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Aug 24

Microsoft Tells Users How To Remove WGA Notifications

This article was written on June 28, 2006 by CyberNet.

Microsoft has decided to let users remove or disable the WGA notifications, but they didn’t make it easy! They could have made some simple tool that you could download or even a patch, but no they make you go through and do the dirty work. Here are the steps that you need to take to DISABLE the notifications (removing the WGA checking is a long process):

Log on to the computer by using an account that has administrative permissions.
Make sure that the WGA Notifications version that exists on the computer is a pilot version. The version format for the pilot version is 1.5.0532.x. In this case, you can uninstall versions 527-532 only. For example, you can uninstall versions that range from 1.5.0527.0 to 1.5.0532.2. To find the WGA Notifications version, follow these steps:
1. Click Start, and then click Control Panel.
2. Double-click Add or uninstall Programs, locate and then click Windows Genuine Advantage Notifications, and then click Click here for support information.
3. In the Support Info dialog box, verify the version number, and then click Close.
Rename the following files by changing the extension to .old:
- Rename %Windir%\system32\WgaLogon.dll to %Windir%\system32\WgaLogon.old
- Rename %Windir%\system32\WgaTray.exe to %Windir%\system32\WgaTray.old
Restart the computer.

I would post the instructions for removing WGA as well but those are much much longer. If you want those instructions then you can follow the article Microsoft had posted on disabling/removing WGA. God speed to you!