Brink;948304 Wrote:
Tonya,

When you do the factory restore, it will use the product key that you
had originally instead. You will need to change your product key to the
one you have again afterwards if you do not want to use the original
one. You would use the same way to do so.


Brink,

Do you know where the original product key might be located in my
computer(the product key that Microsoft compare keys was showing that I
had)? I mean,what file would it be listed under? Microsoft compare keys
only showed me the last 5 digits which was different from the last 5
digits located on the product key sticker on the bottom of my computer.
I'm just afraid I might need the original product key that is located on
the motherboard of my computer for some reason. Because I may perform a
clean install using the operating system disc that came with my computer
instead of using the full factory recovery option that's available on my
computer-would I need it to do that? I think it is weird that the
product key on the sticker of my computer is different from the one that
Microsoft compare keys was reading from my computer. Was it probably a
mistake made by the computer manufacturer?

Thanks,
Tonya


--
TGL

TGL;948350 Wrote:
Brink;948304 Wrote:
Tonya,

When you do the factory restore, it will use the product key that you
had originally instead. You will need to change your product key to the
one you have again afterwards if you do not want to use the original
one. You would use the same way to do so.


Brink,

Do you know where the original product key might be located in my
computer(the product key that Microsoft compare keys was showing that
I had)? I mean,what file would it be listed under? Microsoft compare
keys only showed me the last 5 digits which was different from the
last 5 digits located on the product key sticker on the bottom of my
computer.

I'm just afraid I might need the original product key that is located
on the motherboard of my computer for some reason. Because I may
perform a clean install using the operating system disc that came with
my computer instead of using the full factory recovery option that's
available on my computer-would I need it to do that? I think it is
weird that the product key on the sticker of my computer is different
from the one that Microsoft compare keys was reading from my computer.
Was it probably a mistake made by the computer manufacturer?

Thanks,
Tonya

Tonya,

You can use the program in this tutorial to find out what your current
product key number being used is.

http://www.vistax64.com/tutorials/85...ey-number.html


Your original product key number that came with your OEM computer would
be the one on the sticker though.


--
Brink

*There are no dumb questions, just the people that do not ask
them.*
'*Windows 7 Forums*'
(http://www.sevenforums.com/) *and* '*::Vista Forums::*'
(http://www.vistax64.com)
*Please post feedback to help others.*

I use Belarc advisor.It's free

http://www.belarc.com/free_download.html


"TGL" wrote in message
...

Brink;948304 Wrote:
Tonya,

When you do the factory restore, it will use the product key that you
had originally instead. You will need to change your product key to the
one you have again afterwards if you do not want to use the original
one. You would use the same way to do so.


Brink,

Do you know where the original product key might be located in my
computer(the product key that Microsoft compare keys was showing that I
had)? I mean,what file would it be listed under? Microsoft compare keys
only showed me the last 5 digits which was different from the last 5
digits located on the product key sticker on the bottom of my computer.
I'm just afraid I might need the original product key that is located on
the motherboard of my computer for some reason. Because I may perform a
clean install using the operating system disc that came with my computer
instead of using the full factory recovery option that's available on my
computer-would I need it to do that? I think it is weird that the
product key on the sticker of my computer is different from the one that
Microsoft compare keys was reading from my computer. Was it probably a
mistake made by the computer manufacturer?

Thanks,
Tonya


--
TGL

Anybody,

It's 2 weeks later and I am still having problems with system restore.
Today,there were 6 restore points created today due to Windows Updates
and I manually created a few and they all disappeared shortly after
being created(These restore points were created at different times today
and they all one by one disappeared shortly after being created). When I
check system restore about an hour or so after a restore point has been
created,the system restore screen says,"No system restore points have
been created on your computer system's disc."

I performed a google search on how to reinstall system restore and I
could only find instructions on how to reinstall it on Windows XP. The
instructions say to go to the Inf files under the Windows files and the
file is called sr.inf and you are suppose to right click it and click
install. Well,I could not find that particular file,but I did find the
sti.inf file-Is that what it is called in Windows Vista?

I'm ready to just reinstall system restore-I just need to know where
the file is located in Windows Vista.

Thanks


--
TGL

TGL wrote:

Rick(It's me-TGL,I started this forum in Vista Forums),

I did turn off system restore and followed your steps,but when I tried to
delete the System Volume Information,I did not succeed because it did not
show up in the recycle bin and it is still listed under the partition C
folders(everything is still there).
When I right-click the folder and then click delete,it says,"Are you sure
you want to move this folder to the recycle bin?",then I click Yes and
when I check the recycle bin,the System Volume Information folder is not
there and it is still listed as a folder under Partition C.

