Windows 7 upgrade may include Invalid Product Key
I finally received my pre-ordered copy of Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium and promptly unwrapped the late-arriving package, which included both the 32 and 64 bit versions on DVD. Earlier in the evening, I installed VM Ware Fusion 3.0 to become compatible with Windows 7 as a virtual machine. I was eager to see how Windows 7 compared to Vista, XP, and of course Apple’s Snow Leopard. The Windows 7 installation was the easiest installation of a Windows O/S I’ve ever done – the process was almost flawless…. except the Product Key kept popping up – “Invalid Product Key, Please Try Again.” Could I have entered it wrong? I tried once more, making sure to enter the code exactly as displayed inside my plastic Windows 7 case, but the same result occurred. I had to call Microsoft Windows Technical Support.
Here is a summary of the key points of the service request:
- Action: Tried installing Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium
- Result: The product key was coming up as, “Invalid Product Key.”
- Cause: The registry settings had to be changed for the upgrade version of Windows 7.
- Resolution: Changed the registry settings and re-entered the Product Key, which allowed for Windows 7 to activate successfully.
The entire process took 3 times as long as the installation of Microsoft Windows 7, but my problem was resolved with a helpful support staff probably located in India. I still have one question: Will everyone upgrading to Windows 7 need to change their Registry Key and re-enter the Product Key?
How many people does this effect? Thousands, I bet… Here’s a related article from PC World.
THIS IS A KNOWN ISSUE WITH WIDOWS 7 INSTALL DVD’S!!! Our keys ARE valid…. but there is a registry error on many install DVD’s of Windows 7 that makes them not recognize a valid key!! There is a tested fix which I am reprinting below! I just had this problem this morning, and I just fixed it! Please note: The UPGRADE versions of Windows 7 recommend doing a “clean install” on XP machines, meaning every copy of Windows 7, even upgrade versions, CAN be installed onto a clean disc!!
Print these instructions, and do the following:
1. Install Windows 7. When it asks for your product key, UNCHECK the box that says “Activate When Online”, and LEAVE THE KEY BLANK. Click “Next”.
2. Allow it to boot. Then, click the start “Orb” and in the search box, type REGEDIT. (Do NOT hit enter). At the top of the search box, a program link called REGEDIT will appear. Click on it once.
3. You will enter the registry editor. Click “Edit” at the top, then “Find”. Search for the term “mediaboot”. It will search for 15 seconds, and it will highlight an entry called “MediaBootInstall”. (Alternately, you can manually find this entry by looking in this path: HKEY-LocalMachine->Software->Microsoft->Windows->CurrentVersion->Setup->OOBE.)
4. Double-click on “MediaBootInstall”. Change the value of “Value Data” from a “1″ to a Zero. Click “OK”.
5. Exit the Registry Editor.
6. Click the start “Orb”, then type CMD in the search box WITHOUT hitting “Enter”. At the top, a program link called “CMD” will pop up.
7. RIGHT CLICK the CMD link and select “Run Program As Administrator”. If you just left clicked on it before, close it out and re-start it as an administrator.
8. A DOS window will open. Type the following: CSCRIPT.EXE SLMGR.VBS -REARM Don’t miss the spaces. Hit Enter when done.
9. It will do its thing, and then ask for a reboot. Reboot the system.
10. Upon restarting, you will have a working copy of Win 7 that will require activation with your valid key within 30 days.
11. To activate: Click the Start “Orb” and type “Activate” in the search box without hitting the Enter key.
12. At the top of the search box listings, you will see a line that says “Activate Windows”. Click the link and follow the instructions using your valid key…. your key will now work!
13. Send an email to john_tsouris@hotmail.com thanking me for helping you out!
P.S. This immediately reminds me of the new “I’m a MAC” commercial in which “PC” repeatedly says that the “New version of Windows” won’t have any of the problems that the old version has!! Yeah, right. Here’s a glaring problem before it is even installed!
Also, I posted this same info to the MS support forums, and their moderator, some jerk-off named Ronnie Vernon deleted it. Anything those a*holes can do to screw their customers over is certainly something they love to do. Can you imagine deleting a fix for a known problem thousands of your users are having? They refer people to their MS help pages when they delete my posts…. but the help pages DO NOT have this fix posted!!! MS employees are scum.
Enjoy this fix!!!
John Tsouris
John,
Thank you soooo much for your post. This worked exactly as you said. I have been using windows since its inception and this is by far the most horrendous and ambiguous install that I have encountered. I ended up putting in a new hard drive for a clean install and still needed your help. I thought about the MAC commercial too prior to reading your comment! Thanks for being intrepid. Frank
You got it! By the way…. this is a much bigger screw up than it seems. By following the above instructions, you are circumventing the requirement of having a previous version of Windows to use this upgrade version of Win 7.
Basically, the guys at MS screwed up. The installer is supposed to ask to confirm a previous copy of XP or Vista y either scanning the hard drive for a previous version, or by having you put in the installer CD/DVD. However, the installer instead just tells you your key is invalid. Microsoft’s official fix actually has the user hacking the software to get around the upgrade requirement!!
This is a mess! No wonder the MS guy didn’t want me posting their fix! Hey, MS support gave me the fix, so….
John,
Just discovered that my Netgear wireless adapter for my own “white box” (WG311v3) is not backward compatible with 7 either. I spent a good portion of my day figuring out an error code from 7, again reliving my installation nightmare, which would not allow me to get wireless. Finally called Netgear and they said the only product they had that would presently work is the WN311B. I went back to Best Buy, as they showed it on their site, and they only had one copy of the product in their store and the guys there didn’t know anything about it. I installed it, said a little prayer, and fortunately it worked right out of the box. My point is that 7 SHOULD be backward compatible to save us money, time and anxiety. Maybe Linux next??? Frank
I sent you a well deserved thanks! Good Job!
Thank you so much John !
I’ve been at this for hours and came upon your fix and it worked !
Thx again. I hate those stupid commercials for the glory of Windows 7 – what a joke !
Thanks dude!
Thank you, all seemed to work well, but the CD Key i have is for an upgrade, no clean install for me, and Windows 7 RC is about to expire.
Trying to see if i can upgrade from 7 RC, I will post and let you know.
thank you
Alan
Salt Lake City, Utah
Well that will not work, because Windows 7 RC is the Ultimate version, I can not do the upgrade, this is so frustrating. I cant install Vista because I do not have the setup disc. HP Pavilion dv7, Hard drive crashed, and now it looks like i will have to purchase a full version of Windows 7,
BTW HP will not let you downgrade to XP if you bought a laptop from them loaded with Vista. Any help would be appreciated
May 7, 2010
John (and anybody else reading),
I followed your instructions completely and was able to register my copy of Windows 7 HP. Absolutely no problems. Thanks John for posting these directions.
Best regards,
Dave C