The Guild Wars: Nightfall screen that you see is global. Meaning this is the login screen you get no matter what game you personally have access too. If you only had Prophecies (chapter 1) you would still see the same login screen as the other guy who only has Nightfall (chapter 3). So this does not affect your actual account status.
As far as not having access. You need to be more clear about what steps you took. From what i can tell, you have installed it to your PC through the DL'ed file from the official GW website? You say your
access key did not work: was that key from your orginally
purchased guild wars game (i.e. Prophecies, Factions, or Nightfall)??
Most likely from what i understand in your post:: your old Access Key was probably simply entered incorrectly. The second Access Key you entered was most likely one of the "Buddy Keys", which is only temporary access to GW. They key you use will only be pertainable to the game chapter it coincides with (ch1,2 or 3). So when you tried to create character, you most likely clicked a chapter that you do not have access to. I might be way off base tho, lol.
With the account you created, try adding the CD KEY that you originally got with you Prophecies or Factions purchase. There should be the option to add a cd key on the login window (Manage accounts and cd keys). And try to add the key again, this time be sure the key is entered correctly.
If that doesnt work, then one other thought could be that your Access Key (CD KEY) is STILL connected to the original account you had created when you first played. If you cannot remember the login account name or password you will most likely have to contact NCSOFT support, tell them the exact situation and they should be able to resolve this issue for you.
Here is a direct link to PlayNC.com Support. This link should drop you right into the "Ask a Question" option, which is essentually your support ticket to them, fill in the info to the best of your ability.
http://help.plaync.com/cgi-bin/playn...ZwX3BhZ2U9MQ**
GL!! and i hope you are able to get back in GW!
cheers
EDIT:: DOH! Darcy beat me to it. I take too long to make a post haha, anyway i hope you can clear it up Lucianis!