Vista will not activate

[gilesm]

Hello

I have a legit, paid for copy of Vista Home Premium.
This weekend my machine crashed, seriously, so bad that when it came back Vista would not boot, so I tried a repair with the System Disk, this did not work, so I tried a 'restore' from last good known date, this did not work.

So I had to install again. Fine. Until I noticed that my Vista was not activated.
So I tried to activate it. MS activation failed because the Product key was already active (yes, with me of course).

I called MS they refused to help because my version was OEM.

So, I now have a copy that I have paid for, but can not activate.

I feel screwed by Microsoft. So much so I am dumping Vista and going back to XP Pro.

Unless anyone has any suggestions ?

[CrowdAds]

[felix8406]

There's a possibility that someone else is using the same product key you have. OEMs are supposed to be supported by the computer manufacture or builder. As far as I can see, the only thing you can do is to try to contact your seller.

As for going back to XP; if you have the XP disc that’s fine, but if you have to buy it, might as well a copy of Vista upgrade. It’ll cost you about the same as XP and you don’t have to worry about OEM issues.

[Snuffy]

Originally Posted by gilesm

Hello

I have a legit, paid for copy of Vista Home Premium.
This weekend my machine crashed, seriously, so bad that when it came back Vista would not boot, so I tried a repair with the System Disk, this did not work, so I tried a 'restore' from last good known date, this did not work.

So I had to install again. Fine. Until I noticed that my Vista was not activated.
So I tried to activate it. MS activation failed because the Product key was already active (yes, with me of course).

I called MS they refused to help because my version was OEM.

So, I now have a copy that I have paid for, but can not activate.

I feel screwed by Microsoft. So much so I am dumping Vista and going back to XP Pro.

Unless anyone has any suggestions ?

OEM is a bitch but try this... boot to the DVD follow instructions and ask for repair in restore ask for command prompt.... then type "rstrstrui.exe /offline:C:\windows"
since your new install was not finished, if you did not FORMAT the drive. then the original last restore img will be used to restore your working copy.

And like Felix stated OEM is supported by the Manufacture...If your OEM was purchased otherwise then you are your own suppost...

I have a legit, paid for copy of Vista Home Premium.

[gilesm]

Thanks for the advice guys, but since I bought the OEM from DABS myself and put it on my PC (on a second drive) I think I have reached a point where if I can't get Vista running legally, I will just abandon it and go back to XP for now.

What really hurts is the fact that the options that are supossed to help you, i.e. "repair" or "restore" using the Vista Disc both failed and now MS are in effect refusing to allow me to install the same software on the same PC in a legal manor has really put off ever using Microsoft again. In fact a new Apple Mac Mini is now looking like a good option, as then I can forget Vista and all the problems I have had with it.
It's awful to pay for software then be told you can't legally use it. Surely Microsoft are wrong here ? Shall I take them to court ? I think not, but how many others have been caught like this I wonder?

At least as the software was OEM it did not cost too much.

[Snuffy]

I bought the OEM from DABS

Yes that means you are your own suppost.
Still there are more ways to get things working. Have your booted to DVD, then used the command prompt to run "rstrstrui.exe /offline:C:\windows"
If you have tested that version and it did not work let me know.

Also OEM copies of Home Premium should have a "Never ending reinstall".

Now Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) Activation ― A Vista installation with OEM Activation is what you would receive from Dell (or another OEM) when your purchase a computer with Vista pre-installed.
OEM activation uses a special BIOS marker that is pre-loaded by the OEMs. It will never need to activate with either Microsoft or a KMS.
If you reinstall the OS with media that came from the OEM for your computer, that will also result in an installation that never needs to be activated.
If you reload the machine with a volume license image, then it has to be activated using MAK or KMS.
Activation Hardware Tolerance
OEM versions of Windows Vista are BIOS bound. Each system generates a signature based on the BIOS checksum and the OEM activation key. If the BIOS is changed (the motherboard or system BIOS is replaced), the system is considered out of tolerance and must be reactivated.

if someone else "lifted your KEY" . The date of install which is contained in the registery gives 1st install date preference. USE THE RESTORE.
ps: what is the mobo of your system?

PSS: http://www.vistababble.com/forums/vi...ctivation.html

[felix8406]

Gilsm, just wondering; did you replace any of the original components before reinstalling Vista? If you did replace some components, that might be the reason why your activation failed. Anothher thing, do you have any ideas of why sudenly your system crashed? How long had you had your PC running before it crashed?

[gilesm]

I had been using Vista for about 4 months. There were no hardware changes made to the PC after the crash and re-installing Vista.

As to why the PC crashed, I have a suspicion that it was to do with the power supply.

I had a generic 350W power supply in the machine, then I added extra USB's, then I added an extra SATA drive (for Vista). Then I added USB devices powered from the MOBO.

