Vista license will expire in 10 days

apparently my vista license will expire in 10 days and its telling me i have to backup all my data and install another copy of vista
why is this? i bought this 1520 around the end of august
if i go to control panel -> system, it says my vista is activated and everything so i dunno what to do
when i first got this laptop, i did a clean install following one of the guides on the dell forums, could that be the issue?

 

Do you have the 32bit or 64bit version? Did you install SP1? When you reinstalled, did you use a Dell Vista disc, or did you use an oem/retail version? Did you have to input your key during installation?

 

32 bit
i did install sp1
i used the dell disc
i dont think i had to input my key

this is the guide i followed
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=157838

 

MS has a KB article regarding SP1 and activation:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/947519/en-us

Check it out.

 

ok, i reactivated
but, in the system window, it already said my windows was activated and stuff
how do i check to make sure that the window doesnt popup telling me that my license will expire, because it only pops up like once a day and thats around midnight sometime

 

If you read the KB article, you read that the message pops up, even if the system properties show it already activated. There is no way to check - just wait a few days and see if the problem persists.

 

alright...thanks for the help
hope this works

 

bump
it didnt work, i got the tooltip popup again tonight

 

You can try using the ABR tool (Activation Backup and Restore). Cant guarantee it will work though, give it a try anyway.

You can find it in the sticky of HP section under Clean installation with no activation guide by orev

 

You can also call MS and activate over the phone.

 

i called in and it asked for whatever was in my group 1 field?
but i couldnt find that