Booting Problem related to Windows not genuine error

[foreverlastd]

Hello, I searched around but was unable to find a solution for my problem. I'll start from the beginning on how this all happened.

I have a dual boot system with XP/7. I resized the partitions using Gparted and after that I got an error where 7 would not load (0xC0000225). I managed to fix this by using my Windows 7 disk to recover the boot loader. However that brings me to my current issue. I can boot to Windows 7, but after I log on it says "preparing your desktop", and after waiting longer than usual it brings me to a blue screen that says "Windows 7; Build 7600; This copy of Windows is not genuine" in the lower left corner. It does nothing from this point, it just hangs on this screen without loading the start bar or anything. I can still access the task manager if I Ctrl,alt,del but cannot solve this genuine error. Back when I was a tech and dealt with XP errors of this nature, it would bring up an option to used a limited mode and from there you could activate it, but I'm getting nothing. Anybody have any suggestions here?

-Mike

 

[torrentg]

Hi.

Boot to safe mode. Open an elevated command prompt and run this:

slmgr /silc

Boot to Windows normally and then reactivate the machine normally.

If that doesn't help, do this from safe mode if you need (or normal):

slmgr /upk

then reactivate the machine normally.

 

[foreverlastd]

So safe mode took forever to get to as well. I was only able to get command prompt to load (even after selected elevated) was to ctrl,alt,del and run new task "cmd.exe". When I type the commands I get....

"Windows Script Host; Can't find script engine "VBScript" for script "E:\Windows\system32\slmgr.vbs".


One thing I'm confused about is the fact it's saying windows is the E: drive. When it was last working it referred to itself as the F drive. I'm not sure if the drive letters is what is causing the error for the commands (or loading issues entirerly. Is there a command for cmd.exe to have it look for the script engine on the F drive where it should be?

 

[zBobG]

If when you enter slmgr command and an error returns that ’slmgr’ is not a recognized internal or external command, the cause is due to \Windows\System32 directory is not inside your environment’s path. Simply type the full path of (assuming C: is Windows Vista volume) C:\Windows\System32\slmgr, or change directory to \Windows\System32 before issuing the slmgr command.

Same for Windows 7. Don't know if this helps.

I have the same problem with an old copy of Vista. Apparently Vista and Seven do not like to have their partitions resized and moved. They will boot but the desktop will be broken. I do believe that the problem is that they no longer see their own partition as the boot partition, the drive letter is no longer what it was and the OS now can't find the files needed for proper startup.

It might be possible to do a repair install or an upgrade install from the broken desktop, or do a repair install or upgrade install from the booted DVD. I haven't tried this in my case since I've decided to just abandon my old install of Vista and exclusively use my new install of Windows 7.

 

[keljackson]

I've been having this same problem, and no solutions I've found seem to work.

My laptop came installed with windows vista home. I shrunk the C: drive and created a new partition (S: ) for windows 7. I used PCmover to move all my files, programs and settings to 7. Everything was fine until i decided to start uninstalling programs I now use on Windows 7(S: ) off of Vista (C: ). I did this and freed up about 80 Gb of space, which I expanded using gparted into the S: partition.

I tried to start 7, and there was a start-up error. So, I booted from the 7 DVD, selected startup repair, and now I have two boot options: Microsoft Windows Vista, and Windows 7 Professional (recovered).

Windows 7 takes forever to load, and when it does it is the infamous useless blue desktop: "Windows 7, Build 7600, This Copy of Windows is not genuine"

When booting 7 in any mode, what was S drive is now D drive, and if I go for C:\Windows\System32\slmgr or D:\Windows\System32\slmgr, I get an error about the path not existing, although I can browse and click on the file and nothing happens!

When attempting the solution found HERE I get a similar "path does not exist" error, even though again I can browse and navigate to the exact file I need.

I know this was long: I just want to be specific.

Could it be that Windows is locking me out because it doesn't recognize validation information? This is a 100% legal copy of Windows 7. Any help anyone??

