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Activation of Windows Vista by phone? RRS feed

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    I recently purchased a used computer (laptop) which has Windows Vista. I opened it up, tried it out, changed some settings to personalize it for my son (his b-day present) and when I went to log in again, it says that the product key must be activated. It has a genuine sticker with a product key on it and when entered, it says it is invalid. I have read some posts and tried to get to the prompt where I can get the phone number to call and activate it, but I can't get there.....Is this number a national secret? Does anyone have the number to call and activate the product key for Windows Vista? I am very stressed about this as it is a nice computer that I can't use at this point. Any suggestions?
    Saturday, June 14, 2008 4:49 AM

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    Hi jlwdl,

     

     Ahh, ya, that would do it

     

     You can buy a retail copy of Vista at http://windowsmarketplace.com/ you will get the product key right away.

     

      Or

     

      To save you some money, go to http://microsoft.com/genuine and click the Validate Windows button, If the re-enter Product key Grace Period has ended, Vista will validate as Non-Genuine, you will then be given the option to buy a WGA Kit. A WGA Kit is just a Retail copy of Vista but is sold only to users with a Non-Genuine copy of Windows and at a substantial discount. The Product Key will be emails to you, almost instantly, and the software will be sent by conventional mail. 

     (If your Vista does not yet Validate as Non-Genuine, wait for the grace period to expire and re-validate)

     

     

      Lastly, in your original post, you mentioned some behavior in Vista that can not be explained by it just needing a Product Key entered (such as being unable to bring up the Activate by Phone dialogs) so once you get a Genuine copy of Vista, I strongly encourage you to re-install Vista from scratch. That way there are no surprises from possible Viruses or other problems, left over from the last owner.

     

    Hope I was helpful for you,

    Darin Smith

    WGA Forum Manager

     

     

    Tuesday, June 17, 2008 11:33 PM

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    Hello jlwdl,

     

      The Call Center phone numbers can be found at http://www.microsoft.com/licensing/resources/vol/numbers.mspx

     

      If they are unable to assist you, you can try the below steps. The steps should force Vista to ask for you to enter the Product Key.

     

     

    1) Open Internet Browser

    2) Type %windir%\system32 into the browser address bar.

    3) Find the file CMD.exe

    4) Right-Click on CMD.exe and select Run as Administrator

    5) Type: net stop slsvc  (it may ask you if you are sure, select yes)

    6) Type: cd %windir%\ServiceProfiles\NetworkService\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\SoftwareLicensing

    7) Type: rename tokens.dat tokens.bar

    8) Type: cd %windir%\system32

    9) Type net start slsvc

    10) Reboot Twice

    11) Vista may require you to enter a Product Key (use the COA SLP key found on the sticker on the side or bottom of your computer) and Activate. Use the Activate by Phone method outlined below

     

     

    Lastly, if that does not work, please download and run the Genuine Diagnostics tool at this link http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=52012. Click "Continue", click the "Copy" button, then paste the report into a response message in this thread.

     

    Thank you,

    Darin Smith

    WGA Forum Manager

    Monday, June 16, 2008 9:11 PM
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    Seems the problem has been found......the sticker on my laptop is an original sticker, but is NOT for Windows Home Vista......it's for Windows XP? I guess that's what I get for buying second hand. Can you purchase a product key for Windows Home Basic? If so, how would I go about that? Thanks. LISA

    Tuesday, June 17, 2008 9:06 PM
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    Hi jlwdl,

     

     Ahh, ya, that would do it

     

     You can buy a retail copy of Vista at http://windowsmarketplace.com/ you will get the product key right away.

     

      Or

     

      To save you some money, go to http://microsoft.com/genuine and click the Validate Windows button, If the re-enter Product key Grace Period has ended, Vista will validate as Non-Genuine, you will then be given the option to buy a WGA Kit. A WGA Kit is just a Retail copy of Vista but is sold only to users with a Non-Genuine copy of Windows and at a substantial discount. The Product Key will be emails to you, almost instantly, and the software will be sent by conventional mail. 

     (If your Vista does not yet Validate as Non-Genuine, wait for the grace period to expire and re-validate)

     

     

      Lastly, in your original post, you mentioned some behavior in Vista that can not be explained by it just needing a Product Key entered (such as being unable to bring up the Activate by Phone dialogs) so once you get a Genuine copy of Vista, I strongly encourage you to re-install Vista from scratch. That way there are no surprises from possible Viruses or other problems, left over from the last owner.

     

    Hope I was helpful for you,

    Darin Smith

    WGA Forum Manager

     

     

    Tuesday, June 17, 2008 11:33 PM
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    You have been very helpful and I appreciate your time. Thanks again. LISA

    Wednesday, June 18, 2008 12:34 AM