Help!! WB is messing up my computer!! (with screenshots)
I don't know what to do anymore... I tried everything!
Friday, December 16, 2005 by Link632 | Discussion: WindowBlinds
I have been using WB5 for about 4 days now and I haven't gotten any types of errors, whatsoever, up until a few hours ago.. I didn't even do a thing! I was using Mormegil's ChristmasTime theme (and ran it for 4 days without errors), then when I decided to come to WinCustomize.com to browse for new Objects and such, my computer hung up on me! I don't know if that had anything to do with my visiting wincustomize.com, but it couldn't have been a virus or a spyware because I just performed a general maintenance on my computer a few hours earlier (and I have been doing that since January).. Then I restarted my computer using the button on my CPU and when I entered my Windows XP account, the entire "start" bar below (the whole thing, not just the start button, but the entire bar -- sorry, i have no idea what it's called) didn't even show up! The only thing that showed up was the digital clock, and that's it.. Ok, hold on.. I don't know where I'm going anymore. I think it's better if I just show you a screenshot and maybe you can just help me out and tell me what's wrong (also, I tried uninstalling+re-installing WB5, but apparently, that didn't fix my problem)..
http://tinypic.com/ionkf5.jpg
That's my whole screen.. No "start button" and the entire "bar" at the bottom of the screen is messed up! WB also got rid of my Windows XP theme.. I tried accessing through desktop/right-click/bah blah but then that didn't work.. all it's showing me is nothing (sorry, I'm really, really sleepy and i have been trying to fix this problem since 5 PM (and now it's about (9:00).. so, that should explain why my grammar is skewed. i haven't even eaten yet!) I tried righ clicking on "My Computer" and going to "Manage" / "Services" / etc. (as one poster explained in another thread), but that didn't work -- it didn't bring my Windows XP theme back..
Please help me! I am totally clueless about what's going on! And once again, excuse the grammar. I'm typing this up real fast because I'm about to collapse.. 
I really hope you guys can help me! Please!
Moderator Note:
This issue is caused by the cracked version of WindowBlinds. Don't run the cracked version of WindowBlinds and this won't happen.
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Reply #262 Tuesday, December 20, 2005 4:15 PM
Reply #265 Tuesday, December 20, 2005 5:48 PM
testing about stardock should be ok...
like the demo isnt doing per pixels so i can understand the users that have to illegaly crack the software to take a close look for what has changed exactly sorry but most of them do greedy little earthlings....But if the demo would bring per pixels with it,there would be no problem i guess
like if you buy a new game and there is no working demo to find you would take a close look at the illegal game and then buy it or you would have to go to a Videostore and pic it up and pay like 1.20$ for it to test...and then buy... you know what i mean
all i wanted to say is do the demo trial whatever like the enhanced thing and there wouldn´t be so many illegal users out there or am i wrong if delete this post please(
sorry bitchur i just wanted to test if im logged or not 
Reply #266 Tuesday, December 20, 2005 5:51 PM
Reply #267 Tuesday, December 20, 2005 6:00 PM
Reply #269 Tuesday, December 20, 2005 6:05 PM
| Judging from comments on a board community I'm in (which also serves warez, but that's not why I'm there...), there's already a working crack out by now. Haven't tried it of course (yes, I got a certain sense of justice and it definitely would be like stealing), but many people claim that it works so I believe it's true. |
And there are many other redundant checks that come into play. I'm sure those people will be in here bitching when one of the other redundant checks comes in. I have no idea what the crack does but let me say it again:
WindowBlinds is a SYSTEM WIDE desktop enhancement. You mess around with stuff and bad things can happen depending on how they did it. Frankly, given how ineptly the first cracks were, it's a miracle that it didn't cause the system to blue screen. It would be a lot tougher to get out of that.
Reply #270 Tuesday, December 20, 2005 6:12 PM
And there are many other redundant checks that come into play. I'm sure those people will be in here bitching when one of the other redundant checks comes in. I have no idea what the crack does but let me say it again: WindowBlinds is a SYSTEM WIDE desktop enhancement. You mess around with stuff and bad things can happen depending on how they did it. Frankly, given how ineptly the first cracks were, it's a miracle that it didn't cause the system to blue screen. It would be a lot tougher to get out of that |
so you are saying that there is still more from stardocks site that will affect the computer if you have an warez copy?or it will be affect your computer in time?i dont got that right i guess
Reply #271 Tuesday, December 20, 2005 6:18 PM
Blows head off!
