Re: Re: [Qemu-devel] Windows Laptop Idea

[Ben Taylor]

<address@hidden> wrote:

> 
> Hertz has alreadyc ommented a bit, but I thought I'd add a few thoughts.
> 
> > It dawned on me that I really hate the fact that I can't
> > really install my HP restore CD's on anything but my
> 
> Welcome to Microsoft's grip on the world....
> 
> I've never seen an HP restore cd, but if it's anything like a Dell cd, the 
> basic core files are identical to a regular XP cd, except for a couple of 
> text files that point to additional drivers and patches.

The rescue disks aren't an OEM copy of WinXP Home, they
are a set of 6 CD's containing a very fixed version of
Partition Quest's partition restorer.  I went down into
the bat files that manipulate this thing, and there is
a bios checker to make sure that the bios of the laptop
is the same as what it's expecting.  Other than that,
the code just runs a real mode binary to restore the data
to the partition and swap the cdroms.
 
> I'm a firm believer that a person has a right to the original unmodified 
> files (without unneeded OEM specific junk), so if it was me, I'd make an 
> effort to get the md5's of the regular OEM version of XP (whatever version) 
> and see what is truely different.

This would be pretty impossible.

 
> I'm definetly not a fan of Microsoft's policies and practices.  I do use 
> Windows, but I don't like the company.

Agreed.  Having a windows license on my laptop should not
preclude me from running the configuration only *their*
way.

> 
> (In fact, you've gotten me curious.... If you want to contact me privately, I 
> wouldn't mind getting the md5 hashes for the files on your HP oem cd.  Just 
> so I can compare them to what other OEM cd's have.  As I said, I've seen a 
> few OEM cd's, but never an HP one.)

As I said before, it's a rescue disk, not an OEM disk.

That's why I asked the question about the bios signature.
I'm pretty sure that I could get the silly thing to install
the image, though the fact that is that it would have 
signicant problems after the reboot since all the drivers
and device will change out from under it.

> 
> > laptop, including a qemu session.  Wouldn't be kind of a
> > cool thing to provide a bios signature so things like the
> 
> I think the OEM's use a digital signature in the bios.  Encryption stuff.  
> Microsoft has always been a bit paranoid about the stuff, even going so far 
> as to force oem's to pre-activate and them (MS) disabling the keys used, so 
> they can never actually be activated any way other than by oem preactivation. 
>  (Meaning a mobo or bios change can invalidate your license.)

I don't think HP or Microsoft was that smart at the end of 
2002.  Although I hear that HP got a little smarter by 
making only it's mini-pci Wifi cards recognized by the bios
for their laptops, thereby locking in customers to their
expensive version of the same mini pci-card that can be
had for $35.


>> So you'd have to try and make qemu hardware identical to the HP (or other 
>> OEM) so the bios wouldn't notice the difference.  Not an easy task, to put 
>> it mildly.

Which is why I was wondering about the bios signature.
If I could swap it or set it at runtime, I could 
probably install the rescue disks.

Ben