Please Read this if your UI is black and painting slowly

Published on December 17, 2005 By Neil Banfield In WindowBlinds

If you have installed a pirate copy (AKA cracked) version of WindowBlinds 5, please be aware that the crack is faulty and WindowBlinds will cease to function correctly on your computer.

To fix this you just need to uninstall WB and if you wish install a purchased copy of WB, or the trial.

To uninstall, you can either wait for your computer to login, unload WB (either using wbconfig, display properties, or from a command prompt calling WBLOAD UNLOAD) and then uninstall WB. Or you can boot into safe mode & uninstall WB from there.

Your computer has not been harmed in anyway. Whoever made the crack did a poor job and patched out code that causes WindowBlinds to no longer be able to paint bitmaps (so title bars, borders, everything will be black).

Comments (Page 10)

136

Pradhan

on Apr 17, 2006

Sorry, but Stardock needs to own up to this. I am fully registered and have witnessed the problem. I believe it came after playing with Enhanced Dialogs which has caused me tremendous problems.

Pradhan Balter

Posted via WinCustomize Browser/Stardock Central

137

AiTakahashi

on May 26, 2006

AnonymousMe

Wow. That took balls... nice one.

138

jamesyuk

on May 27, 2006

We had this problem on a clients computer (I work in pc repair), he told us that he had been using Windowblinds (Illegally) for about 2 months, and only then it just suddenly decided to pack in on him. I dont think theres any reason for that.. other than a dodgy crack.

139

Jafo

on May 27, 2006

I dont think theres any reason for that.. other than a dodgy crack.

Perhaps it's a perfectly GOOD 'crack', which, by definition breaks something.

Remind me to shed a tear...oh, and BTW....if you work in 'PC repair' I'm SURE you actually explain to your customers WHY it is not smart to be playing with cracked software.

If you had any sense you would return the machine to him as it was....and actually TELL him that Legal responsibilities preclude you from working with pirated software.

140

AiTakahashi

on May 27, 2006

With respect Jafo, if every repair shop sent their customers packing whenever they brought in a system with any form of pirated software installed, they'd have no customer base left... Sad, but true.

141

Bichur

on May 28, 2006

That would imply either: only computers with pirated software breaks down or the majority of computer owners are thieves.

My system has borked and I have no pirated software of any kind.
I was about to take offence, but I remembered that which was learned ages ago and still holds true:

It is human nature to believe "everybody is like me". It makes us feel better.

142

AiTakahashi

on May 28, 2006

...or the majority of computer owners are thieves.

That's exactly what I'm saying, never mind "implying". I've worked in computer build/repair shops for over 10 years, and owned my own shop for nearly three years now, and the only people who have a legitimate copy of Windows are those who bought their system "off the shelf", whereas those who bought from independents, ftmp, had not only pirated versions of Windows, but even had the same COA number. I realise this is probably a lot to do with our business's close proximity to "The Barras" market in Glasgow, a well-known source of most pirate software in Scotland, but even so, those who did buy "off the shelf" with legit COAs, usually, i.e. 90+ percent, are either bit-torrent users or P2P downloaders.

It is human nature to believe "everybody is like me". It makes us feel better.

I was about to take offence to that, but then I realised "You don't know Jack" about me. Try not to make that assumption.

143

Bichur

on May 28, 2006

Try not to make that assumption.

Why not? It's just as valid as yours.

...or the majority of computer owners are thieves.

That's exactly what I'm saying, never mind "implying"

Your assumption applies to an entire planet based on your experience in Glasgow. Would it not have been more accurate, based on your experience, to label the majority of computer owners in Glasgow as theives?

144

AiTakahashi

on May 28, 2006

Mate, if you really are naive enough to think that the majority of computer users, especially since the advent of broadband internet, have never used any form of pirated software, you need to open your eyes.

...and btw, you were the one making assumptions based on no factual evidence, about an individual; me. I made a comment, directed at no-one in particular, that the majority do in fact have some form of pirated software on their PCs. To think otherwise would be foolish.

