WGA sucks - getting messages on a RETAIL genuine copy!

My friend gave me a Windows XP SP3 Retail disc. It is a genuine disc, complete with hologram and printed manual. He gave it to me because he wiped his drive and installed Windows 7 on his new machine. According to Microsoft's EULA this is acceptable. Anyway, I have been using it for about 3 months now but recently Windows has popped up with a "this software must be activated" dialog. Upon saying "Yes", the activation dialog opens a blue window which does nothing besides having a few IE "broken image" icons in it. So not only is it incorrectly saying the software is not activated it also refuses to let me activate it. I suspect Windows is broken somehow.

However I have found a way to log in as administrator. If WinKey+U is pressed, the Utility dialog launches. From there, there is a link to the Microsoft website. Clicking that launches Firefox, giving me HDD access. I can launch IE from it and browse the HDD and can even launch my games and software (that is, DirectX 9 games are running fine and at full speed - the computer logs in as a full administrator!!) however, explorer.exe will not run and I do not want to run in this configuration forever. I previously discovered this on another computer which had the same issue (which had a genuine, manufacturer supplied Windows copy - it was an out-of-the-box media PC but out of warranty.)

What can I do?

I think I will just install a "WPA patch" like I did on my last machine but I am wondering if there is a better solution.

I hate Microsoft, mostly because of dirty tricks like this. I run Ubuntu on all my other computers but Ubuntu doesn't play Windows games very well and doesn't run so well on my media PC. Otherwise, I would have given Microsoft the shove long ago.

 

Thanks for your help. I personally call it dirty tricks because it blocks access to my computer. My case is not uncommon I have fixed my father's PC before and my laptop (2yr old Dell) had a similar issue. It is a dirty trick and a poorly implemented one at best. And if you're going to block access to a computer, at least don't show the error while logged in as Administrator...

Anyway, I ran the sfc /scannow. I got an error:

Code:

Windows File Protection could not initiate a scan of protected system files.

The specific error code is 0x000004dd [The operation being requested was not performed because the user has not logged on to the network.
The specific service does not exist.
].

Perhaps this is because of my trick I used to log in? As I am technically not logged in. I have simply bypassed winlogon.

 

Nothing is 100% flawless, and if you call microsoft they are generally very helpful about activating. I understand being mad about what happened, but generally id estimate about 95% of people that get the wga error are not using legit software, and why should a companys hard work be given away for free. Call ms, generally the wga failure notice has a phone number to call.

 

Yeah, I'm kind of annoyed and I understand it's not flawless but the thing is, it doesn't stop someone who actually has a non genuine copy, it is easy to break but this post is not about that. It is about legitimately fixing this before using one of those programs.

Anyway the error just tells me it needs to be activated. There is no phone number. I know what needs to happen next. When the blue window pops up there is *usually* an option for activating online or by telephone. However there is no no way to enter any security/activation code they might give me because the window is blank.

 

Maybe you should log in as the Administrator and then run the WGA check.

 

I can't, though. There is no log in page. Upon reaching the normal Welcome screen, Windows kindly informs I need to activate it. Then, clicking OK just shows an empty, blue window.

 

Any more tips?

I found my XP CD lying around so I can now use that.

 

My other suggestion is perhaps its a malware popup trying to get you to enter detials and it became corrupted, might check the system for malware.

 

I believe I can boot into safe mode. I'll try that soon.

I think those numbers will be futile as I have tried that before; there will be no place for tech support's secret number to go...

I think if anything, it may well be malware. Because the system did do some odd things; the wallpaper was blanked initially and the anti-virus program (AVG) has stopped updating. (Blocked using hosts file? I only noticed this recently.)

 

Okay, today I was using the PC and I got a pop up for a p0rn ad, on msn.com (just the default home page of IE - I normally use Firefox but IE is basically Windows Explorer.) So I'm fairly sure this system has a virus from somewhere. Problem is, I have no idea how to get rid of it. Did it cause the WGA problem too? Possibly. What can I do. I have considered the rebuild option but I just haven't had the time.

 

Sounds like a slash and burn is your best bet, format and re-install the sucker offline having AVG and a firewall on disc and install those before you go online. XP only takes about 40 min. to install, then try and activate if needed by phone.