Help message says windows is a fake

csarina

For some reason when I switched my computer on just now it asked me to validate the copy of windows on the computer, it said that the copy I was using was not a valid copy of windows. It was installed on my computer by Advent, before I bought it.

I had a similar problem a few weeks ago and had to do a restore back to when the computer was bought which was a pain as I lost a whole host of stuff I had on it, and had to start from scratch with favourites etc.

Is it possible to just restore it to yesterday, as it was working perfectly then, its only since my computer installed an update from the web this morning that it has done this. It was ok 2 hours ago.......its driving me potty...........

Conor_3

Validate it. When it fails, there's an option to do it by phone with a freephone number listed for the UK. Use that. You'll get to talk to a human being.

You can restore it to yesterday using System Restore but whether or not that resets the activation I don't know.

danmanchester

Just phone up Microsoft - there will be a number on the activation process screen, read them your XP licence number which should be on a label on the back of your pc case and they should issue you a new activation code.

csarina

sorry I have posted this twice, when I first submitted it my broadband went down and I did not think it had sent the message. mea culpa.....

csarina

I have just put in the number on the label on the computer, it would n accept it. Last time this happened I ended up having to phone the tech guy and re load windows from scratch, I do not want to do this again, I lost so much stuff the last time some of it I have not been able to recover.

I bought the lap top from Dixons, it has been back twice the hard disc failed and then the fan failed, not happy about this at all.

Its not XP, I wish it was had not trouble with that Its Vista Home Premium. I hate the damn programme with a vengance..............

chunter

"Hard disk fail"
I'd guess they've lobbed on a mirror version complete with a duplicate key when they put in a new hard drive.

There must be a legitimate Microsoft "change product key" download for Vista.
I have one for XP.

superscaper

csarina wrote: »

I have just put in the number on the label on the computer, it would n accept it. Last time this happened I ended up having to phone the tech guy and re load windows from scratch, I do not want to do this again, I lost so much stuff the last time some of it I have not been able to recover.

I bought the lap top from Dixons, it has been back twice the hard disc failed and then the fan failed, not happy about this at all.

Its not XP, I wish it was had not trouble with that Its Vista Home Premium. I hate the damn programme with a vengance..............

As has been said already, just go through the activation process and get to the part of telephoning, and then call Microsoft. Give the product key to them, type in the code they give you and that's it. No reinstallation etc or anything like that.

By the way none of the problems you mentioned are software related and so would have happened whether you had XP, Ubuntu or whatever on it. You're directing your frustration at the wrong people. The ones solely responsible for this are Dixons. They poorly built the laptop in the first place (Advent are the same as Dixons, hence why I wouldn't touch them with a bargepole personally), they poorly repaired it, they screwed up the activation limit without sorting it.

DatabaseError

there are, as chunter alludes, ways around this problem, but far and away the easiest solution is also the correct one, phone microsoft.

csarina

Last time this happened, I phoned the free phone number only to get an automated voice, I could not for the life of me understand what they were asking me to do..........hence me phoning the techie people, they to go back and re-install windows which was what I did.

In the past I have bought an Acer lap top and had exactly the same problems with it, hard disc failed twice on that, but once the second disc was installed I did not have a problem with XP. I really do not like vista as an operating system, much preferred XP. I will look later and see what I can find on the verification page if there is another phone number I can all.

totalsolutions

Ring the Microsoft freephone activation number, please, it would all have been sorted at 4.20pm yesterday. Nothing lost but everything to gain, you are looking for problems that don't exist. Vista is fine.

superscaper

Operating systems don't cause hard drives to fail. Simple as that. If you had the same thing with a previous laptop then it's a faulty laptop and nothing whatsoever to do with the OS on it. I've had hard drives fail but only on XP!!! It's a hardware issue nothing more. Psychologically you're falling prey to positive reinforcement/superstition.

As totalsolutions said, if you'd stuck with the activation telephone number it'd have been sorted by now. And it's pretty straightforward, you just enter the number it asks for, if the activation still fails you get put through to a person who will then manually reactivate your license for you. It's actually one of the most straightforward "technical" calls you can make if a bit longwinded.