 

[prodigy8901]

Possible Solution

Hey guys,

New to this forum, only joined to tell you guys a possible solution. I've been trying to tackle this problem for about 2 hours and I was very happy when i successfully changed drive letters to fix the "not genuine" problem. Follow these steps:

1. Boot windows in safe mode
2. After loading, there should be a blank screen with no desktop, press ctrl+alt+del
3. Click Start Task Manager
4. Click File then Run
5. type regedit.exe then press enter
6. Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\MountedDevices
7. Try to remember your old working drive letter, mine was drive D, and windows changed its drive letter to C. So i swapped the D and C paths in the registry; now windows knows to access the correct drive to boot.
8. To swap drives, find the drive letter you want changed, it should look something like "\DosDevices\C:" where "C" is the drive letter you need swapped.
9. Right click on the key and rename it to a drive letter that is not in use, for example, I renamed mine to "\DosDevices\Z:" This will free up the letter that you need swapped.
10. Right click on the other key and rename it to the first key's letter, for example, if i wanted the D drive swapped with C, I would now rename "\DosDevices\D:" to "\DosDevices\C:".
11. Now rename "\DosDevices\Z:" (Which was previously "\DosDevices\C:") to "\DosDevices\D:"
12. The drive letters are now successfully swapped, close regedit and reboot, tell me if it worked!!

Hopefully my directions are clear enough for you guys, I understand the frustration!

 

[keljackson]

Yahoooo!!!!!!!!

YES!!! THAT DID IT!! TOTALLY SOLVED MY PROBLEM!!!

With one minor exception: Because the file system was so screwed up, I had to edit the registry for the Windows 7 Drive from my running instance of vista. Nothing I tried to do on 7 worked AT ALL. Here's how:

1. Run regedit.exe from Start -> Run
2. Select HKEY_USERS by single-clicking on it
3. Go to File -> Load Hive
4. Navigate to the registry file folder on your other drive. This is found in DRIVELETTER:/Windows/System32/Config
5. Select the file labeled SYSTEM. Make sure not to select the text file
6. Type whatever name you like in the Key Name field, Hit Enter.
7. Now navigate to MountedDevices under HKEY_USERS
8. Make the changes outlined by prodigy8901
9. Select the folder the hive was mounted in by right-clicking it once
10. Go to File -> Unload Hive
11. Restart the computer and load your newly working OS!

Once I loaded Windows 7, the screen was black and says "This copy of Windows is not genuine" in the bottom right hand corner. Give it a minute or two, as a box will pop up that asks if you want to activate windows. I said "yes", and KABOOM!! My desktop was there in all it's glory!

Man I can't thank you enough for your help with this. You are literally an answer to my prayers. About another week of fumbling around with this and I was going to have to do a fresh install and copy stuff manually.

I just hope I'm not the last person who has a great day because of this thread

You're the man!!

-Kel

 

[prodigy8901]

great!

it means a lot that you replied to my post, i was hoping it helped someone! Glad i could help, and good job finding the rest of the solution. have fun with windows 7!

 

[SIW2]

Glad you got it sorted out.

There is an easier way.

Use the Boot corrector on the free Paragon Rescue Kit Expres to correct drive letters in the system registry.

http://www.paragon-software.com/home/rk-express/features.html

 

[Stockmoose16]

YES!!! THAT DID IT!! TOTALLY SOLVED MY PROBLEM!!!

With one minor exception: Because the file system was so screwed up, I had to edit the registry for the Windows 7 Drive from my running instance of vista. Nothing I tried to do on 7 worked AT ALL. Here's how:

1. Run regedit.exe from Start -> Run
2. Select HKEY_USERS by single-clicking on it
3. Go to File -> Load Hive
4. Navigate to the registry file folder on your other drive. This is found in DRIVELETTER:/Windows/System32/Config
5. Select the file labeled SYSTEM. Make sure not to select the text file
6. Type whatever name you like in the Key Name field, Hit Enter.
7. Now navigate to MountedDevices under HKEY_USERS
8. Make the changes outlined by prodigy8901
9. Select the folder the hive was mounted in by right-clicking it once
10. Go to File -> Unload Hive
11. Restart the computer and load your newly working OS!

Once I loaded Windows 7, the screen was black and says "This copy of Windows is not genuine" in the bottom right hand corner. Give it a minute or two, as a box will pop up that asks if you want to activate windows. I said "yes", and KABOOM!! My desktop was there in all it's glory!
-Kel

Keljackson or Prodigy -

I have the same problem with my W7. I was reallocating a partition and when I restarted, I got a blue background with the writing in the bottom corner that says "This copy of windows is not genuine."