Strange things stareted to happen, USB 2.0 ports suddenly would only work as USB 1, while using the machine, I noticed that performance would slow down and the FAN on the PSU would start working extra fast and was very noisy.

Then last Saturday I turned the machine on and nothing worked. Nothing at all !

I left it be for 24 hours. Then tried again and it worked ! Except Vista would not boot, would not repair and would not restore.
So I re-installed, and now I have 2 copies on the drive, "windows" and "windows.old"

So now I have an activation problem with the new Vista install.

I replaced the PSU yesterday with a new WinPower 600W unit, with a dedicated supply to the SATA drive.
The machine works much better now.

So, these days I have reverted to my XP install and all is well, except, no Vista of course.

What will happen if I do not activate Vista when the given period of days is over ?

[felix8406]

Yes, a bad power supply or a loose electrical cord connection to the power supply, could cause a PC to crash. I don't know if this will work to recover Vista from the windows.old folder (it works for XP), but it might be worth a try: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/933168.

As for the activation, you get 30 days and can get up to 120 days by setting back the timer; it might get you enough time to solve your current issue: When you hit your 30-day mark > Right-click the command prompt and select run as administrator > Type "slmgr -rearm" and hit enter. This will give you another 30-days.

[Snuffy]

To extend, reset or restart the initial OOB grace period of Windows Vista to another 30 days, use the following steps:

1. Click on Vista Start button and key in Cmd in Start Search box.
2. Press on Ctrl-Shift-Enter to open Command Prompt with administrative credentials (equivalent to “Run as Administrator”).
3. In the Command Prompt, type the following command and press Enter when done: slmgr.vbs -rearm or you can use sysprep /generalize
4. Reboot the computer.
5. Rearm again when the remaining activation grace period timer counts down to 0 days.

I prefer that ppl set the rearm at day 29 ... If you forget then Vista goes into reduced function...and it is better to loose 1 day than gointo reduced function.

Originally Posted by gilsm

I left it be for 24 hours. Then tried again and it worked ! Except Vista would not boot, would not repair and would not restore.

I do wish you had tried the Boot to DVD and use cmd restore..
It also seems to me your saying you were/are dual booting.

You should be able to correct this the simplest way by booting to the Vista DVD and instead of installing look for the "Repair your computer" option in the bottom left corner of the second screen...select it followed by Startup Repair. You can also use VistaBootPRO to manually add it, but give Startup Repair the first shot. If it fails we can go step-by-step with the alternatives.

Microsoft help step by step on Startup Repair for Vista.

How do I use Startup Repair?
If you have a Windows Vista installation disc, you need to restart (boot) your computer using the installation disc. If you do not restart your computer from the disc, the option to repair your computer will not appear.

http://windowshelp.microsoft.com/Win...f3f351033.mspx

[airman]

I had that happen to me when I did a reinstall because of a hard drive problem an it would not activate and was asking for the code so I called MS they asked me what may problem was I told them I did a reinstall because of a hard drive failure and he asked me how many system this version of Visat was installed on i said 1 he said ok I am going to give you a new code to imput in and I did that and all was well I have did this many times with Vista twice and at least 6 with XP you just have to watch what you say to the rep on the phone. Mine was bought from NewEgg one time and the other was free Business version of Vista i got for the promo. Good Luck I would try calling them again worth a shot.

[felix8406]

Good point from Airman; don't volunteer information. When I switched my Vista Business Edition from my laptop to my Desktop about a month ago, I went through the same proces. WHen asked: I told them I had removed Vista from the laptop and installed it on my desktop...that was it. Like Airman stated: I was asked how many computers does the copy of Vista was installed, and I told them one...I was given the codes.

I second Airman, give it a try.

[airman]

I also remember them asking was the copy installed or did I install the copy of XP and I always say I bought and built system and installed the copy. Does this matter I am not sure, but I had a legal install problem and I kept calling
CS rep and they would just read from the same script every time I call until one CS rep finally figured it out and just gave me a new code. They had me sending them copy of my disc closeup front and back to verify the copy was legit was a real hassle.

[backspin2006]

it happened to me, come to find out I had a upgrade version of the OS, check to see if you have an upgrade version, if so you have to do the install over but select upgrade, after i did this, vista activativated itself.

[gilesm]

Wow,

It seems I have some options, I must admit I had given up on Vista and just use XP on that machine when I need it. At least everything in XP always worked ! (my Vista installation was never quite right).

I was so peeved with Microsoft that I went and bought a new 20" iMac as well.
Now I am not sure, I might try to get Vista working again !

I will let you all know how I get on !

[Buster]

I have reinstalled OEM's many times you must have caught the guy on a bad day
go through the process again and just tell them that your hard drive failed and you have had to replace it as it is only used on the one machine they will give you the code no problems but don't go on at them
I suggest you backup your system with acronis as you have 2 hard drives and make a bootable disc with it then you can restore any time as it keeps the registration details