Windows "not genuine" error

J

JamesBanner

Member
PLEASE READ THIS AS IT IS DIFFERENT TO THE OTHER THREADS, I HAVE BEEN GIVEN A REPLACEMENT PRODUCT KEY AND MY PROBLEM IS STILL NOT FIXED! :mad:

I recently (few months ago) had the BSD problem on my Acer Aspire 5920 laptop running Windows Vista Home Premium. The way we solved the problem was to remove a corrupted stick of RAM, reducing the RAM from 3gb to 2gb. The latop works fine now apart from the error message on startup "this copy of windows is not valid" (or something like that), "please activate to continue using Windows features". An error message is also now present on my now black desktop "Windows Vista (TM) Build 6002 This copy of Windows is not genuine". The only solution I could find online was to call the helpline.

I have called the Microsoft helpline (which ended up costing me a fortune as I don't have a landline) and they kindly provided me with another product key, as the product key on my laptop was coming up with an error code (invalid) when I tried to activate it online. However, this new product key doesn't work either (invalid) so now I'm stuck as for what to do. I know I'm not going to waste another £5 on the helpline as the guy already told me if I wanted it fixed if this didn't work I would have to pay someone from Microsoft.

I am considering a system restore but only if it would solve my problem.

Any help is greatly appreciated,

James
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Acer Aspire 5920
    CPU
    Intel Core 2 Duo 2.0
    Memory
    3gb down to 2gb
    Graphics card(s)
    Intel built in
JamesBanner said:
PLEASE READ THIS AS IT IS DIFFERENT TO THE OTHER THREADS, I HAVE BEEN GIVEN A REPLACEMENT PRODUCT KEY AND MY PROBLEM IS STILL NOT FIXED! :mad:

I recently (few months ago) had the BSD problem on my Acer Aspire 5920 laptop running Windows Vista Home Premium. The way we solved the problem was to remove a corrupted stick of RAM, reducing the RAM from 3gb to 2gb. The latop works fine now apart from the error message on startup "this copy of windows is not valid" (or something like that), "please activate to continue using Windows features". An error message is also now present on my now black desktop "Windows Vista (TM) Build 6002 This copy of Windows is not genuine". The only solution I could find online was to call the helpline.

I have called the Microsoft helpline (which ended up costing me a fortune as I don't have a landline) and they kindly provided me with another product key, as the product key on my laptop was coming up with an error code (invalid) when I tried to activate it online. However, this new product key doesn't work either (invalid) so now I'm stuck as for what to do. I know I'm not going to waste another £5 on the helpline as the guy already told me if I wanted it fixed if this didn't work I would have to pay someone from Microsoft.

I am considering a system restore but only if it would solve my problem.

Any help is greatly appreciated,

James
Click to expand...

Welcome to the forum James,

Are you sure you're typing in the correct characters?

This tutorial might help as well,

http://www.vistax64.com/tutorials/84488-activate-vista-phone.html
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Self Built
    CPU
    Intel I5-2500K @3.3GHz
    Motherboard
    Asrock P67 Extreme4
    Memory
    16GB G.Skill Ripjaws X (4x4GB)
    Graphics card(s)
    EVGA GeForce 750 Ti SC 2GB
    Sound Card
    ASUS Xonar DG 5.1 Channels 24-bit 96KHz PCI Interface Sound
    Monitor(s) Displays
    auria eq2367
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    250GB Samsung 850 EVO SSD 1TB WD Blue 1TB Hitachi
    PSU
    SeaSonic X 650W 80 Plus Gold
    Case
    Corsair Obsidian 750D
    Cooling
    Corsair H60, Three 140mm case fans
    Mouse
    Logitech Wireless Mouse M310
    Keyboard
    Logitech Wireless Keyboard K520
    Internet Speed
    Wave Broadband ~ 100 down 5 Up
    Other Info
    Laptop specs: HP g7-1365dx / CPU: AMD A6-3420M APU with Radeon(tm) HD Graphics / RAM: Crucial 8Gb (2x4Gb) / SSD: Crucial M4-CT128M4SSD2 ATA Device/ FW 000F / GFX: AMD Radeon HD 6520G / OS: Windows 10 Pro x64
Using Derek's "Activate Vista by Phone" suggestion plus at the side or bottom of your laptop/desktop in a product key or ID # to verify that you have a genuine Vista Product should do the job.
Let us know if this helps any.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    HP Pavilon Elite
    CPU
    Intel(R)Core(TM)2 Quad CPU [email protected]
    Motherboard
    ASUS eK Berkeley
    Memory
    4GB
    Monitor(s) Displays
    HP w2408 Vivid Color Widescreen LCD
    Cooling
    That's where I keep my beer
    Mouse
    MS WIRELESS
    Keyboard
    MS WIRELESS
    Internet Speed
    AT&T Uverse DSL
Hi guys,

Cheers for getting back to me so quickly. I am 100% certain I am typing in the correct characters. What makes me more certain is that I've read out the code on the sticker on my laptop to the guys at Microsoft and I'm coming up on their system as already having activated my Windows Vista. It seems obvious to me that the product has been activated already since Vista came preinstalled on the laptop and you do all that when you set it up (years ago).

