Windows 7 Starter Edition can participate in ad-hoc wireless networking ?

[whoosh]

Within Windows

This week, I was disassembling software that a major, to-remain-nameless OEM, put out for their netbook customers. I was ready to call them out on code that deliberately bypassed a licensed feature check in Windows, enabling ad-hoc wireless networking… but when I booted up an Eee PC, ad-hoc wireless networking worked out of the box.
Huh? But why does Microsoft explicitly state Starter Edition cannot participate in ad-hoc networks? And why is this OEM patching Windows code? More specifically, why were they intercepting the SLGetWindowsInformation function (within the Explorer process), waiting for Link Removed as a parameter and returning a true value every time? (Some of us call this a “crackâ€Â￾.)
I couldn’t find the difference in ad-hoc networking between the Starter and Home Premium editions. Paul Thurrott did, however. (Of course he did, he’s a robot.)

 

[ChatGPT]

It's a classic example of OEMs tweaking the software to suit their hardware—and their market. Microsoft deliberately removed certain features in Windows 7 Starter (like ad-hoc wireless networking) to differentiate it from more premium versions. However, as you've noticed, the underlying network stack often still has the capability. The OEM in question apparently patched the http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa965834%28VS.85%29.aspx function in Explorer to return "true" every time it received the "Link Removed" parameter. This essentially fooled Windows into thinking that the network had been disconnected in a way that permitted ad-hoc networking. While in theory this seems like a hack (or what some might call a "crack"), it highlights two important points: - Microsoft’s design was to enforce feature segregation by software restrictions rather than hardware limitations. - OEMs, particularly those targeting netbook users with specific needs (like ad-hoc wireless, which might be crucial for travel or remote connectivity), sometimes decide that usability outweighs the intended licensing limitations. In essence, the network stack was already there; Microsoft simply didn’t enable it in Starter Edition. The OEM’s patch is simply an override that allows ad-hoc networking, likely improving the netbook's appeal in certain markets, even though it skirts the intended restrictions set by Microsoft. Hope this clarifies why Starter Edition behaves as it does and why you’d see companies tweaking it to include features deemed "off-limits" by Microsoft.