Reply #272 Tuesday, December 20, 2005 6:23 PM
Reply #273 Tuesday, December 20, 2005 6:25 PM
| so you are saying that there is still more from stardocks site that will affect the computer if you have an warez copy?or it will be affect your computer in time?i dont got that right i guess |
What is being said is that depending on how any *new* crack may be written, it could POTENTIALLY interfere with how a Windows system runs and possibly causing system wide failures. WB hooks into a Windows system deeply (it's after all skinning almost every element of the Windows system GUI), and any deviation to the way that WB presents and works inside that system may cause Windows to go crash, bang, BOOM! Cracks and hacks to a program usually either rewrite vital system files of the program or just bypass the validation system with a keygen, but since there's an activation limit on codes with the new WB, a simple keygen isn't going to work, so they've obviously created an overwrite to some vital WB system file that when Windows did an update this past time around, it didn't find what it was looking for and overwrote the "new" cracked file causing WB not to be able to repaint/draw certain elements of the GUI. If another crack is made that does this sort of thing, it may potentially overwrite or change some system file in the program that Windows needs to function causing a bluescreen or worse.
DD
Reply #274 Tuesday, December 20, 2005 6:27 PM
at Night Train. They don't want to get it but you've hit the point exactly!Clearly the warez users figure it's their right to free working versions of that which we've paid for and Stardock is in business to sell. Anything interfering with that "right" will be SD's fault, not the crackers' and certainly not theirs.
Reply #276 Tuesday, December 20, 2005 6:50 PM
| #234 by Admin Frogboy Whatever Vanillla might be or do, he does have a point that its not right to mess up peoples computers if they use cracked software (and i dont believe the harmful part is in the crack, but the boobytrap is in your software). The moral indignation of thieves is always interesting. I like the part how WE messed with people's computers. They apply a warez patch to a system wide desktop enhancement that causes WB to be unable to paint when a redundancy activation check comes on and it's our fault. |
Again playing dumb eh? And an insult in it 4 free
Checked my profile then (thought you were the admin)? I even got me an (expensive) creditcard to be able to buy OD several years ago. I allready had Windowblinds 'for free' (i.e. warezversion) and I thought it was nice and u would deserve money for it, being a small developer and all.
So why are you calling me a thief?
I'm one of those customers thats been paying your bills for the last couple of years mate.
Only now i can't really afford the luxury anymore 4 the updates and wanted to give WB5 a spin to see if its worth the money (just got married and eyecandy in the home takes precedence over (non working) transparent eyecandy on the pc).
Guess what? I don't think it is. It's still not working properly (on extra buttons in a transparent titlebar). And after spending several hours cleaning up the mess hasn't really helped putting me in a spending mood.
So either you put it in on purpose, or you're not that smart afterall - that you didn't oversee the consequences.
Reply #277 Tuesday, December 20, 2005 7:02 PM
| I allready had Windowblinds 'for free' (i.e. warezversion) |
Ah, a self confessed thief...
Reply #278 Tuesday, December 20, 2005 7:09 PM
I hope Stardock is taking pride in the fact that people are willing to do anything and risk their PC's just get their hands on their software. Go Stardock!
Reply #279 Tuesday, December 20, 2005 7:17 PM
| ... so they've obviously created an overwrite to some vital WB system file that when Windows did an update this past time around, it didn't find what it was looking for and overwrote the "new" cracked file causing WB not to be able to repaint/draw certain elements of the GUI. |
Obviously you're just guessing or parotting. Better let the makers do the talking.
I don't do Windows updates, and yet it blew up on the same date. It's clearly a timecheck.
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Reply #261 Tuesday, December 20, 2005 3:35 PM
No one ever said warez was right, certainly. In fact, the word warez is *defined* as being wrong and illegal. That's not the point of any argument here, I suppose.
Also, I doubt that Stardocks tried in any way to mess up their customer's computers. They'd have done it with more style then (lol, literally ^^) - what you think about a windows copy saying "Busted", "We got your IP logged" and "This is pure warez" for example? THAT would've been hilarious!
(milksama: Edited for language)