Pirated XP Pro explanation

For those who have answered and shot me full of bullets...My so called
computer friend told me that since the operating system was pirated, I needed
to buy an upgrade to make it right. So that is what I did, but was told to
buy the wrong one. What I bought is Windows XP Home Edition with Service
Pack 2 Upgrade, but it is for users of Windows 98 or Millennium and not XP
Pro. My mistake since I know nothing about what I'm doing. My niece that
sold me the computer with the bad operating system admitted after the fact
that the system was pirated, but it was too late...too bad. I had never
dealt with her before and had no reason to believe that she would do this to
me. My mistake again! All I'm trying to accomplish here is to find a
resolution. I am not advocating anything connected to pirating again. I
notified Microsoft of the problem and asked them for suggestions and
evidently it fell on deaf ears, because they have never responded other than
verifying that they got my request. Meanwhile, Wal Mart will not take the
software back because the box is now open and they claim that Microsoft will
not allow them to take it back because it is a copyright violation...meaning
that they have no way of knowing if I copied he disc or not. I feel that I
have spent honest money for an operating system that will not work and I'm
trying to mitigate the damages to my wallet without making the same mistake
again. I hope this answers all the criticisim from some of those who have
answered this question. Thanks to those who have tried to answer my question!

<answered inline>

Allen wrote:
> For those who have answered and shot me full of bullets...My so
> called computer friend told me that since the operating system was
> pirated, I needed to buy an upgrade to make it right. So that is
> what I did, but was told to buy the wrong one. What I bought is
> Windows XP Home Edition with Service Pack 2 Upgrade, but it is for
> users of Windows 98 or Millennium and not XP Pro.

Although you are correct - you are also incorrect.

Windows XP Home Edition can only upgrade a system that currently has VALID
licensed versions of Windows 98, 98SE or Windows ME. It can also be used to
perform a clean installation with VALID licensed copies of the installation
media for Windows 95, 98, 98SE or Windows ME.

Windows XP Professional, on the other hand, can only upgrade a system that
currently has VALID licensed versions of Windows 98, 98SE, ME, 2000 or
Windows XP Home. It can also be used to perform a clean installation with
VALID licensed copies of the installation media for Windows 95, 98, 98SE,
2000 or Windows XP Home.

The long and short of it is that your friend was/is wrong. You do not have
a legitimate license for the Windows XP Professional now installed on your
system - so even if you had gotten a copy of Windows XP Professional
Upgrade - unless you have a VALID license of some other OS named above that
is unused and you want to use to validate - you have not corrected the
problem. A Windows XP Professional Upgrade license cannot be used to
upgrade/make legitimate an INVALID copy of the OS.

> My mistake since I know nothing about what I'm doing. My niece
> that sold me the computer with the bad operating system admitted
> after the fact that the system was pirated, but it was too late...too
> bad. I had never dealt with her before and had no reason to
> believe that she would do this to me. My mistake again!
>
> All I'm trying to accomplish here is to find a resolution. I am not
> advocating anything connected to pirating again. I notified
> Microsoft of the problem and asked them for suggestions and
> evidently it fell on deaf ears, because they have never responded
> other than verifying that they got my request.
>
> Meanwhile, Wal Mart will not take the software
> back because the box is now open and they claim that Microsoft will
> not allow them to take it back because it is a copyright
> violation...meaning that they have no way of knowing if I copied he
> disc or not. I feel that I have spent honest money for an
> operating system that will not work and I'm trying to mitigate the
> damages to my wallet without making the same mistake again.
>
> I hope this answers all the criticisim from some of those who have
> answered this question. Thanks to those who have tried to answer
> my question!

I hope you understand my inline explanation. I have responded further to
your original posting - although I am unsure why you chose to start a new
thread/conversation...

For those wondering what all this is about...
http://groups.google.com/group/micro...40f8431975e11a

--
Shenan Stanley
MS-MVP
--
How To Ask Questions The Smart Way
http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html

I believe you do have the option to return the unsuitable product
directly to Microsoft Corporation.

On Wed, 20 Feb 2008 17:38:06 -0800, Allen
<Allen@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote:

>For those who have answered and shot me full of bullets...My so called
>computer friend told me that since the operating system was pirated, I needed
>to buy an upgrade to make it right. So that is what I did, but was told to
>buy the wrong one. What I bought is Windows XP Home Edition with Service
>Pack 2 Upgrade, but it is for users of Windows 98 or Millennium and not XP
>Pro. My mistake since I know nothing about what I'm doing. My niece that
>sold me the computer with the bad operating system admitted after the fact
>that the system was pirated, but it was too late...too bad. I had never
>dealt with her before and had no reason to believe that she would do this to
>me. My mistake again! All I'm trying to accomplish here is to find a
>resolution. I am not advocating anything connected to pirating again. I
>notified Microsoft of the problem and asked them for suggestions and
>evidently it fell on deaf ears, because they have never responded other than
>verifying that they got my request. Meanwhile, Wal Mart will not take the
>software back because the box is now open and they claim that Microsoft will
>not allow them to take it back because it is a copyright violation...meaning
>that they have no way of knowing if I copied he disc or not. I feel that I
>have spent honest money for an operating system that will not work and I'm
>trying to mitigate the damages to my wallet without making the same mistake
>again. I hope this answers all the criticisim from some of those who have
>answered this question. Thanks to those who have tried to answer my question!