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HI,
I am new to this forum and, though I have checked the FAQ and skimmed the threads, I have not seen this issue before. On WinXP Home SP1, I get a blank error message right after login with no text but the standard MS yellow [img][/img] symbol and a pair of yes/no buttons. I have searched the web for anyone else discussing the issue and no luck. I have also scanned for viruses/trojans/spyware but it looks clean. Nothing I see in the startup files tells me anything. I have attached a screen grab of the login page to give a visual. Any help someone could provide would be very much appreciated.

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by codeblue20

Dani AI

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Short note: ’s follow-up that a corrupted Windows Product Activation (WPA) registry string was the root cause matches a well‑known class of XP activation/logon problems. The activation subsystem stores state both in the registry and in small files under %windir%\System32; if those entries or files are malformed the activation UI can loop or display an empty dialog at logon. The relevant registry area and activation-wizard command are documented by Microsoft. (learn.microsoft.com)

Practical checklist (backup first):

  1. Create a System Restore point and export the registry key before any edits: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\WPAEvents. Microsoft’s registry/restore guidance should be followed when making changes. (support.microsoft.com)
  2. In Regedit inspect OOBETimer and LastWPAEventLogged. If the binary looks truncated or corrupted, restore the exported key or a known-good copy. To force/run the activation UI after a safe change, execute: 
%systemroot%\system32\oobe\msoobe.exe /a

Microsoft documents using this flow when re-setting activation state. (learn.microsoft.com)
3) Verify the activation files WPA.DBL and WPA.BAK in %windir%\system32. If missing or corrupted, boot Safe Mode or Recovery Console and restore backed-up copies or extract the originals from the XP install media — restoring those files often clears activation loops. (itprotoday.com)
4) If needed, re-register the licensing DLLs (for example regsvr32 regwizc.dll and regsvr32 licdll.dll from Safe Mode) and then reboot. (cybernetman.com)

If the above steps don’t fix the loop, an in‑place (repair) install or official activation support is the safe next move. Avoid “activation hacks” or leaked keys: they commonly break on updates and create longer‑term problems; Microsoft’s guidance highlights risks with non‑standard keys. The procedure above is the same approach that resolved ’s machine. (learn.microsoft.com)

Member Avatar for Java22

In Case anyone is interested, I discovered the cause... a corrupt WPA (Windows Product Activation) registry string. Not exactly sure how that happened but then again, this is a MS product we're talking about [img][/img].

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N/A

Member Avatar for codeblue20

i have the exact same error, i dont know how to fix it though if its corrupt WPA... can anyone help ?

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