[Home] non valid xp??

i turned on my pc about 5 minutes ago and recieved a lovely message at my login screen. it told me that my copy of windows is not genuine and i need to do something about it. it is an oem copy from one of the largest computer retailers in england,(time) or it was till it went bust. this is no pirate copy, i even have a reload cd from when it went crazy on me. i think the problem is that one time, while installing linux, the partition table corrupted and i had to write 0's to my hard drive. after this my reload cd would not work, but i had a norton ghost backup which i was able to use to restore my windows. even today, my reload cd will not work. it gives me the message 'invalid header' or something. i can only assume that there was a small file that was stored on a seperate hidden partition which the cd looked for and as i used ghost to restore my xp, windows now thinks that it is a copy. i suppose technically it is, but it's a copy of my own windows as the original oem installation died.

what can i do about this? i dont want to pay microsoft £50 for a phone call for them to tell me to buy a new copy of windows. i havent done anything wrong.

please help

I don't know how much help we can be here, because we can't tell you how to bypass the validation procedure however genuine your case - the answer would be just as useful to the bad guys.

Have a look on your reload CD and see if there is an I386 folder on it.

i will have to hunt it down. it could be anywhere. if there is an i386 folder what should i do?

Q: What if my copy of Windows or Office fails the validation process or I believe I have received pirated software?

A: In either case, Microsoft recommends the following actions:
See your reseller and ask for genuine Microsoft software, using the report provided during the validation session for support. The report explains why your system was unable to validate and provides instructions for further follow-up.
Visit the Microsoft How to Tell website to learn how to recognize genuine Microsoft software.
Turn on Automatic Updates to make sure your system is being protected while you are resolving the problem.


What is the genuine Windows offer?

Q: What is the genuine Windows offer?

A: The Microsoft genuine Windows offer is designed to help customers who unknowingly purchased counterfeit versions of Windows XP by offering those who qualify a complimentary copy or electronic license key for a genuine copy of Windows XP.

Q: What are the details of the genuine Windows offer?

A: To help customers who unknowingly purchased a counterfeit version of Windows XP, Microsoft has created two genuine Windows offers for those who qualify:
Complimentary offer: Microsoft will make a complimentary copy of Windows XP available to customers who have been sold counterfeit Windows. Customers will be required to submit a proof of purchase, the counterfeit CD, and a counterfeit report with details of their purchase. Only high-quality counterfeit Windows will qualify for the complimentary offer.
Electronic License Key Offer: Microsoft will offer an alternative for customers who find out via the WGA validation process that they are not running genuine Windows, but do not qualify for, or choose not to take advantage of, the complimentary offer. These customers will be able to license a Windows Genuine Advantage Kit for Windows XP online for a price of $99 for Windows XP Home edition or $149 for Windows XP Professional. The Windows Genuine Advantage Kit for Windows XP will include a new 25-character Product Key and a Windows Product Key Update tool that will allow customers to convert their counterfeit copy to genuine Windows XP electronically.



More Frequently Asked Questions here:
http://www.microsoft.com/genuine/dow...Question5Label

If you have an i386 folder then it should be possible to do a clean install of Windows using the normal installer. I have a feeling that the validation tool woulod be happy with that.

but thats the problem. i cant do a clean install as i have to boot from the cd. once i boot from the cd, i cant search anything. i am just given access to the main windows reload screen which gives me the option to reinstall. which as i said, does not work. it does, somehow, know how many times i have successfully used the cd.

There is a way of running Setup without going through the normal restore CD gubbins that they put on. But you can only do it if you have the i386 folder - if you do have it here's what to do:

Boot up with a Win98 Startup floppy with CDROM support, then navigate to the i386 folder on the CD (at the A:> prompt type the letter of the cdrom drive, then "CD i386" without the quotes) Then at the X:\i386> prompt (where X: is the letter of the cdrom drive) type "Winnt.exe". That will run the normal Windows Setup.

You can get a startup floppy here:

Bootdisks

genious. but theres a new development. when i started my pc this morning the original message saying that my windows wasnt valid did not show. is this normal or has windows changed its mind?

Who can say? The validation tool is a bit too new for us to be certain exactly how it behaves.

The best thing to do is to leave it for a few boots and see what happens I think.

ok. many thanks everyone