What to do when Windows Vista goes in to reduced functionality mode?

(screenshot courtesy zdnet photogallery )

If you fail to activate and validate Windows Vista within stipulated time, it goes in to reduced functionality mode for a period of 3 days before your computer is locked. Fine, but a pre-activated and validated Windows Vista may also go in to reduced functionality mode and want you to validate it again - due to some software/hardware bugs. Yes, you are reading it right. Windows Vista may go in to reduced functionality mode as had been experienced by Ed Bott. Adrian Kingsley-Hughes, had graphically described the disaster recovery process he had adopted in such situations. According to him, you can relax a bit. You can do many things even in reduced functionality mode-

• You can use command prompt to do various but limited tasks.
• You can use networking for file access and transfer.
• You can use Internet Explorer to browse web.
• You can use IE7 to access file system.

Further, you can enhance the grace period to validate Windows Vista for further 30 day in real desperate situation. Here is how:

Start IE 7, and go to Computer>Local Disk>Windows>System32 and select cmd.exe and then right click on it. Then select Run as administrator. It will ask for your permission, click on Continue and on the command prompt that appears, (go to Windows > System32 directory, typically it is C:\windows\system32 and give command if you find difficulty in running command from other location) give command-

slmgr.vbs -rearm

After the command is over, it will ask for a reboot, and in the first screen, you will be prompted to validate Windows Vista. Choose Ask Me Later and you are done.Your Windows Vista will now have a grace period of 30 days to get it validated.

Tag Windows,Vista,reduced,functionality

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