Printable View
I just bought a new Windows Vista Home Premium Operating System but when I try to activate it I get the following message:
Code:
0xC004F061
Description:
The Software Licensing Service determined that this specified product key
can only be used for upgrading, not for clean installations.
What does that mean? Even though I bought it, I am still getting an error? Is it a hardware problem or a software problem.
Clean Install
Use Vista's 'upgrade' version to clean-install.
Please remember to DISCONNECT from the internet for this whole procedure. You may reconnect at the end of the procedure when you have completed both installations i.e. when you have completed Step 10.
Please note that you may be required to provide storage adapter drivers for this procedure. These can be on floppy, cd or USB flash drives.
Step 1. Boot the PC from the Vista DVD.
Step 2. Select 'Install Now', but do not enter the Product Key from the Vista packaging. Leave the input box blank. Also, turn off the option 'Automatically activate Windows when I'm online'. In the next dialog box that appears, confirm that you really do want to install Vista without entering a Product Key.
Step 3. Correctly indicate the version of Vista being installed i.e. Home Premium.
Step 4. Select the 'Custom (Advanced)' install, not the 'Upgrade' install.
Step 5. Vista copies files at length and reboots itself one or more times. Wait for the install to complete. At this point, you might think you could 'activate' Vista, but you can't. That's because you haven't installed the Vista upgrade yet. To do that, run the DVD's 'setup.exe' program again, but this time from the Vista desktop. The easiest way to start setup again is to eject and then reinsert the DVD.
Step 6. Click 'Install Now'. Select 'Do not get the latest updates for installation'. (You can check for these updates later.)
Step 7. This time, do enter the Product Key from the Vista packaging. Once again, turn off the option 'Automatically activate Windows when I'm online'.
Step 8. On this second install, make sure to select 'Upgrade', not 'Custom (Advanced)'. You're not doing a clean install now, you're upgrading to Vista.
Step 9. Wait while Vista copies files and reboots itself. No user interaction is required. Do not boot from the DVD when asked if you'd like to do so. Instead, wait a few seconds and the setup process will continue on its way. Some DOS-like character-mode menus will appear, but don't interact with them. After a few seconds, the correct choice will run for you automatically.
Step 10. After you click a button labeled 'Start' in the 'Thank You' dialog box, Vista's login screen will eventually appear. Enter the username and password that you selected during the first install. You're done upgrading to Vista.
Step 11. If any device(s) or device driver(s) need installing, then this is the time to do it.
Step 12. If any further user accounts need creating, then they may be created now.
Step 13. Within 30 days, you must 'activate' your copy of Vista or it'll lose functionality. To activate Vista, click 'Show more details' in the Welcome Center that automatically displays on each boot-up, then click 'Activate Windows now'. If you've dismissed the Welcome Center, access the correct dialog box by clicking Start, Control Panel, System & Maintenance, System.
If you have an upgrade version of Vista you'll have to install it over an existing qualifying Windows OS. You can install a clean full version of your previous Windows OS and then install your upgrade on top of it.
Error code 0xC004F061
The Software Licensing Service determined that this specified product key can only be used for upgrading, not for clean installations.
For more information about this error code, click the following link:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/930373/