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XP needs reactivation but support has ended

There are a number of posts regarding this problem and the inevitable outcome but I wasn't able to find a solution that worked for me.  I'm old.  My desktop is old. I keep my old photos and personal documents on it. The desktop was built from a kit and is running XP Pro from an OEM CD I purchased with it in 2007.   There have been no hardware changes recently.  The computer was turned off for most of 2014 and when I finally started it [after support had ended in April] there was a notice to activate in 3 days.  When I tried to activate using the internet option nothing happened when I clicked "Next".  It sits and thinks until I get a popup saying the virtual memory is full. I tried a number of times and eventually the three days expired.  Now I get the same results but Windows wont open at all. The Answer Desk and the product activation folks tried to help but said to find a local tech since support had ended.  I want to get it running and I don't see why MS wants me to pay for something that was working fine.  I understand wanting to purge as many illegitimate copies as possible and the end of product support but it seems unfair to not provide a work-around for legitimate customers.  MS said they were ending support but the OS would still run.  If nothing else it would be nice to get it running to migrate the personal documents to a newer machine without yanking the drives.  Has anyone had any experience with this problem and can help?

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Hi,

What is the computer make/model?

Have you tried going into Safe Mode with Networking

Reboot computer and begin tapping F8 key

Select Safe Mode with Networking

You can then move your files from the pc

            Windows XP can still be installed and activated after end of support. Computers running Windows XP will still work but they won’t receive any Microsoft Updates or be able to leverage technical support. Activations will still be required for retail installations of Windows XP after this date as well.

http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/enterprise/end-of-support.aspx

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Thanks for the reply.  The parts were a kit from Fry's Electronics that my son and I built.  AMD Athlon CPU and ECS motherboard, Dual SATA 150 drives in RAID 1 and 1024 Mb  of Kingston RAM.  OS is XP Pro SP3; pretty basic and ran perfectly until this snafu.  By not being available to run the final updates around the time that support ended it seems I have gotten into a pickle.  I've tried safe mode, logged on as Admin, and I receive the same popup.  "The copy of Windows did not pass genuine Windows validation and you have yet to resolve the problem.... To protect your copy of Windows, click Resolve Now." Which pops up the  Window Product Activation window that reads " This copy of Windows must be activated with MS before you can continue.  You cannot log on until you activate Windows.  Because activation cannot occur in safe mode, please restart... in normal mode...".  Terminal loop.   I will admit it's time to retire this computer but is there a way for me to activate the software short of reinstalling the OS?  Thanks!

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Try these solutions:

When you try to validate a copy of  Windows XP, you receive the following error message: "0x80080201 Cannot detect product ID (PID)"

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/938720

Activate by Phone - Pick your Region

http://www.microsoft.com/licensing/existing-customers/activation-centers.aspx

When you activate by phone do not say anything when you hear the prompts or press any keys.  Wait for a Microsoft CSR to answer and explain to them what happened.

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I did not receive any specific error messages other than previously outlined.  I did try the phone activation support at 888-571-2048 but they couldn't help. It seemed that without the error code or the wizard running they had limited capability. Is this volume licensing activation center going to be different? Thanks again.

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Do you have your Product Key?

Have you tried this method?

Open Windows Activation by clicking the Start button , right-clicking Computer, clicking Properties, and then clicking Activate Windows now.            If you are prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.

How to activate Windows 7 manually
1) Click Start, and in the Search box type:   slui.exe  4
2) Next press the 'ENTER' key
3) Select your 'Country' from the list.
4) Choose the 'Phone Activation' option.
5) Stay on the phone and wait for a person to help you with activation.

Vista: Activation and the SLMGR Command (options explained)

http://www.tech-recipes.com/rx/2062/vista_activation_slmgr_command_options_explained/

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Vista? Win7? ??????? This is a XP machine and I can't boot Windows.  Is there a temporary way to launch Windows so I can run the Activation software and give MS my Product Key (which I have) so the thing will be back to normal?

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Are you able to boot into safe mode?

Select Safe Mode with command prompt

Type rstrui.exe, and then press Enter.

Select a restore point to restore your system to a previous date and time

If Windows loads, retry activation

Otherwise:

Restart the computer and insert the Windows XP CD in the CD drive. Choose the correct key that appears on the screen to enter the BIOS. Go through the BIOS menus until you see the option for "Boot options." Choose to make the CD drive the first boot device. Save and exit. Restart the computer and let the Windows XP installation start.

When the Windows XP setup screen appears, press enter to install Windows XP and select the repair option. At the next screen Windows will find existing Windows installations. Choose your existing installation and choose repair. Let Windows install and reboot. Do not hit any keys until Windows finishes the repairs, reboots and asks for information.

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Thanks again.  I'll give these a try.  If I need to go to the CD booting option will the Windows repair preserve the personal files on the machine or wipe them like a full install?

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You need to boot into System Recovery Options in order to run the Startup Repair tool.

Repair Windows XP by Performing a Repair Install

http://pcsupport.about.com/od/operatingsystems/ss/instxprepair1.htm

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Rstrui.exe didn't work. Error said not a valid system command.  I was able to boot from my OEM CD but when I ran the repair I got a error that Windows did not find any hard drives.  Is this a result of the system set up for RAID 1?  Do I need to do something else first so the hard drives are recognized?  

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Last updated February 1, 2024 Views 13,341 Applies to: