activation code

my sister bought an acer computer from walmart that came with vista already on it it worked well for a while now it comes on and says that the o/s is not a genuine copy and to put in an activation code I type in the code that is on sticker from microsoft on the side of the tower but it still doesnt work . has anyone seen something like this ? any help would be appreciated . everything on it is as it came out of the box no new software has been loaded .no cracks or illegal software either .

 

thanks for the info I will give it a try , also called microsoft they told me to take it back to where it was bought that they could do nothing for me

 

Please let us know the outcome of this, just curios. ed

 

Providing you have given us all the pertinent information, that shouldn't be true true. They should have exactly what you need, which is a different activation code. Call the number that should be inside the CD sleeve of your Vista recovery disk, or a number should come up with the activation messages you are getting.

I had this problem when I upgraded from Vista Prem to Vista Ultimate, and others have had the same issue and posted here. A call to MSFT solved it each and every time.

However, if other issues are at hand which you have not made us aware or are not aware of yourself, then this can change things. This link, although pertaining specifically to XP, carried the same principles for Vista activation. http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb457054.aspx Worth a read before you approach the retailer who sold you the system.