So you use Windows 7 or Vista and you have encountered the now famous “Reduced Functionality Mode.” You can either throw up your arms and cry or bypass it and get to your data.

Here is how to temporarily remove the “Reduced Functionality” mode and resture your computer back to a (semi) normal state.

• On the Windows Activation, click on Access your computer with reduced functionality option.
• Once the Internet Explorer loads, click on File on menu bar and then select Open on the pull-down menu.
• On the Open dialog window, type in C:\Windows\Explorer.exe and then click OK.
• Click OK button on “IE needs to open a new window to open this webpage” confirmation prompt.
• Click Run button on “File Download – Security Warning” dialog prompt.
• Click on Run button on “File Download – Security Warning” warning dialog related to unknown and not verified publisher.
• User shell will load, and the desktop, taskbar, start menu and etc will be restored.
• The computer has recovered from Reduced Functionality for this session. To permanently stop RFM to happen again, Windows has to be rearmed.
• Click on the Windows Start button.
• Type Cmd in Start Search box.
• A program shortcut will show up in the Start panel search results. Right click on the shortcut and select Run as Administrator.
• In the Command Prompt window, type in the following command and then hit Enter: slmgr.vbs -rearm
• Restart your computer.

Now obviously something must have went awry for that dialog box to pop up, any I think it would be recommended that you reinstall Windows after you backup all your data.