I've had some problems with programs on my Dimension 3100 recently that I suspected were due to registry problems that could be fixed by a repair installation of Windows.
I did do a repair installation of Windows, but not with a Dell provided disk, as I do not have one. It was for Windows XP Home, however, just like it already had on it.
Things seemed to install fine, and the computer seems, other than my present issue, to be running well enough.
The present issue is with activation. I found how to reset the activation timer, somewhere online, and did so, to get into Windows in something other than safe mode, to get where things are presently. However once things are up and running the activation process just doesn't work. I'm not sure why it's coming up at all, as it wasn't mentioned in what I had read about the repair installation procedure.
I've tried inputting the key from the sticker on the computer's case, but it says it is an incorrect product key.
What's the fix?