Windows activation won't go away!!!

[S. Lundberg]

After dealing with a recent virus it became necessary to
reinstall Windows XP Home Edition on my machine, over the
existing copy. After a couple of trys the installation
completed, and I activated my product. After running
Windows Update and restarting my computer it requested I
activate my product again. I did. I now have to repeat
this process every time I need to start or restart my
machine. It goes through the activation each time without
problem, but it's still annoying to have to do this. Does
anyone know how to make this endless reactivation process
go away? Please respond by email as well as posting if
you have a solution, as I've been searching and posting
all over the place for help and have lost track of where
to check back. I'm hoping for a better solution from this
site than so many others I've visited. I bought and paid
for this product, and don't think I should have to resort
to downloading pirated versions of a product I'm licenced
to own to get it to work properly. Does that sound messed
up to anyone else? TIA!

S. Lundberg

 

[Thannus]

-----Original Message Above------

I'm clueless. I'd suggest backing up your vital files,
ensuring that you have the XP install disk, and
formatting the entire hard drive. My provider (Dell)
guided me through this via Email and another computer,
and I was able to format my Inspiron laptop without a
hitch.

 

[Alex Nichol]

After dealing with a recent virus it became necessary to
reinstall Windows XP Home Edition on my machine, over the
existing copy. After a couple of trys the installation
completed, and I activated my product. After running
Windows Update and restarting my computer it requested I
activate my product again. I did. I now have to repeat
this process every time I need to start or restart my
machine. It goes through the activation each time without
problem, but it's still annoying to have to do this.

Are you accepting the request at boot? What happens if you do not?
Does it boot normally?.

If so, I would go to
Start - All Programs - Accessories - System Tools - Activate Windows
and see if that says it is already activated. If that is the case, what
has happened is that the entry to run the 'balloon reminder' has not
got removed at activation: I think you should find an entry you can
uncheck in a run of MSConfig.exe and look on the Startup page for
wpabaln.exe which you can uncheck