If you’re one of the unlucky few who installed Windows Vista on a computer, customized the settings, and later installed additional software, but completely forgot to activate the product. Then in all likelihood you’re pretty upset at yourself for forgetting to overlook a minor setup step. Microsoft has repeatedly stated that the OS will go into reduced functionalitly mode unless you activate the product before the end of the 30 day evaluation period. However, consider the following before you choose to reinstall the OS and blow away your existing installation.
After a 30 day trial period, Vista does indeed go into what Microsoft calls reduced functionality mode (RFM). However, you can still utilize the OS almost at its full capacity by simply turning on the computer and then selecting an option that allows you to purchase a product key online. In Internet Explorer, rather than surf the web, navigate to the following location “C:\Windows\”. Locate explorer.exe, then double-click on it. The Start Menu and Taskbar should now be visible. Furthermore, you should now have access to Control Panel extensions that were previously unavailable. Edit the registry or change your network settings to activate the product. If you’re not ready to do the aforementioned, then extend your evaluation period for an additional 30 day period.
Note:
The system may log you off after using it in RFM for a time period of over an hour. In that case, simply follow the above steps to give yourself more time to evaluate the product or grab some of your data files off the system.
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