[Infowarrior] - Device driver updates causing Vista to deactivate

[Richard Forno]

WARNING: device driver updates causing Vista to deactivate

    *  23rd October 2007
    * James Bannan
    * Microsoft, Vista, Windows

http://apcmag.com/vista_activation

After weeks of gruelling troubleshooting, I've finally had it confirmed by
Microsoft Australia and USA -- something as small as swapping the video card
or updating a device driver can trigger a total Vista deactivation.

Put simply, your copy of Windows will stop working with very little notice
(three days) and your PC will go into "reduced functionality" mode, where
you can't do anything but use the web browser for half an hour.

You'll then need to reapply to Microsoft to get a new activation code.

How can this crazy situation occur? Read on for the sorry tale.
The Problem

James BannanJames BannanJust over a month ago I swapped over the graphics
card on my Vista Ultimate box. There were some new DirectX 10-based titles
out and I couldn¹t get the benefit on my old DirectX 9 card. The swap-over
went well and I went on my merry gaming way.

Then a few days ago I got a Windows Activation prompt ­ I had three days to
activate Windows or I¹d be bumped back to RFM (Reduced Functionality Mode).
What the? My copy of Vista was activated, and a graphics card change
shouldn¹t have triggered deactivation... surely!

I was able to reactivate easily enough, although as the product key was
already in use (by me!) I couldn¹t reactivate automatically, but had to
speak to a Microsoft customer service representative.

I got the code easily enough, but it didn¹t explain why Vista had
deactivated, so I got in touch with Microsoft about the problem.

They sent me some special utilities to run which gathered the history of
hardware changes on that machine since activation, and it turns out that my
disk controller had changed, so the graphics card change was the final
change which tripped deactivation.

The only problem? I had never changed my disk controller at any point.
Apparently because I had upgraded the Intel Matrix Storage Manager
application, this was reported as a major hardware change event.

On their own, neither event was enough to trigger deactivation, but
cumulatively they were.
The Activation Process

The documentation is still being updated by Microsoft, but the activation
process for Windows Vista and Volume Activation 2.0 is essentially unchanged
from Windows XP, except that with Vista it¹s supposed to be more tolerant.

When the machine is first activated, Windows establishes a baseline based on
the installed hardware, but interestingly the information is not gathered
from hardware IDs (which are not necessarily unique), but from hardware
information as reported by device drivers. Any changes away from this
baseline are weighted depending on the change (for example, a new CPU counts
much higher than new RAM) and once the baseline threshold is passed, Windows
deactivates and a new activation request is generated.

The problem with using device drivers as the basis for activation
information is that a change in the driver model which has the result of
changing the way that the hardware information is reported back to Windows
can be enough to register as a physical hardware change.

For example, if you install and activate Vista using some Microsoft drivers
downloaded from Windows Update (which is a very common practice) but then
discover that a manufacturer driver gives better functionality (as is often
the case for audio, video, storage and network drivers) you are running the
risk that the drivers use different reporting models and will register as a
physical change.

So what this essentially means is that keeping your drivers up-to-date is a
potentially very risky process, with all changes monitored and changes
weighted cumulatively.
The Problem with Activation

As most tech enthusiasts would be aware, activation (and particularly Volume
Activation 2.0 which is applied to every version of Vista available), is
designed for one thing ­ to curb piracy.

The idea is that Windows monitors the hardware it¹s installed on, and if you
create an image of an activated machine and drop it onto another system, it
will re-register the hardware serial number changes (via the drivers) and
realise that it¹s been installed on a different system.

Of course, Microsoft needs to be able to protect its software. Piracy of
Microsoft products is rampant and while many people find that amusing,
no-one denies the company¹s right to do something about it. However, it
hasn¹t worked. At least, it would have worked for Vista had not Microsoft
bowed to pressure from OEMs to allow an activation loophole, which was
quickly exploited.

Volume Activation 2.0 has not yet been cracked, but now it doesn¹t need to
be. There¹s an official workaround for OEMs and the result is that anyone
with a few minutes to spare can download a fully-functional pirated copy of
Vista Ultimate (32-bit and 64-bit versions) which needs neither product key
nor activation.

So pirates haven¹t been slowed down at all, and the rest of us -- the
legitimate purchasers -- are left to live with Windows Activation. You
really need to ask the question ­ who¹s benefiting here? Certainly not
users, and given the amount of discontent this is likely to cause, arguably
not Microsoft either.

In its attempts to combat piracy, Microsoft has created a system which
doesn¹t focus on the problem correctly. After all, how do you define piracy?
At its most basic level, piracy occurs when you install software on a
machine when you aren¹t licensed to do so. But the Windows Activation model
isn¹t designed to address this particular problem ­ as far as Windows
Activation is concerned, there¹s no difference between someone who tries to
image two machines with the same activated version of Windows, and a
legitimate user who wants to upgrade their system.

If you buy a retail version of Vista, as long as you¹re not breaking the
terms of the license, then surely it¹s none of Microsoft's business what you
do with that software. Legitimate users shouldn¹t be monitored and
inconvenienced to this extent.
The Solution?

There¹s no denying that Windows Activation has a serious image problem. Not
only is it inconvenient and cumbersome, but it creates a very strong
impression in the user's mind that Microsoft doesn't really want to give you
the software you paid for.

There are things going on under the hood which have nothing to do with you
and which you¹re not privy to, and, as I found out, it will affect you if
you make an innocent wrong move such as updating too many device drivers.

Additionally, it has been completely bypassed by pirates, so the one group
it¹s aimed at is sailing blissfully past in a wonderful world where
activation doesn¹t exist.

At the very least, Microsoft needs to empower users in relation to
activation, by involving them a bit more. Perhaps users could have a way of
monitoring their cumulative changes, or maybe there could be some method
where you could be informed when installing a device driver that it is
contributing to your activation totals.

Ultimately, what annoys users more than anything is having something forced
on them, and Windows Activation is absolutely one of those areas which
causes a great deal of frustration and outrage.

APC has passed all this feedback back to Microsoft, which, to its credit, is
taking the situation very seriously and has Vista developers working on a
solution.

Apparently there are changes underway to make the whole experience more
user-friendly. We certainly hope so. It¹s absolutely in Microsoft¹s interest
to make those changes as widely known as possible. We¹ll post information
about that once it¹s available.