Microsoft Product Activation is a DRM technology used by Microsoft Corporation in several of its. For Office 2007 and 50 times for Office 2003 and XP, the programs will enter a reduced functionality mode, where files can be viewed but not edited. In 2009, SLP product keys and certificate information for Windows 7 were. Jul 29, 2009 - It's been less than a week since Windows 7 was released to. Product key from computer manufacturer Lenovo (though the crack isn't limited to their hardware). I'm still running WinXP MCE 2k5, so $50 will get me A LOT of.
I am an experienced freelance technology journalist. I have written for Wired, The Next Web, TrustedReviews, The Guardian and the BBC in addition to Forbes.
I began in b2b print journalism covering tech companies at the height of the dot com boom and switched to covering consumer technology as the iPod began to take off. A career highlight for me was being a founding member of TrustedReviews. It started in 2003 and we were repeatedly told websites could not compete with print!
Within four years we were purchased by IPC Media (Time Warner's publishing division) to become its flagship tech title. What fascinates me are the machinations of technology's biggest companies. Got a pitch, tip or leak? Contact me on,, my professional or via email: gordonATgordonkelly.com. I don't bite.
The author is a Forbes contributor. The opinions expressed are those of the writer. Earlier this year Microsoft warned users that. I dismissed its claims as a desperate attempt to shift copies of Windows 10 (and I still do), but now Microsoft has warned of a new serious Windows 7 problem that is very real – even though it makes no sense whatsoever In short: Microsoft has made a seemingly small yet completely bizarre tweak to Windows Update on Windows 7 and confirmed it is crippling many users’ PCs. It switched the status of Windows 7 update KB3133977 from ‘Optional’ to ‘Recommended’. The bizarre part? Despite acknowledging the problems, Microsoft knew they would occur in advance and it has no plans to do anything about it.
Windows 7 users are being pushed to upgrade to Windows 10. Image credit: Gordon Kelly Ok, let’s put some meat on these bones.
PCs That Suddenly Won’t Start It all centres around Asus motherboards. Now 27 years old, Asus is one of the largest PC component makers and supplies motherboards to many of the world’s biggest PC makers. Recently it enabled Secure Boot in on all its motherboards. This wasn’t a problem for older PCs because Windows 7 didn’t support Secure Boot, that is until KB3133977 came along in March and enabled it.
Initially the fallout was small. Asus the problem, Microsoft the problem.
But the best news was KB3133977 was an optional Windows 7 update so it had to be manually installed to take effect. The solution was simple: just steer clear of KB3133977 (aka do nothing) and you’d be fine. Then last month – for some bizarre reason – Microsoft made KB3133977 a ‘Recommended’ update. The result was every user running Windows 7 and default Windows Update settings (the vast majority) would find the update now installed automatically. And then everyone with an Asus motherboard was hit. A Global Problem As InfoWorld’s Windows expert Woody Leonhard “I’m now seeing problems reported from all over the globe about Windows 7 machines that suddenly won’t boot”. Affected machines simply show a red box which says.
The Windows 7 warning screen hitting PC owners with Asus motherboards who install update KB3133977. Image credit: Asus All of which does nothing to pinpoint the problem or solve it for those without a second secured boot device. In short: you’d be screwed. The Good News And Staying Safe The good news is Asus has now to get PCs booting up again. Furthermore Asus must take some of the blame for not reacting faster when KB3133977 presented a potential landmine and issuing new updates to its motherboards. How do you know if you have an Asus motherboard in your Windows 7 PC?
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Microsoft Product Activation is a DRM technology used by Microsoft Corporation in several of its. For Office 2007 and 50 times for Office 2003 and XP, the programs will enter a reduced functionality mode, where files can be viewed but not edited. In 2009, SLP product keys and certificate information for Windows 7 were. Jul 29, 2009 - It's been less than a week since Windows 7 was released to. Product key from computer manufacturer Lenovo (though the crack isn't limited to their hardware). I'm still running WinXP MCE 2k5, so $50 will get me A LOT of.
I am an experienced freelance technology journalist. I have written for Wired, The Next Web, TrustedReviews, The Guardian and the BBC in addition to Forbes.
I began in b2b print journalism covering tech companies at the height of the dot com boom and switched to covering consumer technology as the iPod began to take off. A career highlight for me was being a founding member of TrustedReviews. It started in 2003 and we were repeatedly told websites could not compete with print!
Within four years we were purchased by IPC Media (Time Warner's publishing division) to become its flagship tech title. What fascinates me are the machinations of technology's biggest companies. Got a pitch, tip or leak? Contact me on,, my professional or via email: gordonATgordonkelly.com. I don't bite.
The author is a Forbes contributor. The opinions expressed are those of the writer. Earlier this year Microsoft warned users that. I dismissed its claims as a desperate attempt to shift copies of Windows 10 (and I still do), but now Microsoft has warned of a new serious Windows 7 problem that is very real – even though it makes no sense whatsoever In short: Microsoft has made a seemingly small yet completely bizarre tweak to Windows Update on Windows 7 and confirmed it is crippling many users’ PCs. It switched the status of Windows 7 update KB3133977 from ‘Optional’ to ‘Recommended’. The bizarre part? Despite acknowledging the problems, Microsoft knew they would occur in advance and it has no plans to do anything about it.
Windows 7 users are being pushed to upgrade to Windows 10. Image credit: Gordon Kelly Ok, let’s put some meat on these bones.
PCs That Suddenly Won’t Start It all centres around Asus motherboards. Now 27 years old, Asus is one of the largest PC component makers and supplies motherboards to many of the world’s biggest PC makers. Recently it enabled Secure Boot in on all its motherboards. This wasn’t a problem for older PCs because Windows 7 didn’t support Secure Boot, that is until KB3133977 came along in March and enabled it.
Initially the fallout was small. Asus the problem, Microsoft the problem.
But the best news was KB3133977 was an optional Windows 7 update so it had to be manually installed to take effect. The solution was simple: just steer clear of KB3133977 (aka do nothing) and you’d be fine. Then last month – for some bizarre reason – Microsoft made KB3133977 a ‘Recommended’ update. The result was every user running Windows 7 and default Windows Update settings (the vast majority) would find the update now installed automatically. And then everyone with an Asus motherboard was hit. A Global Problem As InfoWorld’s Windows expert Woody Leonhard “I’m now seeing problems reported from all over the globe about Windows 7 machines that suddenly won’t boot”. Affected machines simply show a red box which says.
The Windows 7 warning screen hitting PC owners with Asus motherboards who install update KB3133977. Image credit: Asus All of which does nothing to pinpoint the problem or solve it for those without a second secured boot device. In short: you’d be screwed. The Good News And Staying Safe The good news is Asus has now to get PCs booting up again. Furthermore Asus must take some of the blame for not reacting faster when KB3133977 presented a potential landmine and issuing new updates to its motherboards. How do you know if you have an Asus motherboard in your Windows 7 PC?