[theShade]

Ello my first time on the board so please be gentle

I am working on a friends laptop running on XP sp3, i dont know what they have done but basicly they cannot boot into windows by any means!

After selecting the User profile just before windows logon it comes up with the following message:

"This copy of windows must be activated with Microsoft before you can continue. You cannot log on until you activate Windows. Because activation cannot occur in safe mode, please restart our computer in normal mode to activate Windows"

I have tried every single option in the F8 boot mode but I always this message come up and i cannot get past it.

Now I have the original XP installation CD and product code, however I dont want to reinstall it as my friend has very important files on the HD that he has not backed up....

Any way around this guys??

Your help is much appreciated....

Edited by theShade, 13 July 2009 - 03:49 PM.

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Howdy and welcome to GTG:

As per Microsoft..

Repair a Damaged Installation
Please note: If you make a mistake when following the steps below, you will not be offered the option to repair a damaged installation. Follow these steps precisely (or reboot from the CD and start again).

Boot from the Recovery CD (press any key when prompted).
Choose Setup (press <Enter>) - do not choose the R=Recovery Console option.
Press F8 to agree to the license agreement.
Press R to Repair the selected Windows XP installation.
The setup program will copy files to your hard disk and reboot automatically.
Do not press any key when the CD boot code is run, allow the code to timeout, the system will boot from the hard disk and continue with the installation from the CD.
Answer the configuration questions once the computer has finished re-installing. You will be prompted for your Product Key which you will find at the back of your system. You will also need to Activate your system within 30 days, if you have not done so previously (see below).

A repair install does not remove any user files. You will probably have to use the Call Home feature to activate XP. They will be able to tell if the cd is legit and give you the proper code.

Murray

Edited by Murray S., 13 July 2009 - 04:12 PM.

[Murray S.]

Howdy and welcome to GTG:

As per Microsoft..

Repair a Damaged Installation
Please note: If you make a mistake when following the steps below, you will not be offered the option to repair a damaged installation. Follow these steps precisely (or reboot from the CD and start again).

Boot from the Recovery CD (press any key when prompted).
Choose Setup (press <Enter>) - do not choose the R=Recovery Console option.
Press F8 to agree to the license agreement.
Press R to Repair the selected Windows XP installation.
The setup program will copy files to your hard disk and reboot automatically.
Do not press any key when the CD boot code is run, allow the code to timeout, the system will boot from the hard disk and continue with the installation from the CD.
Answer the configuration questions once the computer has finished re-installing. You will be prompted for your Product Key which you will find at the back of your system. You will also need to Activate your system within 30 days, if you have not done so previously (see below).

A repair install does not remove any user files. You will probably have to use the Call Home feature to activate XP. They will be able to tell if the cd is legit and give you the proper code.

Murray

Edited by Murray S., 13 July 2009 - 04:12 PM.

[theShade]

thanks mate. i will give that a go and let you know if it works