New
#1
Newest updates have monkeyed with activation
I updated my OS (Windows 7 Professional 64-bit) with what might have been a few months' worth of updates (41 total), and upon restart, my OS would not boot. It froze at the boot menu with a message regarding hardware or software changes that may have been preventing startup. I used my disc to attempt to repair the installation, to no avail. Upon a second attempt, I focused on fixing startup issues, and upon restart, my computer booted into the OS on my secondary hard drive, which contains a long-invalid Release Candidate of Windows 7 Ultimate. At first, it wouldn't detect my primary hard drive in the Computer HD population, but I've since resolved that. Nonetheless, I can't manage to get my computer to boot into Professional via my primary hard drive. I've tried re-ordering the boot sequence in the BIOS, to no avail.
It might be worth mentioning that when I did get my computer to boot, I had to go through a whole reactivation rigamarole, where Windows tried to validate my install, claiming that my installation may have been pirated. It sat for about 45 minutes on a never-ending progress loop before I gave up, and I cannot recreate that now. I have no idea if it had booted into Professional, or into the old Ultimate on the second drive, so I don't know which it was trying to validate. I am sorry for this long tale of woe, but any help would be appreciated. Thanks.
Wiffle