Also,I don't dual boot with XP. As for AV application settings,I don't
know. What is AV applications? I do have Norton Internet Security and I do
know that system restore has been messed up ever since I activated the
Norton 60 day trial in December-could that be the cause?

But,I did turn system restore off and turned it back on again and restore
points are still disappearing. Actually,I don't believe restore points are
being created for Windows Updates anymore,because I check right after
updates are installed and no restore points are appearing for the Windows
Updates.

I'm not Rick but I don't think he'll mind me popping in. Yes, your issues
can be caused by the Norton software. To be sure, uninstall Norton
entirely. If your computer is not behind a router but is connected directly
to a cable/DSL modem, disconnect the ethernet cable first so you aren't on
the Internet. If you're behind a router, you'll be fine for now - just
don't go surfing.

Once Norton 360 is completely uninstalled (and to be sure, run the Norton
removal tool after doing the normal uninstall from Control PanelPrograms
and Features) and you have rebooted, test System Restore and see what
happens. If it works, then all you need to do is replace the awful Norton
software with a better antivirus. Frankly, I would do this in any case. I
recommend NOD32 (commercial) or Avast (free version).

Norton Removal Tool -
http://service1.symantec.com/SUPPORT...05033108162039

Malke
--
MS-MVP
Elephant Boy Computers - Don't Panic!
http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/#FAQ

Same problem as TGL - cannot delete System Volume Information folder either.

I tried running Windows Explorer as admin - same result - and I can't see
the folder in a command prompt.

Any suggestions?


"TGL" wrote in message
...
Rick(It's me-TGL,I started this forum in Vista Forums),

I did turn off system restore and followed your steps,but when I tried to
delete the System Volume Information,I did not succeed because it did not
show up in the recycle bin and it is still listed under the partition C
folders(everything is still there).
When I right-click the folder and then click delete,it says,"Are you sure
you want to move this folder to the recycle bin?",then I click Yes and
when I
check the recycle bin,the System Volume Information folder is not there
and
it is still listed as a folder under Partition C.

Also,I don't dual boot with XP. As for AV application settings,I don't
know.
What is AV applications? I do have Norton Internet Security and I do know
that system restore has been messed up ever since I activated the Norton
60
day trial in December-could that be the cause?

But,I did turn system restore off and turned it back on again and restore
points are still disappearing. Actually,I don't believe restore points are
being created for Windows Updates anymore,because I check right after
updates
are installed and no restore points are appearing for the Windows Updates.

Thanks,
TGL

Update:I have been able to keep restore points for over a month now!

I was correct in my assumption that Norton Internet Security was
deleting my restore points. I read in another forum/thread that you need
to turn off the protection for Norton products. I did so by going to the
Norton Internet Security Online Options window and I cleared the
checkbox where it says,"Turn on protection for Norton products
[recommended]",and ever since then,for a whole month,I have been able to
keep all of my restore points except for the first few since system
restore is setup to use only about 40gbs of my harddrive space.

But,it is probably not a good thing though,because since I
turned off the protection for Norton products,the Norton software is
vulnerable to hackers and unauthorized changes to Norton files and
settings or so it says. I'll try to figure out a way around this. I
guess Norton views system restore points as threats because restoring to
an earlier restore point might cause your computer to become reinfected
which will,in turn,cause unauthorized changes to the files and
settings,I guess. I'll see if I can alter how it views system restore
files-I'll go to the Norton site and see what it says about it.


But,thanks a lot everybody for responding to my posts! I really
appreciate the help!

I still have other problems with my computer that I will address in
other threads if I can't figure them out myself:

For the past 3 months,occasionally,my Windows Explorer and
Internet Explorer Windows have become black,distorted and/or
nonresponsive and I end up just having to restart my computer,and if I
let it go long enough,it spreads to the taskbar items and startmenu
also. I'm going to try downloading Internet Explorer 8 and see if that
fixes the problem. Plus,I have lost Windows Update History twice since I
done the recovery with automatic data backup in October,but I can still
find all of the windows updates under installed updates. Also,my laptop
occassionally fails to read a disc it has burned. My laptop's warranty
ends on May 10th and in addition to the problems I have mentioned in
this thread,I have already had 2 batteries and an adaptor replaced
because battery indicator in taskbar stated that it was "plugged in,not
charging" and this would result in my computer shutting down. And,to top
it off,the fan had to be replaced in February and this all happened in
the first 9 months of having my laptop. I'm hoping none of these
problems are due to motherboard or hard drive issues. My hard drive does
make a sizzling type a noise which may be normal-I don't know?


But,anyway,hopefully,I have helped someone with Norton Internet
Security who is losing restore points. All you do is,just turn off
protection for Norton products and that should stop it from deleting
restore points.

Thanks,
Tonya


--
TGL