Genuine Advantage problem with a Tiny Computers machine

[UnseenWriter]

My Dad's coworker has asked me to help with his PC. He bought it from
Tiny a couple of months before they went bust, and now it's saying his
Windows is not genuine and he needs to pay 92 quid to make it genuine.
It has a microsoft sticker of authenticity on the case for XP Home
(which is what it's running) and he's not computer-savvy enough to
have reinstalled the OS without benefit of a restore CD, which he says
he never had. Having worked on the helpdesk for Tiny for a while a few
years back I wouldn't be exactly surprised if this problem has been
caused by something stupid Tiny did, but he *has* got the authenticity
sticker, and frankly the machine isn't worth 92 quid, so he'll probably
bin it if I can't fix it.
Does anyone have any suggestions? Aside from pointing and laughing
about the fact he bought a Tiny in the first place, that is.

 

[--Alias--]

My Dad's coworker has asked me to help with his PC. He bought it from
Tiny a couple of months before they went bust, and now it's saying his
Windows is not genuine and he needs to pay 92 quid to make it genuine.
It has a microsoft sticker of authenticity on the case for XP Home
(which is what it's running) and he's not computer-savvy enough to
have reinstalled the OS without benefit of a restore CD, which he says
he never had. Having worked on the helpdesk for Tiny for a while a few
years back I wouldn't be exactly surprised if this problem has been
caused by something stupid Tiny did, but he *has* got the authenticity
sticker, and frankly the machine isn't worth 92 quid, so he'll probably
bin it if I can't fix it.
Does anyone have any suggestions? Aside from pointing and laughing
about the fact he bought a Tiny in the first place, that is.

You could try system restore to a date before WGA was installed.

Alias

 

[Malke]

My Dad's coworker has asked me to help with his PC. He bought it from
Tiny a couple of months before they went bust, and now it's saying his
Windows is not genuine and he needs to pay 92 quid to make it genuine.
It has a microsoft sticker of authenticity on the case for XP Home
(which is what it's running) and he's not computer-savvy enough to
have reinstalled the OS without benefit of a restore CD, which he says
he never had. Having worked on the helpdesk for Tiny for a while a few
years back I wouldn't be exactly surprised if this problem has been
caused by something stupid Tiny did, but he *has* got the authenticity
sticker, and frankly the machine isn't worth 92 quid, so he'll
probably bin it if I can't fix it.
Does anyone have any suggestions? Aside from pointing and laughing
about the fact he bought a Tiny in the first place, that is.

From MVP Carey Frisch:

Please follow this simple troubleshooting procedure:

1. Download and install the WGA Diagnostic Tool
http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=56062

2. After running the WGA Diagnostic Tool, click on the "Windows" tab and
then click on "Copy to Clipboard".

3. Next, visit the following website and create a post in the "WGA
Validation Problems" forum and paste the results of the WGA Diagnostic
Data in a detailed post:
http://forums.microsoft.com/Genuine/default.aspx?SiteID=25

4. A WGA troubleshooting specialist will analyze the data and recommend
an appropriate solution.

Malke

 

[Random C]

From MVP Carey Frisch:

Please follow this simple troubleshooting procedure:

1. Download and install the WGA Diagnostic Tool
http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=56062

2. After running the WGA Diagnostic Tool, click on the "Windows" tab and
then click on "Copy to Clipboard".

3. Next, visit the following website and create a post in the "WGA
Validation Problems" forum and paste the results of the WGA Diagnostic
Data in a detailed post:
http://forums.microsoft.com/Genuine/default.aspx?SiteID=25

4. A WGA troubleshooting specialist will analyze the data and recommend
an appropriate solution.

Malke

Thank you, I will try that now.

 

[Frank]

My Dad's coworker has asked me to help with his PC. He bought it from
Tiny a couple of months before they went bust, and now it's saying his
Windows is not genuine and he needs to pay 92 quid to make it genuine.
It has a microsoft sticker of authenticity on the case for XP Home
(which is what it's running) and he's not computer-savvy enough to
have reinstalled the OS without benefit of a restore CD, which he says
he never had. Having worked on the helpdesk for Tiny for a while a few
years back I wouldn't be exactly surprised if this problem has been
caused by something stupid Tiny did, but he *has* got the authenticity
sticker, and frankly the machine isn't worth 92 quid, so he'll probably
bin it if I can't fix it.
Does anyone have any suggestions? Aside from pointing and laughing
about the fact he bought a Tiny in the first place, that is.

It is my opinion that this is a marketing scam. I ran into the same
type of problem with a Toshiba lap top a while back. I had to do
a dog and pony show to get it to work. Just look at the crap from
From MVP Carey Frisch. This is really not right in order to use
something that was purchased and paid for.

Please follow this simple troubleshooting procedure:

1. Download and install the WGA Diagnostic Tool
http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=56062

2. After running the WGA Diagnostic Tool, click on the "Windows" tab and
then click on "Copy to Clipboard".

3. Next, visit the following website and create a post in the "WGA
Validation Problems" forum and paste the results of the WGA Diagnostic
Data in a detailed post:
http://forums.microsoft.com/Genuine/default.aspx?SiteID=25

4. A WGA troubleshooting specialist will analyze the data and recommend
an appropriate solution.