Unable to activate Windows Vista!

[Guest]

I bought this Acer Laptop (with Windows Vista) from Walmart about 2 months
ago. I used it for two months and i realized that it had too many errors.
It couldn't update no matter how many times i tried. Therefore, i decided to
format everything and reinstalled my OS. However, when i typed in my product
key, it reported as an invalid key. I couldn't reactivate my Windows. How
may i reactivate my Windows?

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http://windowshelp.microsoft.com/co...41b&dg=microsoft.public.windows.vista.general

 

[LaRoux]

You should be able to use the telephone option to reactivate.

 

[Myweb]

Hello Phu,

If your software is legal, just phone MS support. They will help you.

Best regards

Myweb
Disclaimer: This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers
no rights.

 

[John Barnett MVP]

You re-installed the operating system from Acer recovery disks or a hidden
partition on the laptop? If you used acer's own recovery procedure then the
product number 'should' be valid. I would suggest contacting Acer but i
answered a similar post a few weeks ago regarding an Acer and while i
suggested contacting acer the reply the guy got back was, quite simply, if
you are going to tinker with our machines, then you must pay for a copy of
the operating system. He 'apparently' hadn't been supplied with recovery
disks.

You say 'when you typed in your product key' at what stage is this
happenning? With recovery disks/partition the product key is already
embedded in the image so should need to be inputted.

Alternatively you could telephone the Microsoft Automated Activation line
(free phone) to see if it will activate via telephone. If it won't activate
via the automated route you should be put through to a 'real' person. But
this will only happen if the automated route fails.


--
John Barnett MVP
Associate Expert
Windows - Shell/User

Web: http://xphelpandsupport.mvps.org
Web: http://vistasupport.mvps.org

The information in this mail/post is supplied "as is". No warranty of any
kind, either expressed or implied, is made in relation to the accuracy,
reliability or content of this mail/post. The Author shall not be liable for
any direct, indirect, incidental or consequential damages arising out of the
use of, or inability to use, information or opinions expressed in this
mail/post..

 

[Justin]

...contacting acer the reply the guy got back was, quite simply, if you
are going to tinker with our machines, then you must pay for a copy of the
operating system.

If that person is to be believed then that's a very good reason to stay away
from Acer!

We're sorry but if you are going to recover from an error then you need to
give us more money.....Wow!

 

[Guest]

acer has a patch on their sire to fix the update problem, they had the same
problem with Xp

 

[Guest]

I'll try that. Thanks for your reply.

You should be able to use the telephone option to reactivate.

 

[Guest]

As i mentioned, i bought it from a Walmart retail store, then i suppose it's
legal. I'll phone them definitely. Thanks for your help.

 

[Guest]

Oh, i used the Windows Vista setup disc to format and to reinstall the OS
(included at purchase). When i reinstalled my OS, it asked me for the
product key. Everything went smoothly during the installation. However,
when it got to the desktop (OS is installed successfully), it asked me to
activate Windows within 30 days or else Windows might not work after 30-day
period. With that, it shows, "The product key you entered is invalid..." or
something like that. When i tried to reenter the product key for several
times, it shows the same message.
Thanks for your concern. I really appreciate your help.

 

[Guest]

Phew, my Windows is finally activated by phone. Thank you all for your
kindness.

 

[John Barnett MVP]

Actually, Justin, the company the guy works for has refused to by acer pcs.

--
John Barnett MVP
Associate Expert
Windows - Shell/User

Web: http://xphelpandsupport.mvps.org
Web: http://vistasupport.mvps.org

The information in this mail/post is supplied "as is". No warranty of any
kind, either expressed or implied, is made in relation to the accuracy,
reliability or content of this mail/post. The Author shall not be liable for
any direct, indirect, incidental or consequential damages arising out of the
use of, or inability to use, information or opinions expressed in this
mail/post..

 

[Justin]

Actually, Justin, the company the guy works for has refused to by acer
pcs.

That's good to hear!

 

[MBO]

Hi Phu,

I discovered that if your BIOS has been reset (and the clock is not correct)
that you can also see this problem until you update the clock settings
either in Windows or via the BIOS.