I have a dual boot with win xp, and I can see that all my files are still in my W7 drive. Much like Keljackson, I cannot make changes by using regedit from within W7, rather, I need to use my XP boot. I followed keljackson and prodigy's instructions and switched around drive letters, but unfortunately, I couldn't remember the drive label for the W7 partition. I thought it was "E:" but right before the last good restart, I had changed it to "M:"... When in Win XP, the W7 drive is labeled "G:" I followed all the instructions above, first swapping "G:" for "E:" and when that didn't work, I then tried swapping it for "M:" Neither swap worked, and I'm even more confused now for a couple of reasons: 1) When I log into my xp boot, the drive letter in my computer has not changed from G: to either "E:" or "M:", even after multiple reboots. Shouldn't that have happened? 2) I now don't know which drive is which because I've made so many assignment changes. My XP boot is still working fine. Is there any way to tell from XP mode which drive letter was my original W7 boot so that I can effectively swap around the letters?

I'm so frustrated by this. Also, one more thing for Keljackson. Regarding direction #9 above, you are referring to the folder that was created and named in rule #6, correct? I wasn't sure if I was supposed to use that or the hkey_users folder to unload the hive.

Any help you can give me would be much appreciated.

 

[keljackson]

Hey StockMoose,

I'll answer your questions in reverse order:

2) Yes, I am referring to the folder in 6.
1) Here's what I did to confirm the drives:

1. Log into Windows 7
2. When the blue screen loads, click ctrl + shift + esc to open taskmanager
3. Go to File -> New Task (Run...) and type explorer.exe
   This will load the desktop and icons, but they probably won't work if you click on them. That's Ok.
4. Click on the start menu, right click on computer and select Open
   This will show all of your drives. You should be able to identify which drive is which from the label shown.
5. Write down what drives have which label so you know how to change it back from regedit in XP. If you aren't able to tell the drives apart by labels, right click and select "open" to view the files in each drive to identify it. (I wasn't able to directly left-click).
6. Now that you know which drives are labeled as which letters, you can restart and correct them from XP.

This is what I had to do, and it worked like a charm. A bit of detective work involved, yes, but the satisfaction in getting it right is second to none

Also you might want to check out SIW2's link above. I have no experience with the software but it seems like it too can do the job.

Please remember to post back and let us know how it worked! Hopefully we can get you set up as well -- Good luck!

- Kel

 

[keljackson]

Hey Stockmoose,

1) This is what I did to know which drive is which

1. Log into windows 7. Let this blue desktop that's been frustrating you for so long load
2. hit ctrl + shift + esc to bring up taskmanager
3. Go to File -> New Task (Run...)
4. Type explorer.exe
   This will load your start menu and icons. You can try to click icons if you want, but they probably won't work. (I know -- so close! It's RIGHT THERE!)
5. Click on the start menu and right click on computer, select Open
   This will show you all connected drives and what drive letters are assigned to them. You should be able to identify which drive is which by the label. If not, right click each drive and select open to view the files and identify it.
6. Now restart the computer, boot into Windows XP, and apply the changes above to edit the drive names into what they should be.

There you go!

2) Yes, I was referring to the folder created in step 6 in direction 9.

Also, you might want to check out the link SIW2 provided above. I don't have any experience with the software, so I can't comment on its effectiveness, but it seems like it may be a good solution as well.

Good luck, and let us know how it goes!

-Kel

 

[irunalotta]

thanks

Prodigy's solution in combination with keljackson's tweak worked like a charm for me. Thanks!

 

[Correz]

Thanks Prodigy for this solution !! I also had the problem because I was attempting to move from a dual boot system of WXP with Windows7, to a single-boot Windows7 system. Incidentally running the command prompt (run cmd) from the task manager, before running regedit, enabled me to see what Windows was ''seeing" as the older installation path (in this case X:\) which needed to be changed back to C:\ exactly as per your instructions. You ARE the man !!

 

[rgerade]

Prodigy8901 Solution worked for me!

