You receive an error message when you try to install or to run Windows Vista: "The Software Licensing Service reported that the license is invalid"

When you try to install or to run Windows Vista, you may receive an error message that resembles the following:

This problem occurs because the computer BIOS is incompatible with Windows Vista, or the computer BIOS is outdated.

To resolve this problem, verify that the latest BIOS is installed in the computer. Compare the date of the current BIOS with the date of the latest BIOS that is available from the BIOS manufacturer. You can use the Msinfo32.exe program to determine the BIOS version. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Click Start
   Collapse this imageExpand this image

   
   , type msinfo32 in the Start Search box, and then click msinfo32 in the Programs list.
   
   
   Collapse this imageExpand this image

   
   If you are prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type your password, or click Continue.
2. In the System Information dialog box, click System Summary in the Navigation Pane.
3. In the Properties Pane, examine the value that appears next to BIOS Version/Date.
4. Try to locate a BIOS update for the computer. To do this, perform one of the following actions:
   • Visit the computer manufacturer's support Web site, or contact the computer manufacturer to determine whether a BIOS update is available for the computer.
   • Visit the computer motherboard manufacturer's support Web site, or contact the manufacturer of the computer motherboard to determine whether a BIOS update is available for the motherboard.
   For information about your hardware manufacturer, visit the following Web site:
   http://support.microsoft.com/gp/vendors/en-us (http://support.microsoft.com/gp/vendors/en-us)
5. If you locate a BIOS update, examine the documentation, or contact the manufacturer to determine whether the update includes changes to resolve the problem.
   
   Note Sometimes the documentation may not include information about all the changes that the BIOS update includes.
6. Use the manufacturer's recommended BIOS update tool to update the computer BIOS.

If the BIOS update does not resolve this problem, see the following Microsoft Knowledge Base article for another possible resolution: For more information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed in the "Applies to" section.