I know this is the wrong topic but this gets more views. as i need the help asap.
Ive had my windows 7 reinstalled about a month ago. however tonight i got a message saying (Windows did not pass a genuine validation. )
and is asking for my product key.
But the sticker on the bottom isnt readable. im missing 2 characters. the rest is ok.
Is it safe to keep just guessing what they might be? as they have slight visibility but arent clear.
windows wont just stop working will it? as i use it for work.
again sorry for the wrong topic but i need the views. not to wait 3 days for a answer
Merci
Jack

Just bash away, at worst you might have to phone their 0800 robot activation number but really you can't go that wrong.

My math is crap but I'd suggest contacting who ever you got the PC off as the last two characters are alpha/numeric and you may be guessing for a while.

Whoever reinstalled couldn't read the key either and it only runs for a month unlicensed.

Also, check that the same version was reinstalled, I think there are at least 6, as a different version will not accept your key.

Quote from Racer X NZ :

My math is crap but I'd suggest contacting who ever you got the PC off as the last two characters are alpha/numeric and you may be guessing for a while.

There are 26 letters in the alphabet. As Windows keys are UPPERCASE only, we don't have to worry about the lowercase characters. But as the windows keys area alpha-numeric, meaning they contain both letters and numbers we have to deal with that too. Being that the width is only 1 character wide, we only have to deal with numbers from 0 - 9, or 10 numbers total. From there, we have 26 + 10 = 36. Now he does not know the last two characters, so it has multiplicative effect. 36 * 36 = 1296.

So, there are 1,296 different combinations.

ive a Legit copy on this machine and i got so fed up with their lack of customer support that im using a hacked version with legit key...


should that not validate ill use a hacked version as ive already paid for one copy anyways.... ( even though that was a freebie, Still... a key is a key and it should activate regardless )

Just c*ack it and forget about serial numbers. If it's original, you already paid for it, right? So doesn't matter in which way you activate it

dont put the code in on installation and use WAT remover

Yeah it is original just re installed

Did u use an OEM version of the install disc for windows? If not u will need to reinstall with an OEM windows disc for the key to work as a retail disc wont work with OEM keys.


Tho i thought if u used the correct version OEM disc then u didnt need to activate it since the OEM keys are in the Bios?..

Quote from Dygear :

There are 26 letters in the alphabet. As Windows keys are UPPERCASE only, we don't have to worry about the lowercase characters. But as the windows keys area alpha-numeric, meaning they contain both letters and numbers we have to deal with that too. Being that the width is only 1 character wide, we only have to deal with numbers from 0 - 9, or 10 numbers total. From there, we have 26 + 10 = 36. Now he does not know the last two characters, so it has multiplicative effect. 36 * 36 = 1296.

So, there are 1,296 different combinations.

Think its only 36 valid combinations, last digit is most probably a controldigit (making sure the checksum is exactly 0) should be quite trivial to program a generator for all valid combinations IF you got the algorithm fo the checksum.

Yeah, I got the same issue, I've just been ignoring it for about a year and a half.. Seemed like it did that after an update to Windows 7.. wants to to pay for an activation key.. I'm just saying screw it and moving on. I paid for the computer from Best Buy, so I'm sure it's not an illegal copy or anything.

Edit: My numbers are all gone on the bottom

Quote from heson :

Think its only 36 valid combinations, last digit is most probably a controldigit (making sure the checksum is exactly 0) should be quite trivial to program a generator for all valid combinations IF you got the algorithm fo the checksum.

One more trick, isn´t there a bar code on the label?, try photo it and run it through a software barcode scanner.