Microsoft KB Archive/818532

= &quot;Please enter a valid product key to use this product&quot; error message when you start Visual Studio .NET =

Article ID: 818532

Article Last Modified on 2/24/2006

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APPLIES TO


 * Microsoft Visual Studio .NET 2003 Enterprise Architect
 * Microsoft Visual Studio .NET 2003 Enterprise Developer
 * Microsoft Visual Studio .NET 2003 Academic Edition
 * Microsoft Visual Studio .NET 2002 Professional Edition
 * Microsoft Visual Studio .NET 2002 Enterprise Architect
 * Microsoft Visual Studio .NET 2002 Enterprise Developer
 * Microsoft Visual Studio .NET 2002 Academic Edition

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SYMPTOMS
When you start Visual Studio .NET for the first time, you may receive the following error message after the Visual Studio .NET splash screen appears:

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MS Development Environment

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Please enter a valid product key to use this product - setup has detected that the product key is missing or invalid.

You will find this 25-character key on your Certificate of Authenticity or the yellow sticker on the back of the CD case.

A Windows Installer dialog box appears briefly and Visual Studio .NET does not start.



CAUSE
This problem occurs if you have installed Visual Studio .NET by using the wrong Product Key (PID) for the version that you installed. The Product Key mismatch is not detected during installation.

Examples of mismatched PIDs that cause this error:



RESOLUTION
To resolve this problem, remove Visual Studio .NET, and then reinstall the program by using the correct Product Key for the version that you are installing.



STATUS
This behavior is by design.

Keywords: kberrmsg kbide kbsetup kbprb kbvs2005swept kbvs2005doesnotapply KB818532

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