Wepik

Many thanks! Now I can access Windows normally, but I still get the infinite loading glitch when I try changing the product key. This may be a game changer, though. Thank you very much, I'm going to try a bunch of stuff.

The issue is it doesn't even seem to care if a key is original or not; it just keeps loading endlessly. And I can't even use a program to crack the key even if I wanted to since I can log only in Safe Mode. I need a big bottle of something strong... edit: typo

Strangely enough they do still work. I activated another PC last month without an issue. As for the second thing, my mistake: I can no longer postpone the activation. My third option says "Disconnect" and goes back to user selection. I would but the programs this company uses are old, rare, and even if, they have no installation CDs left from when the bought them 10+ years ago. Basically I need to extract them somehow.

I would if it was data only, but there are also programs that are very niche that are very important for the clients company (they work with EPROMs) and of course there are no original CDs around.

Hello there! I've been lurking for a while and never made an account but after 2 years of working in a PC Repair Shop I finally hit a wall I can't get around. English is my third language, please don't eat me alive. I have this PC from the early 2000s with a fried board that, as usual, has some vital programs that would cost thousands of euros to replace. The first step was to find a similar donor PC and transfer the hard drive. After doing that, and after resolving some issues with user folder not showing up, we finally can log in-- oh wait, it needs to be activated. No biggie, the original PC still has it's license sticker. (Note: I took the images from the internet, the originals are in italian) . So I go for option number 2 ("Yes, I want to telephone a customer service representative to activate Windows"), and get to the second part. "Wait a minute" I think to myself, "It never asked for a product key". I shrug, set my location to Italy, call the number (as usual, not a real person, just a nice robot-lady voice), give her the ID from step 3 (it displays one for me), and type the confirmation ID for step 4. Lo and behold, it doesn't work, citing a bad product key. "Doesn't matter, I have the original anyways". So then I press 'Change Product Key' and type the product key and press 'Update', and I wait... and wait... and wait... I tried other spare Keys I had, even a random one, nada. The longest I waited was 4/5 hours. The internet connection is there because if I unplug the cable it tells me the key can not be verified (I also tried installing a couple PCI Ethernet cards, just to be sure...). Since I can only enter windows in Safe Mode and Safe Mode with Prompt, I can't do the "change the registry value" trick because it works only in normal mode, which I can not access. I tried looking for command line solutions but found nothing. Before I go dumpster-diving for an early 2000s board, is there something that can be done at this stage? Did I miss something stupid that I should be ashamed of?