1. Boot windows in safe mode
2. After loading, there should be a blank screen with no desktop, press ctrl+alt+del
3. Click Start Task Manager
4. Click File then Run
5. type regedit.exe then press enter
6. Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\MountedDevices
7. Try to remember your old working drive letter, mine was drive D, and windows changed its drive letter to C. So i swapped the D and C paths in the registry; now windows knows to access the correct drive to boot.
8. To swap drives, find the drive letter you want changed, it should look something like "\DosDevices\C:" where "C" is the drive letter you need swapped.
9. Right click on the key and rename it to a drive letter that is not in use, for example, I renamed mine to "\DosDevices\Z:" This will free up the letter that you need swapped.
10. Right click on the other key and rename it to the first key's letter, for example, if i wanted the D drive swapped with C, I would now rename "\DosDevices\D:" to "\DosDevices\C:".
11. Now rename "\DosDevices\Z:" (Which was previously "\DosDevices\C:") to "\DosDevices\D:"
12. The drive letters are now successfully swapped, close regedit and reboot, tell me if it worked!!

My issue was the same as Correz's - this fixed it - just needed to reactivate after restart - Thank you!

 

[pbananth]

great..
heartfelt thanks to prodigy8901..
it works charmingly.
only one problem ..i have installed HIDE folder 2009..
now it is not accepting my actual password..
but thanks again..

 

[rbennettsr]

Thank you sooooooooo much for this thread!!!!! You have saved me 4 hours of having to load all of my music software and information!!!!

 

[Mehzuku]

This is f'd up...

- I toss a drive and put in a smaller one, so winsuck says I'm not genuine and utterly locks me out, without ANY recourse to prove otherwise? WTF??? I don't have freaking XP to fix this mealy-mouth worthless crap "operating system", so I'm apparently just screwed. Thanks mickeysuck, for raping me with a chainsaw.

 

[Finnyd]

I know this is an old post but I am still hoping someone can help. I am having the same exact problem as others have described here. I have boiled it down and believe the current problem is, I need to find out how to reassign drive letters to my partitions.

I tried upgrading my dual boot 1.5TB Vista/Win7 drive to a to a larger 2.0TB hard drive.

BEFORE UPGRADE
CURRENT NAME OF PARTITION INSTALLED OS
DRIVE "Label"
C:\ "Partition_1" Vista32bit
I:\ "Partition_1NEWWin7(I)" Win7 64Bit
E:\ "DVD RW"

AFTER ATTEMPTED UPGRADE
CURRENT NAME OF PARTITION INSTALLED OS
DRIVE "Label"
C:\ "Partition_1NEWWin7(I)" Win7 64Bit
F:\ "Partition_1" Vista32bit
E:\ "DVD RW"

The problem for me started when I tried using HDClone Standard Version to upgrade my 1.5TB drive to a 2TB drive. After I got an error where 7 would not load.
I then used the Windows 7 disk to recover the boot loader which partially allowed it to boot but lead to where I'm currently stuck. After entering the system password it says "preparing your desktop", and after a longer than normal wait it brings me to a blue screen that says "Windows 7; Build 7600; This copy of Windows is not genuine" in the lower right corner. It does nothing from this point, it just hangs on this screen without loading the start bar or anything. I can still access the task manager if I Ctrl,alt,del but cannot solve this genuine error.

I have always upgraded to larger drives by cloning and expanding the new partitions to take advantage of the new space. It's ideal because if anything goes wrong, all I have to do is go back to the original hard drive which should be untouched.

That's what makes this latest attempt so frustrating, because not only did the new drive fail to work, the original drive partitions got reassigned leading to the current problem.

I'm not sure if this will be of any help, but I do still have an old 2009 hard drive which I am able to boot from and I can access the other two drives that way and can see my data is there. This copy is 100% genuine. And now I am completely stuck. Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.

I followed Keljackson's instructions, but unfortunately when I right click on Computer and select "Open"
A message pops up titled "explorer.exe" that says "No such interface supported."

 

[SIW2]

You can use free Rescue Kit Free Edition | PARAGON Software Group - free partition software, hard disk partitioning

Boot it - select normal mode>boot correct>correct drive letters in system registry.

Reset your o/s letter to what it was originally