The Vista Home Premium Product Key you have entered is invalid for activation

GrahamSeely

New Member
Hello,

I bought my Medion PC about a year ago and it came with Vista preinstalled. Yesterday when i turned it on i was shown the above error message on a black background, with three options - 1. Access your computer with reduced functionality 2. Enter different product key 3. Contact Medion AG to help resolve this problem.
These are my only options, i have no access to deskstop, or start key etc. I have reentered my product key numerous times and also reentered a new product key given to me by microsoft customer support on the telephone but neither was accepted and i received the following error message with both product keys: Code 0xc004f050 . The people on the microsoft customer support number could not help me any more and refered me to Medion, who referred me back to microsoft!

I have not performed any updates to Vista or uninstalled any drivers etc.

Any help would be greatly appreciated as i have an important deadline looming,

thanks very much,

Graham
 

My Computer

Hello GrahamSeely,
Take a look here (3rd post down), and see if it is any help.

0xC004F050

Please post your results, good luck.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Self Build
    CPU
    QX9650 (black box) [email protected]
    Motherboard
    Asus P5Q Premium
    Memory
    8GB-4x2GB Corsair Dominator DDR 2-1066
    Graphics Card(s)
    2 x ASUS EAH 4870 X 2 (Quad)
    Sound Card
    Supreme FX 2
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Fujitsu Siemens 22inch flat screen
    Screen Resolution
    1680x1050
    Hard Drives
    150 Gig WD Raptor
    300 Gig Maxtor
    300 Gig Maxtor, (External)
    PSU
    CoolerMaster 1000
    Case
    CoolerMaster N-Vidia stacker 830
    Cooling
    Noctua NH-U12P x 1x120mm fan, 6x120mm case fans
    Keyboard
    Logitech G15
    Mouse
    Logitech G5
    Internet Speed
    20Mbps
    Other Info
    Audio FX Pro 5+1 gaming head set
Hi Stoneys Nutz, thanks for your reply

I tried the following solution from the link you posted:
Step set #2

1) Open Internet Browser
2) Type %windir%\system32 into the browser address bar.
3) Find the file CMD.exe
4) Right-Click on CMD.exe and select Run as Administrator
5) Type: net stop slsvc (it may ask you if you are sure, select yes)
6) Type: cd %windir%\ServiceProfiles\NetworkService\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\SoftwareLicensing
7) Type: rename tokens.dat tokens.bar
8) Type: cd %windir%\system32
9) Type net start slsvc
10) Reboot Twice
11) Vista may require you to enter a Product Key (use the COA SLP key found on the sticker on the side or bottom of your computer) and Activate. Use the Activate by Phone method outlined below

I followed the instructions as far 10 but when i restarted the computer a screen appears saying that i 'must reinstall windows' to activate, and i have access to none of the three options i had earlier. My computer came with a couple of Vista Recovery Discs, if i reinstall from these will i loose all of my programmes and files, or is there anyway for me to backup without having access to windows?

sorry for all the questions, thanks for helping a complete novice
 

My Computer

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
Hi richc46, do you have any idea if i can somehow use Windows Easy Transfer without having any access at all to windows? or if i can access my files in any other way? When i load up my computer i get a black background and a message saying Reinstall Windows, i cant get any further than that without reinstalling from recovery disc, thus risking all my files. any ideas? thanks a million
 

My Computer

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Self Build
    CPU
    QX9650 (black box) [email protected]
    Motherboard
    Asus P5Q Premium
    Memory
    8GB-4x2GB Corsair Dominator DDR 2-1066
    Graphics Card(s)
    2 x ASUS EAH 4870 X 2 (Quad)
    Sound Card
    Supreme FX 2
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Fujitsu Siemens 22inch flat screen
    Screen Resolution
    1680x1050
    Hard Drives
    150 Gig WD Raptor
    300 Gig Maxtor
    300 Gig Maxtor, (External)
    PSU
    CoolerMaster 1000
    Case
    CoolerMaster N-Vidia stacker 830
    Cooling
    Noctua NH-U12P x 1x120mm fan, 6x120mm case fans
    Keyboard
    Logitech G15
    Mouse
    Logitech G5
    Internet Speed
    20Mbps
    Other Info
    Audio FX Pro 5+1 gaming head set
You have been trying all the accepted solutions sometimes the unusual ones work. If you can just access the system you can save everything.

Have your tried in safe mode?
During boot hit f 8 repeatedly, that will bring you to safe mode. You may be able to log on that way. This is essentially the same that you had with limited functionality. If you can get there, try a system restore.

You try that, and maybe Stoney or I can come up with a solution to make sure that your files are secure.
 

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
cheers lads, i managed to backup most of my important files onto an external hard drive. a norton anti virus message popped up and i was able to use that to transfer data to my external hard drive. i then installed the Recovery Disc that came with my computer, but that dosnt seem to have worked and now im stuck on a black screen (like safe mode) that says Windows Error Recovery. It gives me the option to start in safe mode, safe mode with networking, sake mode with command prompt, last known good configuration and start windows normally, but whichever i hit i choose i end up at the same screen! any ideas?

thanks for all your help with this so far
 

My Computer

On the recovery disk, is there an option to format the HDD first, as you now have all your files backed up :party:, this is probably the best way to go.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Self Build
    CPU
    QX9650 (black box) [email protected]
    Motherboard
    Asus P5Q Premium
    Memory
    8GB-4x2GB Corsair Dominator DDR 2-1066
    Graphics Card(s)
    2 x ASUS EAH 4870 X 2 (Quad)
    Sound Card
    Supreme FX 2
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Fujitsu Siemens 22inch flat screen
    Screen Resolution
    1680x1050
    Hard Drives
    150 Gig WD Raptor
    300 Gig Maxtor
    300 Gig Maxtor, (External)
    PSU
    CoolerMaster 1000
    Case
    CoolerMaster N-Vidia stacker 830
    Cooling
    Noctua NH-U12P x 1x120mm fan, 6x120mm case fans
    Keyboard
    Logitech G15
    Mouse
    Logitech G5
    Internet Speed
    20Mbps
    Other Info
    Audio FX Pro 5+1 gaming head set
Alright so ive managed to reinstall vista from recovery disc with only minimal loss of files thanks you both, now i only have to figure out where my internet connection is gone to!

thanks for all your help, greatly appreciate it
 

My Computer

TY for your kind words and rep.
 

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
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