Vista activation, still broken.

I'm not generally against the idea of software activation: If I paid for your software, and you need to be able to confirm that this is true... okay, fine. (Not a fan, but not violently opposed.)

Well... I was, right up until 5 minutes ago. I had to launch Vista (in Parallels on my Mac) to backup my BlackBerry. Windows started to complain that my version of Vista wasn't genuine, etc. and took me to a website where I could confirm the validity of my license (or whatever).

The site was totally useless, and gave a 6+ step process including running some other app, copying it's output to the clipboard, going to another site, finding the LOCAL tech support resource for Microsoft, pasting the results into a form there...etc. This looks like a massive hassle.

For the record, my copy of Vista? Given to me by Microsoft, box and all... I doubt the folks in Mountain View are handing out bootleg copies of Vista, and I sure haven't changed anything in Parallels in the last several weeks, so ... what gives Microsoft?