After 10 months of "Valid" Vista, Today it says my Vista is not valid!

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  Hello EeeTee,

   

    First off, there is a Support Doc: "You may be prompted to activate Windows Vista on a computer on which Windows Vista was already activated by a Volume License or OEM installation" at http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;931573  That I believe is specific to your issue. Please follow the resolution portion of the doc.

   

  If that does not resolve your issue, please follow the steps below. If the first set of steps does not resolve, move on to the next set of steps.

   

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  Step set #1

   

  1) Open Internet Explorer

  2) A Browser will open, type: %windir%\system32 into the address field

  3) Find the file cmd.exe

  4) Right Click on the cmd.exe and select Run as Administrator

  5) Type: cscript slmgr.vbs -rilc (It may take a long time for this to complete, please be patient)

  6) Hit the Enter key

  7) Reboot 2 times

   

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  Step set #2

   

  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

   

  Activate by Phone steps:

   

  a) If you have access to the Start button: Click the Start button, and type in "slui.exe 4" in the search field and then press the "Enter" key. This will bring up the Activate by Phone dialog window. Follow the steps provided by the window. The phone activation process should only take about 6 minutes.

  
  b) If you do not have access to the Start button: Reboot and login to Vista, a dialog window will come up. In that window, click the option "Access computer with reduced functionality". Once you do that, Internet Explorer or Firefox browser will open. In the address bar type "c:\windows\system32\cmd.exe" press enter, a new window will come up, type: slui 4 and hit enter and follow steps to Activate over the Phone.

  
  NOTE: The key to this process is that you need to talk to a Live Activation Rep! When you first call, you will be interacting with an Automated Voice, either select the option to talk to a Live Rep or if there is no option, do not enter any numbers. This should force the automated voice to transfer you to a Live Rep.

   

  Thank you,

  Darin Smith

  WGA Forum Manager

   

  Monday, June 30, 2008 11:31 PM
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  Darin,

   

  I downloaded KB 931573, but when it ran after downloading, a dialog box said that the update does not apply to this system.

   

  Tried solution #1 - when the script ran in the little window, a bunch of lines scrolled by saying something about the key successfully reinstalled or something to that effect, but after 2 reboots, a dialog box popped up telling me to contact HP.

  Can they or should they re-validate / activate this license or do I need to talk to Microsoft?

   

  I haven't run solution #2, but I did run the slui 4 command. It also told me to call HP with the same dialog box I got at the end of your step 1.

   

  Bottom line question - Who do I really call for activation / validation  HP or Microsoft?

   

  Thanks. 

  Tuesday, July 1, 2008 3:03 PM
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  EeeTee,

   

    Would you re-run the Diagnostic Report, I want to see if anything has changed from you going thru solution 1.

   

  Darin

   

   

  Tuesday, July 1, 2008 5:33 PM
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  While waiting for a reply, since the validation problem occurred after downloading the optional Vista updates KB950124, and KB950125 on 6/28/2008, I uninstalled them today. 

   

  Re-booted. When the dialog box demanded to activate Vista with a product key, I typed in the existing key from the COA Vista sticker on my pc case. 

   

  Viola!  Vista now activated!

   

  So, I connected to WGA to validate Windows Vista. Lo-and-behold!   Vista is now valid!

   

  So I don't know whether either (or both) of the updates crashed Vista validation, or whether just re-entering my Vista product key was the solution.  In any case, Vista is now happy again, save for search.

   

  Should I try re-installing KB950124 and KB950125, or just leave things alone?  I note that there appears to be a large up-tick in this type of issue on this forum in the past week - seems to be more than a coincidence.  Did the latest updates crash a bunch of us hapless Vista victims?

   

  Buy the way, my Vista search is still dead - I imagine I should try SP1 support for this, since search died post SP1 install?

  Tuesday, July 1, 2008 5:56 PM
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  EeeTee wrote:

  Re-booted. When the dialog box demanded to activate Vista with a product key, I typed in the existing key from the COA Vista sticker on my pc case.    Viola!  Vista now activated!

   

   That was what I was trying to make happen with those steps that I provided. I'm suprised, though, that uninstalling updates has any affect on the issue. (This type of issue is not usually caused by a bad update install) 

   

    Did you reboot, at all, between following my steps and uninstalling those updates?

   

    ~If you didn't reboot between following my steps and uninstalling those updates, then uninstalling the updates may not have been necessary. After following my steps and then rebooting, should have caused Vista to demand that a Product Key be entered, you then enter the COA key and the issue should have been resolved. 

   

    ~If you did reboot between my steps and uninstalling the updates, then it would appear that uninstalling those updates did, in fact, cause Vista to demand the Product key and thus resolve the issue. And I confess, I am unsure why. That should not have happened.

   

    But regardless, I'm glad to hear your issue appears to be resolved (aside from the Vista Search functionality, which I agree that I wouldn't be much help with and you should contact SP1 support for).

   

  If, in the future, you have any additional Activation or Validation problem, please don't hesitate to contact me again,

  Darin Smith

  WGA Forum Manager

   

  Tuesday, July 1, 2008 6:48 PM
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  Unfortunately, I violated the sacred rule of troubleshooting; only trying one 'fix' at a time, not two or more.

   

  As I said, I did the two update un-installs and Vista key re-entry in one reboot cycle.

   

  So indeed, removing those updates prior to the key re-entry may have had no bearing on the issue.

   

  One complaint I have is that the dialog box for Vista Activation has three options (on my HP Pavillion) none of which clearly addressed my situation.

   

  * Buy a new product key 

  * Enter a different product key

  * Contact HP for assistance.

   

  For me, I was unsure that option 2, 'Enter a different product key' was appropriate, because I was afraid that the system would choke if I was re-entering a previously entered key, not a new one. I feared a total lock up, or an exacerbation of the existing problem.

   

  It would be better if the second choice was 'Enter a new product key or reenter an existing key.  (Or 'Re-enter an existing key' as a fourth option.)  With issues are as critical as this, it is unsettling when you aren't sure what option to try.

   

  I will run for a few days without KB950124 and KB950125.  If no Vista validation issues arise, I may re-install each update separately and see if the problem resurfaces. If it does, I'll post in a new thread.

   

  In any case, I really appreciate your assistance , I hope my Vista validation problem is gone for good.

   

  I won't be comfortable until a few more boot sessions pass with no more validation problems.

   

  Tuesday, July 1, 2008 7:40 PM