Validation Error, Windows Vista

If your copy of Vista isn't validated after a hardware change or system restore heres a few the steps you can try to resolve the problem.

Your Software Licensing Service has stopped. To restart the service:

If you have acces to the Start button:

1) Click the Start button

2) Type: cmd in the Start Search field

3) At the top the Start window, you will see cmd.exe

4) Right Click cmd.exe and select Run as Administrator

5) Type: net start slsvc

If you do not have access to the Start button:

1) Click the option Access computer with reduced functionality

2) A Browser will open, type: %windir%\system32 into the address field

3) Find the file cmd.exe

4) Right Click on the cmd.exe and select Run as Administrator

5) Type: net start slsvc

You shuold now be able to boot into windows normally, you may need to visit http://www.microsoft.com/genuine to complete the validation.