Activating Windows Vista

Windows Vista can be activated using the following methods:

Internet (default)
Phone or SMS
Modem


Activating Automatically
When you are ready to activate Windows Vista, you can start the Activation Wizard through one of the following ways:

System Control Panel
Windows Help and Support – From the table of contents, select All help>Getting Started>Installing, activating and registering Windows>Activation>Activate Windows on this Computer.
System tray icon – Three days into the grace period, the activation icon appears in the system tray. Click the icon to start the Activation Wizard.
Activating by Phone
You can activate Windows Vista by phone using either of the following methods:

Method 1
Point to Start>Run, type SLUI.EXE in the Instant Search field, and press .
When prompted for administrative privilege, click Allow.
Click Activate Windows Online Now.
After the activation fails, select Show me other ways to activate.
Choose Phone activation and follow the onscreen steps.
Method 2
Point to Start>Run, type SLUI.EXE 4 in the Instant Search field, and press .
Select the nearest location and click Next.
When prompted for administrative privilege, click Allow.
Follow the onscreen steps.
Checking Activation Status
You can check the activation status using the following steps:

Type System in the Instant Search field.
Choose System from the list.
Check the status under Windows Activation at the bottom of the page.
From this window, you can also change the product key or perform manual activation if activation has not yet taken place.