Should I really have to pay £300 just to re-activate Windows?

Q  I had a problem with my computer that led to me re-installing Windows 7, but I am now unable to activate the operating system.

I do not have a telephone, so I sent an email to Microsoft Technical Support. Later, I got a reply from another company, which provided a web address so that their support staff could access my PC remotely. I saw the mouse pointer moving around and they then told me I had a virus, which they could remove for £330.

When I pointed out that they were supposed to be activating my Windows installation, they told me they could not because of the virus. I declined their offer to remove it. Is this Microsoft’s usual procedure for technical support and how can I activate my PC without a telephone?
Alfred Verrall

A  First things first – this was not a technical-support response from Microsoft. The firm you named is an independent technical-support company that isn’t associated with Microsoft.

As such, we can only assume that either you emailed the wrong organisation by mistake or that the timing of this other company’s email was pure coincidence.

Regardless, you were wise to decline the offer to remove a virus from your computer for the ridiculous sum: we would question the honesty of any company charging so much for a service that’s different from the one you had requested.

Given that you have internet access, we suggest you begin by performing your own anti-virus scan using the Trend Micro HouseCall service. Click here to visit Trend Micro's website and click the Start Scan button. This should detect and remove any viruses that may be on the PC (if it is actually infected), and so rule out that as a cause of your activation problem.

If not, then without specific information about the activation problem, we cannot suggest a possible solution other than to reinstall Windows and try again.

Alternatively, if you can’t get access to a telephone for a short while – perhaps by borrowing someone’s mobile – then it would be possible to make a call to the Microsoft Product Centre via your PC, using Skype.

This would entail buying a £10 minimum credit for pay-as-you-go calling, but you won’t need to speak to anyone – just listen to spoken instructions and type the requested numbers using the Skype telephone keypad.