We bought the laptop as a retirement present for our ex Bursar. She brought it in this week because she had it repaired and now it needs reactivating. If there is a COA label I can't find it so I ran Belarc advisor on it in safe mode and took the product key it came back with.
The omline activation doesn't accept this code. I phoned MS and it wouldn't activate that way. They said it must be faulty and they couldn't help.
Any suggestions gratefully received.
What was repaired / replaced or done exactly ?
It sounds like Vista was reinstalled without a product key. This means it is using one of the default Windows keys which only work for 30 days before requiring activation. The COA sticker is normally located on the bottom of the laptop.
There is no COA sticker, perhaps Fred peeled it off! Guess I'll have to give him a call.
Is there a system restore partition? Normally restoring using that will give you a pre activated copy of Windows.
Sorted with invaluable help from @Arthur and a neat utility.
What utility?Originally Posted by laserblazer
Sent you a PMWhat utility?
? interested in that to
forward the pm to me ??What utility?
Just in case anyone was wondering, my utility essentially does what is described in the link below but slightly more automated (and only for Dell computers).
How to reinstall Vista without a recovery DVD
Whenever I have to re-install Windows on a PC from Dell, HP etc., one of the first things I do is backup the product key and XRM-MS certificate, either manually or using a program called Activation Backup and Restore (ABR). This saves time after the operating system has been reinstalled since you can activate Windows again without being connected to the Internet and don't have to call Microsoft (as you sometimes have to do if you use the key on the COA sticker).
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