The same thing happened to me. I suspect it is an inconsistency with Windows
Vista and XP. Some of the ActiveX controls downloaded by the Genuine
Advantage process on the first day I noticed the problem had names that
suggest they are for Vista.

Here is what I did to fix it.

1. Open the following folder:

C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Microsoft\Office\Data\

2. Locate the data.dat and data.bak files

3. Right click to rename the files to something different.

4. Insert your original Microsoft Office CD and launch an application, e.g.
Word or Excel.

This will reactivate your applications.

If you don't have the CDs, you may reactivate by contacting the Microsoft
Activation Center. The Office Activation Center can be reached at (888)
652-2342 from 8:00 AM to 10:00 PM Pacific Time. The activation process is
free of charge.

A friend of mine with a similar computer as mine had the very same
validation failed situation. I suspect there may be a lot of people who will
have this issue.

Please post back.
Curt

"LPD" wrote:

> I have had my office xp for years and it was activated when it was new. Now
> when I tried to validate my office xp, it failed. Doesn't it HAVE to be
> genuine Microsoft if it has been activated? How would I have activated it if
> it's not valid?
> Thanks,
>