Member Avatar for grahamseely

Hello,

I bought my Medion PC about a year ago and it came with Vista preinstalled. Yesterday when i turned it on i was shown the above error message on a black background, with three options - 1. Access your computer with reduced functionality 2. Enter different product key 3. Contact Medion AG to help resolve this problem.
These are my only options, i have no access to deskstop, or start key etc. I have reentered my product key numerous times and also reentered a new product key given to me by microsoft customer support on the telephone but neither was accepted and i received the following error message with both product keys: Code 0xc004f050 . The people on the microsoft customer support number could not help me any more and refered me to Medion, who referred me back to microsoft!

I have not performed any updates to Vista or uninstalled any drivers etc.

Any help would be greatly appreciated as i have an important deadline looming,

thanks very much,

Graham

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by ybkumar77

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Quick expert note for (and anyone hitting the same error): the code 0xC004F050 means Windows is rejecting the product key as invalid. Microsoft documents this error as usually caused when the license validity interval has expired or the license data isn’t signed/matching the install — which explains why retyping keys (even ones supplied by phone) can still fail. (support.microsoft.com)

Practical checklist (do these before a reinstall; back up files first). If the activation screen allows “Access your computer with reduced functionality,” use that to copy important files to external media. From an elevated Command Prompt (or Safe Mode with Command Prompt) inspect and try reapplying a key with the Software Licensing tool, then force activation:

slmgr.vbs /dli
slmgr.vbs /dlv
slmgr.vbs /ipk XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX
slmgr.vbs /ato

Replace Xs with the 25-character key; /dli and /dlv show channel and license status, /ipk installs a key and /ato attempts activation. If online activation fails, launch the phone-activation wizard with slui.exe 4 and follow the automated prompts (you’ll give the Installation ID and the system will return a Confirmation ID). (learn.microsoft.com)

If the PC won’t yield an elevated prompt, boot the Vista DVD or use the OEM recovery partition (F8 → Repair your computer) and run System Restore or Startup Repair to roll back to a point when activation was OK; the recovery environment also gives a Command Prompt for the slmgr steps above. If the machine came with a factory image, OEM SLP activation (the manufacturer’s preactivation tied to the BIOS or recovery image) can be the reason the COA key or a retail key won’t behave as expected — in that case request Medion’s recovery media and have purchase proof ready. (support.microsoft.com)

If phone activation, recovery media and a manual slmgr attempt all fail, call Microsoft’s Product Activation/Activation Center, quote error 0xC004F050 and the Installation ID (from slmgr /dlv) and ask for escalation to a product activation specialist; keep proof of purchase and the PC’s COA details handy. Prioritize rescuing files (external copy or bootable rescue media) before any major repair or reinstall. (support.microsoft.com)

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Member Avatar for Biker920

Hello,

I bought my Medion PC about a year ago and it came with Vista preinstalled. Yesterday when i turned it on i was shown the above error message on a black background, with three options - 1. Access your computer with reduced functionality 2. Enter different product key 3. Contact Medion AG to help resolve this problem.
These are my only options, i have no access to deskstop, or start key etc. I have reentered my product key numerous times and also reentered a new product key given to me by microsoft customer support on the telephone but neither was accepted and i received the following error message with both product keys: Code 0xc004f050 . The people on the microsoft customer support number could not help me any more and refered me to Medion, who referred me back to microsoft!

I have not performed any updates to Vista or uninstalled any drivers etc.

Any help would be greatly appreciated as i have an important deadline looming,

thanks very much,

Graham

Go here http://support.microsoft.com/kb/938450 pay attention to which dash form you use good luck. let us know what results are.

Member Avatar for ybkumar77

it's obviously the Medion people who has to help you out. they might have given you a license key which was already sold to some others or they might have printed it in a wrong way. call them again and tell them that you are going to sue them if the problem is not resolved immediately. But make sure you have the purchase bills before calling them.

Edited by ybkumar77 because: typo
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