How to get Activation Key for Desktop for Windows 7

[gmc-47]

Yes desktop is black behind icons on home screen and bottom right says "you are using an expired version of Windows 7"

[mdklassen]

>> Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 (32-bit)

>> ... the computer is 4 yrs. old

Any computer manufactured in 2013 will have Windows 7 (released in January 2010) as the factory-installed operating system, not Windows Vista.

>> Our HP desktop All-in-One hard drive had to be replaced. 

>> Done by Best Buy but after 1 month, I was notified on my screen that Windows 7 had expired. 

Obviously, they do not understand Microsoft Licensing, when they installed Windows from their media, but, of course, they did not enter their product-key for their media.  I would avoid them, and their shoddy, to put it politely, work, in the future.

>> I contacted Geek Squad, and they said I need the Activation Key for them to reload it because it's been 1 month.

Definitely, they did not enter any product-key, a month ago.

>  Desktop is black behind icons on home screen and bottom right says "you are using an expired version of Windows 7".

Definitely, they did not enter any product-key, and your "30-days-of-grace" has expired.

You need to purchase the original HP installation media, directly from HP, if still available, or from some legitimate web-site, such as www.RestoreDisks.com or www.ComputerSurgeons.com.  When you install from that media, Windows will activate correctly.

What is the exact model-number of your computer?

With this information, it's possible to determine if HP still sells the original software.

[gmc-47]

Thank you to all who responded.  We finally took the computer back to Best Buy and they were able to get the Activation Key and reload Windows 7.  Sorry for the fire drill!  Appreciate everyone's input!

[JustMeBob]

If anyone is still following this thread - 

I found this question because of a problem I was having with my HP 3500. I dropped a new HDD into it about 6 months ago, and also upgraded the video card and PSU at the same time. Around October 8, I awoke to a black screen and a bunch of popups complaining about Windows not being genuine. I tried everything I could think of, including some dubious advice I found on the web, to no avail.

I was ready to punt and just back everything up and reinstall Windows 7, when a new batch of updates came in, one of which had to do with Windows validation. Once I applied those, my black screen problem disappeared as mysteriously as it had appeared.

I wonder what happened? Anybody else see something similar?

[mdklassen]

> Around October 8, I awoke to a black screen and a bunch of popups complaining about Windows not being genuine.

It could have been a "bad" update from Windows Update, or it could have been a computer-virus, especially if there was a "bunch" of pop-up message-windows.

> a new batch of updates came in ...

It could have been a "re-issue" of that bad update, or it could have been the monthly release of 'MRT' (Microsoft's Malicious software Removal Tool) which identified the computer-virus, and deleted the badness.

[JustMeBob]

That’s what I thought, too. The first thing I did was to run MalwareBytes and MRT for good measure. Came up clean. I think MIcrosoft pushed an update around October 8 that broke it, and fixed it with the last batch.