Are you honestly trying to say you've never even downloaded an MP3? Or a video clip that is essentially the intellectual property of a media corporation? A still image that you happened to think looked cool, but happened to have no accompanying copyright documentation?

145

Bichur

on May 28, 2006

yes

146

AiTakahashi

on May 28, 2006

OK. Then I guess this discussion has ended.

/flips the Return To Reality™ switch.

147

Jafo

on May 29, 2006

With respect Jafo, if every repair shop sent their customers packing whenever they brought in a system with any form of pirated software installed, they'd have no customer base left... Sad, but true.

Or....possibly, if every 'shop' did likewise the hint might just sink in that it's not too clever to seek assistance for something which was self-inflicted through user stupidity and the intent to steal.

Trundle a bit further back in this thread and you'll see users of pirated software wanting assistance for their 'wares' from the Legal owners/manufacturers of that software.

When a crack screws a machine...the owner should take it to that crack writer and beat HIM about the head with it, not cometh hither and bleat.....or in the case of the corner comp-shop...say 'please, sir...I borked my machine with crappy cracks....can you help me fix it?' Sure...it's called 'format c:'.

Today I saw a guy come into the comp shop and say....'was on the phone to MS....they asked for a legit XP reg serial...' He'd obviously been attempting to get hold of/install SP2 and it did a dummy-spit. So he comes in looking for a solution. Solution was...'here's a licence sticker....pay your money and pass on the code....possibly MS won't enquire as to why that code wasn't activating the XP already.' [it wasn't, because it was a pirate XP on the s/h machine....and now he's concerned he may have to re-install his OS and lose all his proggies....but....shit happens... ]

148

AiTakahashi

on May 29, 2006

Absolutely, and our own approach is to spend a bit of time to inform the (usually) unwitting user that it can be a false economy to ask Bobby-next-door who "knows a bit about PCs" to "fix" their computer...

There are certain categories of customer we deal with on a daily basis, ranging from the aforementioned innocent, usually not too PC-savvy types, thru penny-pinchers and on to the more resolute thief, who is unlikely to ever buy genuine software, unless they have absolutely no choice.

Type 1 : Bought 2nd hand... hooky windows + office, and now needs reinstalled due to virus(es), spyware, general clutter. Usually innocent through ignorance, and willing to pay whatever is required to become "legal".

Type 2 : Bought new, but went to Bobby-next-door to fix, and is now realising why this is a false economy, again, now willing to do things the right way.

Type 3 : Bought from unscrupulous independent who disabled Windows auto-update, again, innocent through ignorance.

Type 4 : The Chancer, who expects us to reinstall his pirate OS etc, and gets shirty when we tell him/her that in order to replace the software he had on the PC, he'll have to spend £80 on WinXP oem (if they also buy hardware) £120+ on the retail version if not, and £220 for the Office XP pro which was also installed, plus the standard £45 reinstall charge.

Most times, if we're honest with people and explain to them (without resorting to textbook sales-blurb) the downsides of going the cheap route, they will reciprocate with their money, and nine times out of ten are appreciative of our candour, and usually always return for any further work/assistance.

When a crack screws a machine...the owner should take it to that crack writer and beat HIM about the head with it, not cometh hither and bleat...

Indeed, and that (IMO) is where the problems begin... They have no way to contact the people who crack the software, and so go to the next best target; the software creators themselves, and some people are remarkably upfront about the fact that they nicked the software from the very people from whom they're now seeking advice.

Today I saw a guy come into the comp shop and say...

Yep, we get this all the time, even with completely legit PCs, but what's usually happened is that Mum and Dad are completely oblivious to the fact that little Johnny has passed on their product ID to a mate for a couple of quid, and now we're having to phone MS activation in Delhi to try and explain that this is the only PC its installed on...

149

Several

on May 31, 2006

Best $20 ive ever spent!

150

STARSChris Redfield

on Jun 03, 2006

Someone [Maybe i should] make a false windowblinds and spread it on the Gnutella networks, messing with those cheap punks' systems.

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