MS: Valid Vista Family Discount Keys Coming

Microsoft said Friday afternoon that it was in the process of issuing new keys to those who may have received invalid ones through the Vista Family Discount program. The feature, provided exclusively to purchasers of Vista Ultimate, allows for two PCs to be upgraded to Vista Home Premium at a cost of $49.99 per computer. However, a glitch in the key-generation system produced invalid keys.

According to Microsoft, the keys would be on the way via e-mail to those affected over the next five days. The company is at a loss to explain the cause of the key-generation issues, although it said it was taking steps to prevent it from happening to future participants. News of the response was first reported by Windows enthusiast site Neowin.net Friday.