"This copy of windows is not genuine" (Win7 64-bit)

Apparently as a result of a recent Microsoft update in the last week or so, I have gotten a "This copy of windows is not genuine" message from Microsoft on a couple of my Win7 64-bit machines. One of them was an i5-3550 on a Z77 motherboard, where I was using the modded 13.2.4.1000 drivers. So I suspected that there was something wrong with the certificate. However, I also got the message on a i7-4770 machine with a Z87 motherboard, using the unmodified 13.2.4.1000 drivers. A little research shows that this is not an isolated problem, and other people have seen driver-related issues causing this error.

To make a long story short, I went back to the 13.1.0.1058 drivers, which seems to have solved the problem. Unfortunately, on at least one of my machines (I have several more), I could not uninstall the 13.2.4.1000 drivers without crashing the OS in such a way that it could not reboot. It was not the normal BSOD, but a paragraph flashed by so quickly on a blue background that I could not read it. I had to re-install the OS.

MORAL: stay with the 13.1.0.1058 drivers.

@Jim1977 :
Welcome at Win-RAID Forum and thanks for your interesting contribution.

I seriously doubt, that this message has anything to do with the in-use Intel RST/RST(e) driver version or sort (original or modded).
Additional questions:
1. Which Win7 x64 edition (Home Basic/Premium/Professional/Enterprise/Ultimate) are you running on the affected machines?
2. Which sort of license do you have for them?
3. Are you running the Intel SATA Controllers in AHCI or RAID mode?

Regards
Dieter (alias Fernando)

Hello, Could be also the new enforcement policy at Microsoft…"https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/3123479 since SHA-1 is obsolete now: https://technet.microsoft.com/library/security/3123479 and could be impacted by. It does mainly warn for the downloaded internet files but also drivers that have not fill integrity for the certification.

Hello,

maybe → re-activate Windows … and all would be fine, or …?

Regards

Fernando,

To the best of my memory (it was quite a mess with six machines), though I do recall that two of them gave the error messages, and I had to reload the OS on two of them:

(1) On the first Z77 (i5-3550), Win7 64-bit Home Premium. This one had the error message, and crashed when I tried to remove the driver, so I had to reload the OS (Crucial MX100 SSD).
(2) On the second Z77 (i7-3770), also Home Premium. This one did not give the error message, but also crashed when I tried to remove the driver, and I had to reload the OS also (Samsung 840 EVO SSD).
(3) On the third Z77 (i7-3770), also Home Premium, I did not get the error message, and was able to remove the driver without problems (Samsung 850 EVO SSD).

(4) On the first Z87 (i7-4770), also using Home Premium, I got the error message, but I was able to remove the driver without reloading the OS, though the disk did have some corruption and did a CHKDSK (Crucial MX200 SSD).
(5) On the second Z87 (i7-4771), Win7 64-bit Professional, did not get the error message, and I was able to remove the driver without problems (Samsung 850 EVO SSD).
(6) On a Z97 (i7-4790), also using Professional I did not get the error message, and I was able to remove the driver without problems (Samsung 840 Pro SSD).

I think the different types of SSDs matter too; the Crucial ones and the Samsung 840 EVO gave me the most problems, while the Samsung 850 EVOs were the best.

Licenses:
For the three Z77 motherboards, I have the OEM license (Home Premium).
For the Z97 (i7-4790), I have the OEM license (Pro)

For the Z87 (i7-4770), I have the Upgrade license (Home Premium), via an upgrade disk based on an earlier Vista retail disk.
For the Z87 (i7-4771), I have the Upgrade license (Pro) , via an upgrade disk based on an earlier Vista retail disk.

I am using only the Intel SATA controllers in AHCI mode.
There was a post from someone who had looked at a lot of the MS error messages and concluded that it was usually a driver problem, though I don’t have it bookmarked.

Yes, I tried reactivating Windows a couple of times, and typed in the Product Key again. Each time it said "Activation Successful", but then the error message would come back the next day.

@Jim1977 :
Thanks for having answered all myquestions so fast.
Your report verifies, that the OS message “This copy of windows is not genuine” has been wrong and absolutely misleading.
By the way: None of the Intel AHCI drivers are part of any Windows Operating Systems. That is the simple reason why none of these drivers are able to touch the integrity of the OS activation.

A day or two after I went to the Intel 13.1.0.1058 drivers, one of my machines received a MS message that the validation was successful. I don’t recall ever seeing that before, so the drivers seemed to have done something.

@Jim177:
Please have a look into >this< thread and especially into >this< post, which contains the following statement:
“Windows activation is based on HwID (Hardware ID), not drivers. Drivers could be updated several times in the lifespan of x hardware so it makes no sense they affect activation status.”

It is really not "activation" that is the problem, but "validation". They seem to use different criteria.

I thought I should mention that the problem occurred again today, with the “This copy of windows is not genuine” notice appearing on the i5-3550 machine for the first time in 3 months. That machine has been running the 13.1.0.1058 drivers for that time, so I think that Fernando is right that it is not the specific driver. What causes it is still a mystery. That machine only does BOINC and Folding@Home distributed computing projects. I don’t even have Automatic Updates enabled, so there is no specific MS update that could have triggered it.

Maybe it is just a heavy-handed way of encouraging an update to Windows 10? But I can just ignore it, since it does not interfere in the operation of my projects, and I don’t even need to look at the desktop.

This this copy of windows is not genuine for the people who have been using the cracked version of the windows. As you have mentioned in one of the replies that you have purchased the windows and you still get this message, then I would highly recommend you to just upgrade to windows 10. This is the permanent solution to your problem. Hope it helps.

@Gazanferali :
Welcome to the Win-RAID Forum!
Do you really believe, that Jim1977 reads your reply? He started this thread in March 2016 and posted the last time in June 2016, that means more than 1 year ago.
Enjoy the Forum nevertheless.
Regards
Dieter (alias Fernando)

In order to fix “This copy of windows is not genuine “error run slmgr -rearm Command

This solution is fairly simple if you are using the genuine copy but still facing the error. Follow the steps to do so:

1. Open Command Prompt as Administrator.
2. Type slmgr -rearm and hit Enter.
3. Wait for the Command completed successfully dialog box
4. Click OK
5. Restart your computer or laptop

And after rebooting your device by following the command prompt method, this issue is easily resolved.

Apart from that Microsoft regularly releases updates to fight piracy, malware and viruses by releasing updates. So install the KB971033 update in your system. Hope this can help you

In order to fix this error is easily, just uninstall the Windows update.

Open control panel.
Go to windows update section.
Click on view installed updates.
After loading all installed updates, check for update “KB971033” and uninstall.
Restart your PC.

Source: http://www.pcerror-fix.com

The KB971033 update has made it possible for Windows OS capable of determining whether or not a copy of Windows 7 was genuine and the real deal. You can solve your problem by following the simple steps provided in here:https://appuals.com/removing-this-copy-o…is-not-genuine/