No way to activate?

I ran a few searches but couldn't fine any information that was valid to my situation.

I'm trying to keep my old desktop running until I can afford something newer and in an effort to extend its life I reformatted the hard drive recently and reinstalled Vista. However, it's telling me that the product key is invalid and doesn't give me a telephone number to call for activation like it used to.

What, if anything, can I do?
 

My Computer

Where did you get the CD? If it did not come with the computer and you cannot find the key on the computer body, you may have another possible means to reactivate. You may have problems, however because you formatted. Most computer manufacturers provide a method to restore to the way it was one you took it home. Go to Google, put is how to restore (computer make and model) to factory specs.
This is what I have on my desktop Dell xps 420

How to Restore Dell XPS 420 and Dell XPS 1530 to Factory - Life of a Geek Admin

You should be able to find something similar. Keep us informed.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Dell XPS420
    Memory
    6 gig
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI Radeon HD3650 256 MB
    Sound Card
    Intergrated 7.1 Channel Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell SP2009W 20 inch Flat Panel w Webcam
    Hard Drives
    640 gb
    Cooling
    Fan
    Keyboard
    Dell USB
    Mouse
    Dell USB 4 button optical
    Other Info
    DSL provided by ATT

My Computers

System One System Two

  • Operating System
    Windows 8.1 Industry Pro x64
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Pavillion Elite HPE-250f
    CPU
    Intel i7 860 Quad core 2.8 ghz
    Memory
    8 gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI Radeon HD 5770 1 gb ram
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Alienware 25 AW2521HF
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080 &1680x1050
    Hard Drives
    1 TB x2
    Other Info
    https://www.cnet.com/products/hp-pavilion-elite-hpe-250f/
  • Operating System
    Windows 2012 R2 Data center/Linux Mint
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Poweredge T140
    CPU
    i3 9100 3.6GHz, 8M cache, 4C/4T
    Memory
    8GB 2666MT/s DDR4 ECC UDIMM
    Screen Resolution
    1680x1050
    Hard Drives
    1 TB & 360 GB x2
    Other Info
    https://www.dell.com/en-us/work/shop/productdetailstxn/poweredge-t140?~ck=bt
I know this is late but open a elevated command prompt. Enter

slui 4.exe

Select your country and the number will be displayed for you to call.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro X64
    Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo IdeaCenter K450
    CPU
    Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-4770 CPU @ 3.40GHz, 3401 Mhz, 4 Core(s)
    Memory
    16GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce GTX 750, Intel(R) HD Graphics 4600
    Sound Card
    Realtek High Definition Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung 27" C27F398 Curved Monitor
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080 (HDMI)
    Hard Drives
    Samsung SSD 840 EVO 250GB
    Seagate ST2000NM001 2TB
    Seagate ST31500341AS 1.5TB
    PSU
    500W
    Keyboard
    Dell USB
    Mouse
    Lenovo USB
    Internet Speed
    50MB Down, 10MB Up
  • Operating System
    Windows 7 Pro X64
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP xw4400 Workstation
    CPU
    Intel Pentium D Dual 3.4Ghz
    Motherboard
    HP 0A68h
    Memory
    5GB
    Graphics card(s)
    ATI FireGL V3300
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Acer KN242HYL 24" (KVMS)
    Screen Resolution
    1920X1080
    Hard Drives
    Seagate ST3120026As 120GB SATA (boot)
    Toshiba DT01ACA200 2TB SATA
    Mouse
    Logitech via KVMS switch
    Keyboard
    Dell USB via KVMS switch
    Internet Speed
    50 Down, 10 Up
    Other Info
    Apache Web Server since 2001
Hi,

Please send me a direct message & I will provide you with some assistance with activating your product.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    HP-Pavilion m9280.uk-a
    CPU
    2.30 gigahertz AMD Phenom 9600 Quad-Core
    Motherboard
    ASUSTek Computer INC. NARRA3 3.02
    Memory
    3582 Megabytes Usable Installed Memory (4 Gig)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS NVIDIA Geforce GTS450
    Sound Card
    Realtek High Definition 7.1 Audio (HP drivers)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    HP w2408 24.0" (Dual monitor)
    Screen Resolution
    1920 * 1200, 1920 * 1200
    Hard Drives
    3*500 Gigabytes Usable Hard Drive Capacity
    Plus 2x USB (160Gig each) external HDD
    BluRay & DVD Weiters
    HL-DT-ST BD-RE GGW-H20L SCSI CdRom (Bluray RW) Device
    AlViDrv BDDVDROM SCSI CdRom (Blueray) Device
    TSSTcorp CDDVDW TS-H653N SCSI CdRom
    Internet Speed
    40 Meg
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