DreamScene and Games won't work. Activation.

from WinCustomize Forums

Ok, so a few days ago I got a message, that Windows needed to be activated within 27 days. As my brother (without telling me) only had bought one license, I can't activate my Vista Ultimate. So my question is: do I need to buy a complete new Vista Ultimate, or an upgrade? And can I install (if I buy it with a new license and product key) Vista Ultimate when I already have it on my computer?

Furthermore, I've been having some trouble with the windows games (Chess Titans ex.) and DreamScene. When I try setting a dream as the desktop bagground I get this message:

"Stardock Deskscapes currently requires that Microsoft's Windows DreamScene be installed in order to play video-based Dream content. Windows DreamScene is part of the Windows Vista Ultimate Extras.

To install Windows VIsta Ultimate Extras, please use your Windows update software which can be found in your start menu. Please install the Ultimate Extra Windows DreamScene to play this Dream!"
And when opening Chess Titans it says "Executable for Chess Titans has stopped working".

Don't know if this has anything to do with the update?

Would appreciate your help. Thanks in advance. 
4,249 views 1 replies
Reply #1 from JoeUser Forums Top
You should be able to "upgrade" your installed version of Vista given a couple of caveats.

First - you will need to buy the same version that you have installed. If you installed Ultimate, then you need to buy Ultimate. You can't change versions after installing without doing the Anytime Upgrade - which requires a legal copy of Vista.

So you buy Ultimate - and don't want to reinstall. Go to the Welcome Center. Click on Show More Details on the top right. Scroll down to Windows Activation, and you should see a link for "Change Product Key"... this is what you need - you should be able to input your newly purchased product key there, and then activate as normal. It may take a few minutes for it to "notice" the change.

I did this when Vista was released. I downloaded the Vista RTM in December of 06 after pre-ordering Premium from NewEgg. I declined to enter a product key, and did the old activation hack that extended the trial up to 3 times. When my Vista DVD arrived at the end of January, I just entered the Product Key and activated the same way you can.