Legit windows 7 suddenly turned "non genuine"

[KHRZ]

So I have a 2 year old Dell XPS 15z that came with Windows 7, (bought directly from Dell, never reinstalled any OS) and lately, it has started spamming me with pop ups saying that Windows is not genuine. The validation program could only explain this by a counterfeit Windows or malware that changed important settings.

The only modifications I have done lately to my Windows, interestingly, are running legitimate Windows "fixes", one to disable the hibernate function, and one to restore it, downloaded from Microsoft.com. (The restore program didn't work). There is also the latest Windows update, which I have attempted installing a few times, but it always fails.

Obviously I don't appreciate Microsoft's "solution" to the problem, of buying another copy of Windows for $140. I could download a crack for the piece of shit, but is this something I could complain to Dell about? (The warranty of the computer is 5 years, and blaming their awful drivers for the mess seems plausible enough.)

[Duke Nukem]

You say it came with Windows 7, any chance it came with a recovery disc?
That way you could always reinstall Windows and start fresh.

[MayImilae]

Contact microsoft! You have a legit windows copy, so they'll probably understand that something messed up and help you with it. Otherwise, you can bug Dell since it's under warranty (they'll probably tell you to whine to MS though).

Of course, if those methods fail, there are other ways...

[Shonumi]

You don't need to download "cracked" versions, you just need your product key. An MS affiliate offers legitimate downloads of all Windows 7 versions. First google link I came across, but you can look up Digital River yourself.

Of course that means doing a clean-install, which takes time (and you have to backup/move your data if necessary and re-install any programs you need as well).

[Xtreme2damax]

Did you try reactivation or phone activation?

I have to do phone activation now whenever I reinstall with my OEM copy of Windows 7 x64. Sometimes I'll have a similar issue albeit very rare where my activation will be wiped or no longer valid. Hardware changes can also trigger activation issues but that's typically confined to exchanging the motherboard.

[KHg8m3r]

There should be a sticker on the case somewhere with your product key. Try putting that into the activator.

And the phone activation sucks. I had to do it a few days ago for my brother. Not fun

[Xtreme2damax]

^ I agree on the phone activation and my Win7 is genuine that I bought with this system. Had to do it when my Sabertooth X58 failed and I temporarily replaced it with a LGA775 board then again when I switched back to the Sabertooth X58 after Asus replaced it. Had to do it whenever I duel booted a fresh Win7 install to test if issues were also present on the fresh install. Shit sucks, just activate it already without going through a whole ritual process lol.