Microsoft to OEMs: Ship legit Vista, or the OS is toast
claimed to have received a copy of Microsoft certified letter to its OEM partners telling them as to what happens if they dare to ship a system with a “non-genuine” copy of Vista.
The blog posted portion of the said letter as:
All versions of Windows Vista must be activated with a genuine product key, either by the OEM or the end customer.
If non-genuine Windows Vista is detected during activation, the system enters a 30-day grace period where some features will be disabled, important updates and downloads denied, and a constant message on the screen will remind the customer that the operating system is non-genuine.
Full article here: Source