as i haven't enough money to buy windows Xp, i decide to use illegal copies. my friend downloaded a copy of xp, used a sepcial software to make a key, and actived it. now it works very well and can update. i want to do the same, but i don't know whether it would cause series problems if i do this?
besides braking the law, of course.

Illegal software isn't really supported at this forum for legal reasons. I have heard that warez versions of WindowsXP have a problem with Service Pack 2 or something along those lines. Other than that, I'm not a fan of warez in general although I'm sure many other people beg to differ. I can't see any other problems arising, however. Perhaps Microsoft has something up their sleeve, who knows. I'm probably not the person to ask on this.

I don't know whether it will bother , but i want DANI's icq number. since i'm a chinese and i have to learn English, I want to pactise a lot. So will you kind enough to help me?

personally i think you should try it but thats the way i am i guess. if all else fails reformat and reinstall the version of windows you do own. jst make sure to back everything up of course.
i also think that an OS is the one software, you should paying for.

The SP2 Issue is only if you're trying to upgrade from the original, pre-release RTM copy.

Illegal software is a no-no. If the BSA contacts you, you may be pressed by a $20,000+ fine.
(Ed: The Business Software Alliance will find you one day. Their website is http://www.bsa.org if you were wondering.)

Just to remind everyone, TechTalkForums does not in any way associate itself with illegal software. Illegal is illegal no matter how little the crime is.

why use illegal software anyway? suppose if you have problems with this. you will be stuck and then you will want to report the fault and wahey you are the BSA's fodder. go and spend a little money and buy yourself a proper software disc. it wont hurt and it'll spare you a jail sentence. theoretically you are stealing the copyright from the software vendor (in this case mocrosoft). copyright theft is big business and not right.

Plus, we don't give support here if you're using pirated software And the same goes for Microsoft. Which means if you ever have a technical support problem, you're outta luck.

yep. theres just no point in it
i know that at least when im using proper software there is help.

I would quite like to buy Microsoft office, but I can't afford it because other people keep pirating it, (or at least thats what MS says)

I've decided to use OpenOffice instead, can't you just use Linux.