

These types of Boot Track Viruses commonly damage the hard drive's Master Boot Record (MBR) by altering it. That is when a number of strange things begin to take place with your computer. Since today's anti-virus programs are designed for Windows-mode-only operation, they fail to detect or remove these old viruses from the MBR.

If you suspect your PC is suffering from these old-type viruses, do the following:

1. Obtain a Windows Emergency Boot Disk that was created from a virus-free PC. Normally the boot disk you made when you first installed Windows will work if you haven't accessed it since becoming infected. If you are suspicious of your disk, borrow one from a friend or co-worker.
2. Place the write-protect slider on the disk to the read-only position so that the virus doesn't jump from your hard drive to this clean disk. Move the slider into the closed position to write-protect your disk.
3. Insert this disk into the A: floppy drive.
4. Turn on your computer.
5. Boot to normal DOS mode.
6. At the DOS command line prompt, type: FDISK /MBR/ and hit the Enter key.
7. When you are again at the DOS command line prompt, remove the floppy disk from the drive.
8. Turn the computer off.
9. Turn the computer on. Windows will boot up and the virus will be history.

Change MS Word's Paste Key

[95/98/SE/ME/NT/2K] Did you know that every version of Word from 6 through 2000 uses the Insert key to switch between insert mode and overtype mode? Ask yourself how often you have used this key and you will be ready to make better use of the Insert key. Since many, if not all of us, often use Cut and Paste in our documents, why not assign the paste command to that key?

Here's how:

1. In Microsoft Word, click on 'Tools.'
2. Click on 'Options.'
3. Click on the 'Edit' tab.
4. Click on the checkbox next to "Use the INS key for paste" so that a check mark appears in the checkbox.
5. Click on the "OK" button.

Now instead of hitting the key combo of Alt-V to paste, you only need to hit the single Insert key.

Hardware Configuration Menu

[98/SE] Have a computer without a Plug and Play BIOS? If you do, Windows won't automatically detect the new hardware you install in your PC or know when you dock or undock your laptop to and from a docking station.

If you are unable or unwilling to upgrade the BIOS, then force Windows to display a Hardware Configuration Menu during boot-up that will allow you to choose from different hardware setups you commonly use. To do this, you need to set up multiple hardware profiles under the Windows Control Panel.

1. Click on the 'Start' button.
2. Highlight 'Settings' and click on 'Control Panel.'
3. Click on 'System.'
4. Click the 'Hardware Profiles' tab of the "System Properties" window.
5. Highlight the hardware profile, if it isn't already. It should be called "Original Configuration," if you haven't modified it.
6. Click the 'Rename...' button.
7. Enter a new name that describes your most common hardware setup, like "Docked," or "Normal."
8. Save this hardware profile by clicking the "OK" button.
9. Highlight your newly saved profile.
10. Click the 'Copy' button.
11. Enter a new name in the "Copy Profile" dialog box that describes your second hardware setup, like "Undocked," or "Alternative."
12. Click the "OK" button to save this profile.
13. You can now pick and choose the hardware devices you want Windows to include within each profile. Highlight the profile you want to configure and select the 'Device Manager' tab of the "System Properties" window. Double-click on a hardware item and put a check in the box next to the line that reads: "Disable in the Hardware Profile" to remove that item.
14. Remove unwanted devices in this manner until you have each profile properly configured.
15. Click the "OK" button to finish.

Next time you boot up Windows will automatically display a Hardware Configuration Menu due to you now having more than one to choose from. In the above steps, you will be given the following selection of choices:

1. Docked (or Normal) 2. Undocked (or Alternative) 3. None of the above

You will be prompted to select one of the three choices. Enter the configuration number you wish to boot up with. However, do not select option 3: "None of the above." Doing so may alter your system settings by forcing Windows to attempt to patch together its own hardware profile.

Nancy Ahern says that Tom Bair, who meekly declines to mention his contributing editorship, no longer cares to talk about ME ... Windows Millennium Edition, that is. No, he has moved on to playing with his laptop. But let us not go there.