Windows Vista has had everything but an easy ride since it hit the shelves in January 2007. The operating system was plagued by a luxuriant variety of problems from hardware and software incompatibilities to lack of support and poor performance and reliability. And in this context, Vista has also taken the users out for a ride, making every speed bump count, as Microsoft was applauding the evolved user experience delivered by its latest Windows client. Well, one of the most overlooked aspects among the vast volume of problems associated with Vista are the issues faced by end users when attempting to activate the operating system.

“Activation, also known as Microsoft Product Activation or Windows Product Activation, is an anti-piracy technology designed to verify that Microsoft software products are legitimately licensed. Activation works by verifying that the product key the 25-character code located on your Certificate of Authenticity (usually affixed to your computer) or proof of license label (usually affixed to the installation disc case) is authentic and is not in use on more personal computers than are permitted by the software license”, reads a fragment of the Windows Vista Activation FAQ. (more…)

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