When I start Windows, a dialogue box appears, which tells me that my Windows is not genuine. Please suggest a solution.

Varun Aggarwal

Microsoft is now becoming more advanced in its attack on pirated versions of Windows XP or Microsoft Office. The company is including a Windows Genuine Advantage security patch in the updates of Windows XP. This new patch produces pop-ups on the login screen and on the desktop explaining that this version of Windows XP is not genuine and the owner may be the victim of software counterfeiting.

To help determine whether the copy of Windows installed on your computer is genuine, please visit

http://www.microsoft.com/genuine. The Windows Validation Assistant performs a check on a user’s computer to determine if the Windows operating system installed on his/her computer was installed using a valid product key.

Depending on the result of the validation, a success or failure page is displayed.

If Windows XP-based computers that were installed by using a Volume Licence product key might

be marked as non-genuine, then follow this URL: and if

your Windows licence is OEM XP version, then refer to this URL:

http://forums.microsoft.com/Genuine/ShowPost.aspx?PostID=638811&SiteID=25

If your version of Windows XP is not genuine and does not pass the validation schemes, you will

not be able to download security patches from Windows Update, or install the latest version of

Internet Explorer 7 and other software.

Even though some of the cracks and workarounds (to bypass or remove WGA or Windows Genuine Advantage) are available on the Internet, it is strongly recommended to buy a legal version of Windows XP or Windows XP (Home or Pro) Edition licence kit. The Windows Genuine Advantage Kit for Windows XP will include a new 25-character Product Key and a Windows Product Key Update tool that will allow customers to convert their counterfeit copy to genuine Windows XP.

If you have a Legal copy of Windows XP but your computer still fails validation, please follow these steps:

Your computer may not be properly configured to allow the validation process to get completed. Login your system as administrator or a member of administrator group. First check the following link, Microsoft Genuine Advantage - Diagnostic Site

http://www.microsoft.com/genuine/diag/.

This will check your computer’s configuration and fix any problems that may exist. After checking for problems, you can click on the link to validate Windows. You may directly download and run the WGA Diagnostic Tool:http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=52012

Another reason for validation failing may be the Windows Genuine Advantage Validation Tool has been disabled.

Please follow the steps below to make sure the ActiveX is enabled:

Open Internet Explorer - Click Tools - Internet Options - Programs tab - Manage Add-ons button. Find the Windows Genuine Advantage Validation Tool and click on it. Verify the Add-on is enabled, if it is not, then please Click Enable and Ok twice to exit back to Internet Explorer. Close Internet Explorer and reopen it. Now try to validate Windows again.

For more information, please refer Windows Genuine Advantage Problems and Solutions at these URLs:

http://www.pchell.com/support/windowsgenuineadvantage.shtml and

http://support.microsoft.com/gp/win_genuineadvantage