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Unhappy with Microsofts Actions
Last year, I took my 64 bit laptop running native Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 and installed Linux Mint on it. I installed Oracle VirtualBox, then reinstalled Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 in the Virtual environment. Everything went well, except I had to call Microsoft Support because the Windows installation could not go online. The reason for the virtual transition... Support for Windows 7 was ending, and I did not want my Windows 7 installation to be exposed to any online threats. I run software on Windows 7 for interfacing with vehicle ECUs, and that software will not run on newer versions of Windows. Support was able to help me get my Windows 7 activated, and all was well, for a year. 2 weeks ago, I mirrored the HDD image to a USB stick, and upgraded to a larger HDD, then mirrored that image to the new HDD. After doing this, the Linux Mint install worked just fine, but the Windows 7 install in VirtualBox asked me to input the Product Key. When I tried doing this, Windows 7 attemped to verify online, then an error that it was not valid and offered for me to buy another key, input a different key, or contact customer support. After a few days of getting nowhere online searching for help, I finally registered an account with Microsoft, and began the task of trying to find out what had gone wrong. I had Microsoft Support call me back, the guy was obviously from India and I had trouble understanding him. He had me type in slui 4, and read him the result. He then told me that my OEM Product Key was no longer valid, and that I needed to upgrade to Windows 10. When I explained to him that the software that I needed to run would not run on Windows 10, he told me to upgrade that software. The company that wrote that software has been out of business for years, and I told him this. He told me to buy a new license for my Windows 7 installation, then the line went dead. I tried finding out how to do that through Microsoft, then gave up. I went online to try to find a Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 package, but nearly all I found were Builder packs from OEMs. Those that were not, were marked as used, which means they were already installed and actvated at one time! Why buy another OEM package when apparently they are all of limited life? I am fed up with my experiences with Microsoft! I really love the Linux OS, reminds me of the Unix OSs that I was used to using decades ago, plus with added GUI. I really don't want to have to disassemble the ECU software and port it over to Linux, but I just don't see myself jumping through Microsoft hoops, only to be further disappointed by them again in the future. I remember when Bill Gates was soliciting for DOSs back in the early days, prior to him buying one and licensing it to IBM. The current way that Microsoft is headed, customers are being forced to accept the bloatware that they peddle now, or go with alternative OSs, I don't know if they will still be around in a decade or so.
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