Activation

[Drew]

I'm having a bit of trouble.. I installed Windows XP on
another computer, activated it successfully, and then set
the clock to the real date. The next time I turned the
computer on, I was greeted by an error box saying I
hadn't activated Windows. I clicked the "Activate Now"
box, and a window pops up telling me that windows is
already activated, and upon hitting OK I'm sent back to
the login screen. I try to log in, and the same box pops
up, with the same result. I'm kicked back to the login
screen again. Is there anything short of reinstalling
Windows that I can do?

 

[Rick \Nutcase\ Rogers]

Hi Drew,

Start the computer in Safe mode by hitting F8 at bootup. Start/run regedit.
Delete the following keys:

HKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT\Software\Microsoft\Cryptography\Providers
HKEY_USERS\S-1-5-20\Software\Microsoft\Cryptography\Providers

Exit the registry editor, restart normally. Retry activation if prompted.

--
Best of Luck,

Rick Rogers, aka "Nutcase" - Microsoft MVP

Associate Expert - WindowsXP Expert Zone

Windows help - www.rickrogers.org