Hi,
try running a windows repair before attempting activation. The steps are listed below.
1. Insert your Windows XP CD
2. Restart the machine
3. Press the key specified to enter your BIOS. In most cases you need to press Del to enter the BIOS setup. You should see a message on startup, right in the beginning, which says something like “press <key> to enter setupâ€. E.g. Press Del to enter setup
4. Go into either the Boot section, if you have one, or the 2nd option (should be something like “BIOS features setup†or “Advanced BIOS featuresâ€)
5. Change to boot sequence (should show as “boot sequence†or first boot device; 2nd boot device; 3rd boot device; etc.) so that CD-ROM is first
6. Exit saving changes
7. When you see the message to press any key to boot from CD, press any key
8. At the "Welcome to Setup" screen, press Enter to do a clean install
9. Press F8 to agree to the license agreement
10. Press R to run a repair install
11. Let setup run through. Do not press any key to boot from CD when the machine restarts
Regards,
