AP keeps prompting me for activation

I have obtained a new activation file via email for Guitar Rig2, Battery3 and Akoustic Piano for a laptop that I religiously keep offline. Installed and activated all 3 programs ok, and kept the .naf file for possible re-installs.

Had to do such a reinstall for AP, since it would not detect the libraries I had copied onto an external drive (it seems path directions are established during the install process, making it hard to alter the data location subsequently).

So the AP proper was installed to system drive c:, and the library to an external FW drive partition. Installed stand-alone, VST and DXi. (One strange thing here is that the library on the FW drive only shows up within a "program files" folder, as if I had actually installed AP to that drive and not just the data. However, the mere program folder is also present in C).

Upon first launch stand-alone comes the activation prompt- I launch Service center, it correctly states only AP requires activation, I import my .naf file and get a success message. "Quit", and after that nothing happens - AP does not launch. Re-start AP and the entire activation prompt process starts over, this goes ad infinitum.

Strangely, when I launch AP in SX3, I have to activate it every time also, but it does launch after that, unlike the stand-alone.

I am on XP home SP2.

Thanks for any help.

Delgado