wow, surprised to see so many responses to what i thought was a redundant topic. The version i have is the original boxed version but i have updated to the latest patch. @Apocalypse31 Exact same issue as me, not sure i trust 3rd party workarounds either, surely there has to be another way!! Safe link to reset the DRM licenses here: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/976590 unfortunately despite being headed as a fix for Windows 7 pre-installations the file they give you only works on Vista or XP xD MS omg, yet another dead end to getting my Gens to run!