Beware the Dangers of Pirating

As a Microsoft Partner CerkiTek recently received a letter explaining the new anti-piracy technologies that are now part of Windows Vista. This is a serious enough issue that Microsoft not only sent all their partners a certified letter, but they are calling them as well. The following is an excerpt from the letter that CerkiTek received:

“Microsoft is committed to helping protect consumers and software resellers from the risks and fraud associated with pirated software. Unfortunately, millions of PCs that ship each year end up with non-genuine Windows software.

Windows Vista software changes the landscape through the integration of built-in anti-piracy technologies that make widespread pirating of the operating system more difficult and less attractive to end-users. Because of the impact to non-genuine users around these important changes, we wanted to ensure we provide all our partners with a base of understanding of how these technologies work. How the technologies work:

• All versions of Windows Vista must be activated with a genuine product key, either by the OEM or the end customer.
• If non-genuine Windows Vista is detected during activation, the system enters a 30-day grace period where some features will be disabled, import updates and downloads denied, and a constant message on the screen will remind the customer that the operating system is non-genuine.
• Following the 30-day grace period, the system will go into a reduced functionality mode until a valid key is entered. In reduced functionality mode, the user will experience:
  • A black desktop background with only a browser icon available
  • No start menu or task bar
  • Limited Web browser availability

Windows Vista also includes anti-piracy technology that detects non-genuine versions on an ongoing basis as updates and enhancements are installed. If non-genuine Windows Vista is detected, the system enters the 30-day grace period with the same experience described above.”

As you can see, Microsoft is taking serious measures to prevent the pirating of Windows Vista. However, this will also impact those who unknowingly bought a non-genuine copy of Windows Vista. If it is discovered that a non-genuine version is being used, serious issues can disrupt your PC’s functionality, causing a very genuine problem. Make sure that the reseller that you are buying from is selling genuine copies of Windows Vista. Be careful and be genuine. Feel free to contact CerkiTek for any questions you might have regarding purchasing Windows Vista or any Microsoft products.

For questions or comments about this post, please send an email to  blog@cerkitek.com.

 

Accessing Virtual Disk Files With VHDMount

VHDMount is a new tool from Microsoft that allows you to connect (or mount) a virtual hard disk to your host operating system as if it were a seperate physical disk.  This can be very useful in accessing files in the virtual hard disk or for performing backups.  I’ve used it to access files when I didn’t have file sharing configured between the host and guest operating systems.

VHDMount is included in Virtual Server 2005 R2 SP1, which can be downloaded from  here.  Registration is required before downloading.

Once installed, VHDMount can be found in the VHDMount directory where Virtual Server was installed.  Usually that would be C:\Program Files\Microsoft Virtual Server\Vhdmount.

VHDMount is a command line utility. 

Use the following command: VHDMount /p [/f] VHDFileName.

The /p parameter will connect the virtual hard disk specified in VHDFileName to the host operating system. On Windows XP it will automatically mount and assign the next available drive letter to all the partitions on the virtual hard disk. On Windows 2003 it will not mount the partitions on the virtual hard disk so you have to use the disk management console to assign drive letters or mount point in order to access the data.

On Windows Server 2003 you can use the following command:
VHDMount /m [/f] VHDFileName [DriveLetter].

The /m parameter can only be used on Windows Server 2003 and will mount all partitions on the virtual hard disk and use DriveLetter for the first partition. The rest of the partitions will get assigned incrementing drive letters as appropriate. DriveLetter is optional and if not provided the behavior is the same as using /p on Windows XP.

The /f parameter will mount the virtual hard disk without creating an Undo Disk.

To unmount the virtual hard disk use:
VHDMount /u VHDFileName [/c | /d].

The /c parameter will commit all changes that were stored in the Undo Disk. It is only applicable if the virtual hard disk was mounted without the /f parameter.

The /d parameter will discard all changes to the mounted disk. It is only applicable if the virtual hard disk was mounted without the /f parameter.

For questions or comments about this post, please send an email to  blog@cerkitek.com.