Dreamspark SDM Odysee

I need to have Windows for work. As a student I should have free access to it. But when I try to download it, I have to use Microsofts "Secure Download Manager" (SDM). As a Ubuntu (Linux) user, this is easier said than done.

TL;DR

You need a Windows PC to download Windows. Ask a friend to download it. That might be the easiest way. If you have a Windows PC and get the same error as I get, you might need to re-install the system. (No, rebooting does not help.)

What I've tried and what does not work:

  • Wine
  • VMs
  • Avoiding SDM

What I am currently trying: Installing Windows 7 on another computer.argh

UPDATE: How to bypass Secure Download Manager while downloading from Dreamspark looks very promising.

The problem

Using the Windows 8 systems at my university gives:

Error message when trying to install SDM
Error message when trying to install SDM

Das Feature, das Sie verwenden möchten, befindet sich auf einer Netzressource, die nicht zur Verfügung steht.

Klicken Sie auf "OK", um den Vorgang zu wiederholen. Oder geben Sie in das untenstehende Feld den Pfad zu einem anderen Ordner ein, der das Installationspaket "SDM_DE.msi" enthält.

(Sorry, I only get the German error message.)

When I give the path of the SDM_DE.msi I get:

Die Datei "Z:\sdm\SDM_DE.msi" ist kein gültiges Installationspaket für das Produkt "Secure Download Manager". Suchen Sie das Installationspaket "SDM_DE.msi" in einem Order, von dem aus Sie "Secure Download Manager" installieren können.

Then I got desperate and followed threadsofscience.wordpress.com/2013/02/13/downloading-dreamspark-microsoft-windows-on-ubuntu (similar: http://boris-spinner.de/secure-download-manager-sdm-unter-linux-ausfuehren/).

It seems as if I need Linux to emulate Windows to get Windows ... it's a strange world.

wine: Bad EXE format for Z:\home\moose\Downloads\SDM_EN.msi.

Seems to be a 32-bit / 64-bit problem ...

  • http://wiki.winehq.org/FAQ#32_bit_wineprefix
  • https://appdb.winehq.org/objectManager.php?sClass=version&iId=31542

After trying to fix it, I get

err:msidb:get_tablecolumns column 1 out of range err:msidb:get_tablecolumns column 2 out of range fixme:storage:create_storagefile Storage share mode not implemented. err:msidb:get_tablecolumns column 1 out of range err:msidb:get_tablecolumns column 2 out of range err:msidb:get_tablecolumns column 1 out of range err:msidb:get_tablecolumns column 2 out of range err:msidb:get_tablecolumns column 1 out of range err:msidb:get_tablecolumns column 2 out of range err:msidb:get_tablecolumns column 3 out of range err:msidb:get_tablecolumns column 1 out of range err:msidb:get_tablecolumns column 2 out of range err:msidb:get_tablecolumns column 3 out of range err:msidb:get_tablecolumns column 1 out of range err:msidb:get_tablecolumns column 2 out of range err:msidb:get_tablecolumns column 3 out of range err:msidb:get_tablecolumns column 1 out of range err:msidb:get_tablecolumns column 2 out of range err:msidb:get_tablecolumns column 3 out of range

Reverse Engineering ... a little bit

Taking a look at the 1234567890ab.sdx file reveals that it contains only a single url:

http://kit.onthehub.com/WebStore/Account/SdmAuthorize.aspx?o=12345678-1234-1234-123a-12234567890a&ws=12345678-1234-1234-1234-1234567890ab&uid=12345678-1234-1234-1234-1234567890ab&abc=5

(I've replaced the numbers by 123... to avoid problems with other people using my link to download stuff)

However, I cannot simply download it there. There is a page with two downloads, but when I click on download nothing happens.

SDM download page
SDM download page

So I use Chrome developer tools (Ctrl+shift+i) to see the request.

It's a GET request which gets the response:

<information>
    <oiopua>12345678-1234-1234-1234-1234567890ab</oiopua>
    <edv>1234567890^^1234567890abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ0123456789</edv>
    <linkAvailable>1</linkAvailable>
    <errorTextKey />
    <invokeExternalDownload>0</invokeExternalDownload>
    <fileURL>http://software.dreamspark.com/dreamspark/GERMAN/de_windows_8.1_with_update_x64_dvd_4048209.01.sdc</fileURL>
</information>

Although I can download the .sdc file, I cannot use it. It is an encrypted file (which would give the .iso, but I don't know how to encrypt it.).

If you are interested in the file format, you might want to read Secure Digital Container

VMs

Another try is installing a VM. You can download some at https://www.modern.ie/en-us/virtualization-tools#downloads

I downloaded IE11, Win 8.1. Importing the VM took about 15 minutes on my computer. Then I got another error:

VM import error
VM import error

Installing Windows 7

12:50 I fortunately had a Windows 7 DVD lying around. Installing it will probably take another 2 hours or so...

13:23 - argh ... I just found another reason to hate Windows. I've just installed Windows 7. Cable-based network does not work out of the box. I have to install drivers from http://www.helpjet.net/files-Acer-TravelMate-5735Z.html#ANetwork

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