i am receiving a start up message telling me that my version of windows xp pro is not genuine and that i may be the victim of counterfeiting.
the link to the microsoft site tells me i need to purchase a genuine product key-£92!!!
i've not installed a new version of xp, since setting up my pc which was bought new from a reputable high street retailer about six years ago - no longer seem to have this start up disk (don't think xp was already installed when i bought it). i'm pretty sure it carried a certificate of authenticity - can't find this either.
this seems to have been triggered by trying to install automatic microsoft updates, which i do regularly as a matter of course. i have never seen this message before.
I
've run hijack this, ewido, ad aware, spyblast and avg virus scan to see if there's anything nasty on my system, but nothing much is showing up. Pc appears to be running ok now and at normal speed, after slowing down dramatically yesterday (internet connection and outlook express very slow and erratic).
This being the case do i have cause for concern? I've rebooted several times, but the counterfeit message is still there and a star-like icon has appeared at bottom right of screen linking to the aforementioned microsoft counterfeit message.
Could my licence have expired? (surely not??) or have i inadvertantly downloaded some S*** which is fooling microsoft into thinking i have a bogus version?? will i now be unable to receive updates? what are the long-term implications?
I'm not an expert and struggle with technical i.t. jargon, so i'd appreciate if anyone responding could couch their replies in lay terms (ie idiotspeak!) as otherwise you will baffle me even more!
Any advice/explanations would be greatly appreciated. really worried asbout this, so please help if poss.
Thanks very much in advance!