When you try to activate Windows Vista, you may receive the following error message:

The Product Key you have entered will not Work with this Edition or Version of Windows Vista

When you try to use an upgrade product key to install Windows Vista from the Windows Vista DVD, you may receive the following message:

To use the product key you entered, start the installation from your existing version of Windows.

You try to activate a new Windows Vista-based client computer. If the client computer is hosted by a computer that is running the Key Management Service (KMS), the client computer may not be activated successfully. Therefore, the computer is not added to the KMS pool. Instead, you receive the following error message:

0xC004F038

The computer could not be activated. The returned count from your Key Management Service is insufficient.

When you use the Certificates snap-in to copy a certificate together with a private key from a local user store to the local computer store, the private key is not copied.

Consider the following scenario.

• On a computer that is running Windows Vista, you configure Microsoft Office Outlook 2007 to use a digital signature when you send e-mail.
• You import a digital ID into Outlook 2007.
• The digital ID includes a Cryptography Next Generation (CNG) key.

In this scenario, the Request For Permission to Use a Key dialog box appears whenever you try to send an e-mail message. After you grant Outlook 2007 permission to use the digital ID, Outlook 2007 successfully sends the e-mail message.

Note: When you try to send the e-mail message, you may also be prompted to enter the password of the digital ID. This situation depends on the security level that you specify for the digital ID.

Consider the following scenario. You purchase an upgrade license and an upgrade key for Windows Vista. You start the computer from the Windows Vista DVD, and then you try to perform a clean installation of Windows Vista by using the upgrade key that you purchased. In this scenario, you are prevented from continuing the installation of Windows Vista.

Note: In a clean installation, you completely delete the hard disk of the computer that you are upgrading. You do not install Windows Vista directly over the previous operating system.

You purchased an upgrade license and key for Windows Vista. When you start from the DVD and then try to install Windows Vista by using this upgrade key, you will be blocked from continuing.

When you try to use a Windows Anytime Upgrade (WAU) product key during a clean installation of Windows Vista, you receive an error message that resembles the following:

To use the product key you entered, start the installation from your existing version of Windows.

Be careful with your KMS key! Keep reading →

When you try to activate a copy of Windows Vista by using a Windows Anytime Upgrade (WAU) product key, you receive an error message that resembles the following:

The following failure occurred while trying to use the product key:

Code:
0xC004F061

Description:
The Software Licensing Service determined that this specified product key can only be used for upgrading, not for clean installations.