Hey

 

I had the exact same problem with my XPS M1710. Dell and McAfee had no idea, and i spent the best part of 2 days trying to resolve it.

What you have to do is get Dell to ring McAfee and ask them to get you an account on their website (your email address, and a password) and they will usually then email dell, make sure that you purchased McAfee with your computer, and then you can download a fresh copy of McAfee from their website...

I think this has happened with a few people's computer - Dell installing corrupt versions of McAfee on the computer. You may as well as throw the disc away as well - its useless...

I have the same problem with a new Dell XPS 410, Intel Core 2 Duo 1.86Ghz, XP Home SP2.   When I try to run "updates" for McAfee I get a pop-up telling me to register, but when I click "register my product now" nothing happens.   When I ordered this computer in late June 2007, I selected the McAfee Security Center w/ 15 month subscription, and now regret the choice.  I tried Dell tech support, McAfee tech support, and McAfee customer service, but nobody had an understanding of the problem or a solution.  The McAfee software came pre-installed, but after experiencing the problem registering the software, I re-installed McAfee from the included re-install CD.  That didn't fix the problem.  McAfee told me they would set up a 30 day license and allow me to download the software, and then would change the license back to 15 months after I fax them proof of purchase.  I then downloaded the software and installed it, yet this too didn't fix the problem. 

 

In addition to nothing happening after clicking "updates", when I rick click the "M" in the system tray, and select "Product Setup" nothing happens, except that if I use Windows Task Manager I can see the executable file "mcregist.exe" start and remain on the "processes" list for a short while, probably less than 30 seconds, then it disappears.  It's very frustrating to buy a computer and have bundled software fail to work from the start.  Since I can find no solution to this problem, it looks like the next step is to remove McAfee and go with something else that actually works.

I finally got this fixed but only after hours and hours of trying and talking to tech support at Dell and McAfee.  I wish I could tell you what finally worked but I think it really happened through McAfee who contacted Dell who set up a 'new' account on that website.  I think it was the live chat with the McAfee people that began the actual corrective process; however, it still took them about 7 days to notify me that it was corrected.  Wish I could be more specific but you should know that they DO know that this is a problem!

I'm having exactly the same problem as everyone else here with my new XPS.  I followed all of the instruction in the various support pages and nothing worked.  I've already wasted enough time (6+ hours) so I'm just going to uninstall the product and replace it with something better.  I hope other have better luck.