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Windows Setup has Failed to Validate the Product Key Error

Go to My Computer / This PC, then right click the Windows install DVD and select "open".

The contents of the Windows DVD will be displayed on the screen. Press CTRL + A on the keyboard to select all files and folders, then press CTRL + C to copy these objects into your clipboard.

Next, go to My Computer / This PC, then double click on the C drive to view its files and folders using Windows Explorer. Right click an empty area of the Windows Explorer window, then select New -> Folder, and name the folder as "Temp". This will create C:\Temp folder.

Double click the C:\Temp folder and then press CTRL + V on the keyboard. This will copy the entire contents of the Windows DVD into C:\Temp.

Open Notepad (click Start, then type in "Notepad", then click Notepad when it appears). Paste the following into Notepad:

[EditionID]
professional
[Channel]
Retail
[VL]
0

Note: if you are upgrading to another edition of Windows, refer to my notes below.

In Notepad, click "File -> Save As...", then navigate to the C:\Temp\Sources folder, and name the file "EI.CFG".

Retry the Windows setup from the C Drive. It should work.