Microsoft WGA Servers Suffered Worldwide Outage
Microsoft Windows Genuine Advantage servers all failed sometime earlier today.
The result? Every single Windows XP and Vista installation -- except possibly those with volume license keys -- is being marked as counterfeit when it tries to check in. Installations which are flagged as counterfeit switch to a "reduced functionality mode" which results in features like Aero and DirectX being disabled.
So far, the only public response from Microsoft has been indirectly via their technical support forums, where a user has posted the following snippet from an email he received from MS's technical support address:
- Thank you for your response. I’m sorry to inform you that the Windows Genuine server might be down for few days. I have escalate the issue to our Genuine team, kindly try to validate again on Tuesday 28 Aug 2007. Thank you for contacting Microsoft Technical Support.
It is highly recommended to avoid WGA if at all possible for the moment.
Phil Liu, WGA Project Manager, says that he won't sleep until the problem is fixed, via Ars Technica. As noted by Phil Liu:
Please go to www.microsoft.com/genuine and click VALIDATE WINDOWS to resolve this issue immediately.
Additionally, I know you all are looking for an explanation/root-cause. I will get that ASAP. We are aware it is a server-side issue - the cause is unknown at this current time.
Source:→ Boing Boing
Microsoft, WGA, Windows Genuine Advantage, Genuine Windows
No comment yet
-
Pingback from 1Microsoft Windows Vista, Acronis TrueImage 11 and GRUB Error 22 » D' Technology Weblog: Technology, Blogging, Tips, Tricks, Computer, Hardware, Software, Tutorials, Internet, Web, Gadgets, Fashion, LifeStyle, Entertainment, News and more. says:December 24th, 2007 at 3:27 pm
[...] larger hard drive (it works best when its both). And, sometimes after cloning, there can be activation issues as well which I have encountered in the [...]
-
Pingback from 2Microsoft prevent another WGA meltdown » D' Technology Weblog: Technology, Blogging, Tips, Tricks, Computer, Hardware, Software, Tutorials, Internet, Web, Gadgets, Fashion, LifeStyle, Entertainment, News and more. says:November 28th, 2007 at 2:30 pm
[...] Views Three months after a major failure of Microsoft's anticounterfeit system fingered legitimate Windows XP and Vista users as pirates, a senior project manager has spelled out the steps his team has taken to prevent a repeat. Alex [...]
-
Pingback from 3Microsoft cites human error in WGA server malfunctioning » D’ Technology Weblog: Technology News & Reviews says:August 29th, 2007 at 2:31 pm
[...] Last week's malfunction of Microsoft's Windows Genuine Advantage anti-piracy mechanism was caused when new software code was accidentally put on the servers running the system, before those servers had been made ready for the code, according to a post last night by Alex Kochis, WGA senior product manager. Kochis writes: [...]
-
Pingback from 4Analysts: WGA servers breakdown doubts about Microsoft reliability » D’ Technology Weblog: Technology News & Reviews says:August 28th, 2007 at 4:35 pm
[...] 19-hour blackout of the Microsoft Corp. servers that identify copies of Windows XP and Vista as legitimate or [...]
-
Pingback from 5Addressing Windows Genuine Advantage validation issues » D’ Technology Weblog: Technology News & Reviews says:August 26th, 2007 at 2:32 pm
[...] today (25 August) we began receiving reports of Windows Vista customers running genuine systems but experiencing failures when attempting a Windows Genuine Advantage [...]
