lv 8.2 activation deactivated win xp?

[Jim@SONGS]

I removed LV 7.1 and installed LV 8.2 on a Dell 610 with Win XP Pro SP2. After LV activation and reboot, the win xp says "This copy of Windows needs to be activated to log on". I clicked OK, then it said "A problem prevented activation" and the screen goes blank at the desktop, no icons or button response. Then, I rebooted, and now get a BSOD Error c0000218 Registry File Failure. Won't safe mode boot either. Any ideas, or hope?

Message Edited by Jim@SONGS on 10-20-2006 12:00 PM

[pallen]

Ouch!

That doesn't sound good. 

Dells usually have a "recovery" partition that you can sometimes get to via an F12 or F2 at boot time.  (can't rememember which exactly)   Since you can't even get into safe mode, this may be an option.

Alternatively, if you have your install media (Dells are usually licenced on the case, so any disk from any other Dell will work) you might be able to boot from the Windows CD and attempt a "Repair".

Good luck.

[georgedev]

I have some experience with this message.  You can call Microsoft and they'll give a you a key to enter to reactivate Windows XP.  MS grants you a certain number of activations in a certain period of time.  This feature is called Windows Product Activation (WPA) and is the MS attempt at copy protection.  WPA tracks the devices installed like hard drive, processor, etc.  If WPA thinks the system changed from its original configuration then it only allows the system to work for 3 days without re-activation.  A special version of Windows XP without WPA is available though, and that's what I eventually ended up using.

[Jim@SONGS]

Fortunately, I have a fresh disk image using trueimage so I am able to restore the previous functioning lv7.1 system (had a hunch so refreshed my backup before I started). Have tried 2 times to install LV8.2/nidaq8.3, once with a remove/replace, 2nd time with an overwrite, both times win xp blows up as previously described. After 2nd go, we tried the recov console and replaced the win xp activations files, but no good either.

[pallen]

At least you had a good backup. 

It's very strange that installing 8.2 would affect your Windows registration at all.  But it's exactly this kind of thing that is keeping me from installing (and using) our copy of 8.2   I've got too many projects running 7.1 that I need to continue providing support for.  I'm also way to busy to deal with a borked system right now. 

Sounds like another reason to stick with 7.1 for a little longer.

[JLS]

Hello,

I have never heard of this issue, and I've been around many many LabVIEW 8.2 intalls on XP with SP2 (although admittedly not necessarily on the same computer).  I wonder if it is just a coincidence - although this may be a scary thought for you at this point, is there anyway you have another such computer to try this on, or perhaps are willing to try it on the same computer when it's back up?  If it's repeatable, it would be excellent to know about it so it can be fixed!

In any event, I'm sorry you encountered this problem, and please keep us up-to-date - we'll help you get up and running with LabVIEW 8.2!

Best Regards,

JLS

[Jim@SONGS]

Yeah, it's a real pain to experiment. An 1/2 hour or so to install the LV/daq, then another hour to re-install the HDD image to unbreak the PC. I found it will install LV 8.2 OK, so looks like this is an nidaq 8.3 problem. Makes a little sense I guess, the daq hardware drivers would more likely break the registry.

Jim

[unclebump]

Maybe you could export your registry before and after to see what has changed?? Or find a program that will track registry changes.