Windows 7 does NOT 'lock you out' of your system - except in some relatively minor respects.
Vista RTM did (SP2 does pretty much the same as Win7)
Win 7 will bring up a notification on every boot that the system is not genuine, and requires activation, and you can cancel out of that and get to a fully-functional desktop. However, if MSE is installed, it will also throw a fit, and after 30 days of non-genuine status, it will disable itself.
You will not be able to stay logged on for more than an hour, which allows you to activate online, hence why you only get to use IE and will not be able to access your files using any version of Win.
I also wonder where such false information comes from. The purpose of activation is to stop someone from buying Windows CD and passing it around the country for everyone to use for free. This to me is just common sense.
See, the thing is, you can obtain a hacked version that will do what the OP stated in the first post. And believe it or not there are some people out there naive enough to believe that its perfectly OK to use it. There was a thread here recently (deleted now though) were the OP wanted help removing the SLIC Loader, not knowing what it was, and not knowing they were running a pirated version of windows. I gave them the benefit of the doubt based on what they stated in that thread.
I have known people with loaders installed in perfectly genuine Windows - in an attempt get around a non-genuine message arising from file corruption.
lol, some people will do almost anything to avoid re-installing Windows. If they would keep track of the time they've spent hodge podging around their issue they'd realize it would have been quicker to just start over with a clean install and move on.
For many, that's not a viable option for a number of reasons (fear and lack of knowledge being high on the list).
Besides which, in many cases of non-genuine issues, a reinstall isn't needed (nor even a repair install) - just the courage to ask a question in the right place, rather than trusting 'the geeky kid who lives round the corner'.
Sorry - been out of touch for a bit, but I GREATLY appreciate everyone's help!!!
The "information" was from a "know-it-all" at work, I believe running W7 on a Mac(...), but before I told him to go talk to a brick wall and possibly make a total idiot of myself, I wanted to check my facts.
Last edited by brucemc777; 06 Feb 2012 at 18:05. Reason: More polite wording...
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:)