Right. Microsoft has released a new program in Windows Update, the Windows Genuine Advantage tool. All it does, basically, is nag the hell out of you if it thinks you’re running a pirated version of Windows XP. This can happen if it fails to recognize your XP install, if it just screws up, or if you’re honestly using a cracked Windows XP.
First tip: Don’t download the thing. Leave it unselected forever. Even genuine Windows XP installs can fail the test, and then you’re stuck with calling Microsoft.
Second tip: Since it failed on a LEGITIMATE second copy of XP that I have running on a lesser computer, you may be interested to know that there are workarounds to the whole nag thing posted here and many other places (just google it).
Like MSFT doesn’t have enough money, they need to annoy us more. And remember, even if you use step 2 and remove it, it’ll try to download itself again, so make sure it’s unchecked when you download updates.