I'm starting to think that it's more a problem with the laptop than Vista itself. Any more suggestions? I have already tried phone activation and the automated person won't recognise and characters I enter on my phone so I can't get a number back from them. Besides, surely the real person on the other end of the phone is better at sorting it than a robot? Even that seems not to work, with TWO codes....

Any more ideas you have would be great. Would a system restore work?
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Acer Aspire 5920
    CPU
    Intel Core 2 Duo 2.0
    Memory
    3gb down to 2gb
    Graphics card(s)
    Intel built in
Btw when I have tried the phone activation no numbers appear underneath the row of numbers that say "1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9". The woman on the phone couldn't understand that there were no numbers there and just put me through to a guy who confirmed that my product was registered and told me to call customer service, who gave me another number which did not work. Can you see the spiral appearing lol
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Acer Aspire 5920
    CPU
    Intel Core 2 Duo 2.0
    Memory
    3gb down to 2gb
    Graphics card(s)
    Intel built in
Before you do a system restore do a complete system back up just in case.
Have you run a AV Scan, MBAM and or SuperAntiSpyware just to make sure your system is clean?
You might want to run CCleaner but don't.....Don't mess with the registry scan or cleaner!
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    HP Pavilon Elite
    CPU
    Intel(R)Core(TM)2 Quad CPU [email protected]
    Motherboard
    ASUS eK Berkeley
    Memory
    4GB
    Monitor(s) Displays
    HP w2408 Vivid Color Widescreen LCD
    Cooling
    That's where I keep my beer
    Mouse
    MS WIRELESS
    Keyboard
    MS WIRELESS
    Internet Speed
    AT&T Uverse DSL
JamesBanner said:
Btw when I have tried the phone activation no numbers appear underneath the row of numbers that say "1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9". The woman on the phone couldn't understand that there were no numbers there and just put me through to a guy who confirmed that my product was registered and told me to call customer service, who gave me another number which did not work. Can you see the spiral appearing lol
Click to expand...

There isn't supposed to be any numbers appearing in those boxes, you have to put them in as they give them to you.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Self Built
    CPU
    Intel I5-2500K @3.3GHz
    Motherboard
    Asrock P67 Extreme4
    Memory
    16GB G.Skill Ripjaws X (4x4GB)
    Graphics card(s)
    EVGA GeForce 750 Ti SC 2GB
    Sound Card
    ASUS Xonar DG 5.1 Channels 24-bit 96KHz PCI Interface Sound
    Monitor(s) Displays
    auria eq2367
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    250GB Samsung 850 EVO SSD 1TB WD Blue 1TB Hitachi
    PSU
    SeaSonic X 650W 80 Plus Gold
    Case
    Corsair Obsidian 750D
    Cooling
    Corsair H60, Three 140mm case fans
    Mouse
    Logitech Wireless Mouse M310
    Keyboard
    Logitech Wireless Keyboard K520
    Internet Speed
    Wave Broadband ~ 100 down 5 Up
    Other Info
    Laptop specs: HP g7-1365dx / CPU: AMD A6-3420M APU with Radeon(tm) HD Graphics / RAM: Crucial 8Gb (2x4Gb) / SSD: Crucial M4-CT128M4SSD2 ATA Device/ FW 000F / GFX: AMD Radeon HD 6520G / OS: Windows 10 Pro x64
derekimo said:
JamesBanner said:
Btw when I have tried the phone activation no numbers appear underneath the row of numbers that say "1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9". The woman on the phone couldn't understand that there were no numbers there and just put me through to a guy who confirmed that my product was registered and told me to call customer service, who gave me another number which did not work. Can you see the spiral appearing lol
Click to expand...

There isn't supposed to be any numbers appearing in those boxes, you have to put them in as they give them to you.
Click to expand...

If I'm right in saying this, the person on the phone asks you for the numbers displayed under the numbers 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9. I'm not talking about the empty boxes, of course there is nothing there. She asked me for numbers and was saying "you see where it says 123456789? Under there, there are numbers, read them out to me" and there was nothing there...
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Acer Aspire 5920
    CPU
    Intel Core 2 Duo 2.0
    Memory
    3gb down to 2gb
    Graphics card(s)
    Intel built in
The Howling Wolves said:
Before you do a system restore do a complete system back up just in case.
Have you run a AV Scan, MBAM and or SuperAntiSpyware just to make sure your system is clean?
You might want to run CCleaner but don't.....Don't mess with the registry scan or cleaner!
Click to expand...

Hey there,

I haven't run anything yet, as I can pretty much guarantee that the source of the problem is that I had to remove a stick of ram to get my laptop working again.

However I will try this and get back to you :) Cheers.

As a side note, I tried the Vista update found here:

Download details: Update for Windows Vista (KB931573)

Which according to the Microsoft website should have solved my problem, however upon trying to run it, it said something like, "this update does not apply to your system" :mad:
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Acer Aspire 5920
    CPU
    Intel Core 2 Duo 2.0
    Memory
    3gb down to 2gb
    Graphics card(s)
    Intel built in
Did full AV scan and ran MBAM and found nothing =/

Thing is I personally don't think a system restore will help as I'm still down a stick of RAM, which is what's causing the problem on startup as obviously my system spec is no longer matching to what Windows thinks is there.

Anything else I could do?
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Acer Aspire 5920
    CPU
    Intel Core 2 Duo 2.0
    Memory
    3gb down to 2gb
    Graphics card(s)
    Intel built in
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