HP has rudimentary Vista drivers available for alot of printers on there homepage, thats where I got mine at, go to www.hp.com and find the link to software and drivers downloads and see if they have the software. As far as for the HP activation issue, I would call them.My activation went through painlessly w/o a hiccup so I just don't know what to tell you.
Thanks! I went to the HP site and got the printer working....now to battle the registration issue. I appreciate your help.