Hello Goldenbubies,
Carey was correct with is assesment. In turn I would like to provide more indepth information. Thank you for posting your diagnostic information. We are sorry to hear about the problem your currently experiencing. Diagnostic results help our team in determining the root cause of your issue. The Windows Media Center product key installed on this computer was not assigned by Microsoft. The key is counterfeit and was most likely generated by a non-sanctioned key generator. The product key found on your computer has been detected on multiple computers. Product keys are only allowed to be used on one computer unless otherwise specified in the end user licensing agreement (EULA). You will find numberous sites where this key has been posted. Use your favorite search engine and paste in the product key. Below could be a possible scenerio.
There are situations which can cause Windows and Office to become non-genuine. Let me give one example. Have you taken your computer in for maintenance? Customers have taken in their systems along with all the software received when purchasing their system. The customer picks up the system and viola' no problems whatsoever until they need to download an update or even a template used with MS Office. Suddenly their system is non-genuine. The customer's computer was not installed with their software but either a blocked Volume Licensing Key (VLK) or a keygen’d product key. Also the software could work for several weeks, months or even a year or more then suddenly becomes blocked.
This is why you may be seeing the "Software Counterfeiting" messages on your computer. You will need to uninstall Media Center before any further complications occur from being non-genuine. As a customer there are available options you may choose for a resolution. For details on the ways to “Get Genuine”, see the web page that outlined your validation failure details or http://www.microsoft.com/genuine . It will provide all of the possible steps which you can take. Also please review the Validation Advisor for further guidance at:
https://www.microsoft.com/genuine/selfhelp/ValidationHelp.aspx
First, if this comes as a total surprise to you, please visit the retailer where you purchased the computer or operating system and let them know the operating system is a counterfeit copy. Please print a copy of the diagnostic report so you may show them proof for the VLK status. Request they immediately reimburse you and/or provide a Genuine Copy.
Windows Genuine Advantage (WGA) is here to help protect YOU, our valued customer. It is important for more people like you to report piracy @ http://www.microsoft.com/piracy/default.mspx who have become victims. Microsoft legal will follow up on all leads provided. Submitting piracy reports will assist in stopping unscrupulous business practices. You may be eligible for free software if you have high quality counterfeit discs. We CANNOT determine the "Quality" level of non-Genuine submissions and cannot guarantee such a thing here on the forum. We have a 3rd party registered Cryptography lab who evaluates EVERY (really!) submission for the High-Quality Counterfeit replacement program - as they have a pre-determined subset of items they look for.
Again, we are sorry to hear about your situation. Please be sure to backup or otherwise offload any data from the hard disk because a clean installation/reimaging will destroy all personal user data on the hard drive. Please don't hesitate re-posting if you need further assistance.
Should you need further assistance please re-post in the thread.
Stephen Holm, MS
WGA Forum Manager
