Windows fails to accept product keys - XP, Vista and 7(!)

C

comradec

New Member
I encountered a problem while re-partitioning my computer the other day, shortly after installing Windows 7, and now I'm unable to reinstall *any* version of Windows on any of the three hard drives in my computer.

When I try to install from scratch - which I'm only doing because it's proved impossible to reinstall over the top of existing installations - using the Windows installation disks, I'm informed that "Your product key cannot be validated. Review your product key and make sure that you have entered it correctly."

That specific wording is from the Vista installation routine, but a similar formulation comes up in all three versions I have - XP, Vista and 7.

I know that the product keys are in fact correct - I've used them before on the same computer - and all of these versions of Windows are authentic, the original disks and purchased through officially approved channels.

Looking up this issue on the web, none of the scenarios mentioned appear to apply. One suggested for Vista is that the installation disk is pre-service pack 1 and the product key was issued after that, but that can't be the cause here as the same thing is happening in XP and 7 too.

Looking in the BIOS, everything appears to be normal. And looking at the disks using a boot CD for the two partioning programs I have - TeraByte BootIt NG and Acronis Disk Director 10 - nothing appears to be out of the ordinary. All three internal disks are functioning and their booting order in the BIOS is the same as I had them set up originally.

My system's spec is as follows: Intel Core2 Duo E6600 @ 2.4GHz, 4GB RAM; Intel Desktop Board D975XBX2; ATI Radeon X1050 graphics; three Seagate Baracuda hard drives (80GB, 250GB and 1,500GB); Microsoft Windows 7, Vista and XP.
 
have you changed your motherboard?

If so they are often bound to the mobo if it is an OEM version.

You can always try contacting Microsoft, tell them your problem and that you had to format your drie and they will cancel your old key and give you a new working one
 
hey man, sorry no one responded sooner. Well if its the same PC and you have not changed the motherboard it does not make sense why it doesnt work, you should call MS and get them to give you a new key, you might have to push a little bit but as long as yours is valid (Im sure you have the actual sticker of the key and dont have it written down) but if that doesnt work then give me a message, Ill help you out

matt
 
haha aasti said the same thing i did, if you changed your mobo then they wont give you a new one, well at least they didnt for me.

if thats not the case, you could probally raise hell
 
There's been no change at all to the hardware recently, including the motherboard, which is the same one as I had when I first got this system.

No, these problems have all arisen since I installed Windows 7 and then tried to adjust the size of some of the partitions. Unless there's been a simultaneous hardware failure, I suspect that it's the repartitioning rather than W7 that's to blame in this instance. I've repartitioned plenty of times before, mostly without problems but I admit that it can be a hit & miss experience sometimes and booting issues have occasionally cropped up. But never this serious before.

I don't think that it can be Microsoft's fault either because this issue is replicated on three separate versions of Windows - XP, Vista and W7 - all of which have previously installed on the same computer without this happening (albeit the W7 installation only a few days previously). They can't all have a dodgy product key, especially as we know they've worked fine already.
 
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