How to tell which type of key I have for XP Pro?

[MaxBurn]

Well I am stuck. I have here a Compaq X07 with some new components in it (motherboard) so of course the restore CD won't run on it. It does have a valid sticker for XP Pro but my OEM install media for another computer will not accept this product key.

I know about there being different media for VLK, OEM, Retail etc with their associated keys but I have tried what I have here and nothing will accept the key that is on the side of this computer.

What I need is a utility that will tell me what type of key I have here on this case, once I know that I guess I can stumble around and find the right media hopefully.

Any help?

I guess I will try out the vista beta MS has out until I can fix this, I would really like to be legit but they sure make it a pain in the butt.

 

[Will Rickards]

Look for the instructions about slipstreaming XP.
One of them tells you how to make an OEM disk out of the retail and vice versa. In so doing it tells you how to tell the keys apart, I think... maybe.
Anyway they might have the info but I lost the link.

 

[mubs]

Though you say "restore CD won't run on it", you say "the key won't work", so I presume installation is going through till you hit the point where the key is requested.

Here's what I know.

Soon after all this activation crap started, MS wanted a way to control re-installs and reactivations. Remember that an OEM copy is "tied" to the machine it came with, and you are NOT supposed to use it on another machine when the original dies. People were doing this anyway (and it worked), much to MS' chagrin. There has been ongoing debate about what constitutes the original m/c - motherboard or hard disk or chassis or what.

In the meantime, MS got smart and in cahoots with the big boys - Dell, IBM, HP, Compaq, Gateway - came up with a way to customize XP's installation routine slightly for each manufacturer, and tie it to the the BIOS of the m/c. Each of the big boys now has some code in the BIOS that identifies it, and the custom installation routine recognizes it. So re-installation / reactivation on the same motherboard works flawlessly (I've done it), but change the motherboard and you're out of luck. Try installing a DELL XP copy on an HP, and it won't.

There has been endless debate about this in the media. If you call MS, depending on which side of the bed you got out of, they will help you (give you a key that'll work), or tell you to buy a new copy of XP.

I would guess your problem is related to all this.

 

[P5-133XL]

Yes, he needs to tattoo his new motherboard. Normally, when a tech does a onsite repair to replace a motherboard, they are supposed to tattoo it. If they failed, then you need to contact your warrentee company to schedule a visit, so that they can finish the job.. If you just replaced the MB, then you're just out of luck without the tattooing software.

You can, of course, simply buy the appropiate OS and MS-Office ....

 

[Bozo]

Download 'NLite' and try to make a new install disk. Maybe it will let you use one of your keys with the re-install disk. Nlite does overwrite the OEM file.

Bozo :joker:

 

[Bozo]

I just tried NLite with a Win2K Dell disk and it didn't work. It started to install but puked when it came to the CD key.

Bozo :joker:

 

[Mercutio]

This crap is one of my biggest Windows pet peeves. If there's any confusion at all about which disc and which key go together, I just use my Volume Licensed disc. Screw it. As long as there's a sticker or something the user can point to that proves they have a copy of Windows, they can say "Honest mistake" or plead ignorance or whatever.

I've also found that, for example, Dell Windows XP (shipped with a desktop) won't work on Dell notebooks. I've actually a Dell XP disc tell me to quit trying to install it on a non-Dell PC... which was apparently a non-Dell Latitude.

 

[MaxBurn]

Mubs & P5-133XL: you hit it. The motherboard was both a replacement and an upgrade so I can't simply put Compaq's BIOS in it so this disk will run. The restore is a DVD job and has a lot of crap on it I am sure, much prefer to go clean anyway. At any rate right off the bat when you boot the DVD it says it won't run on this computer, at least it doesn't waste any time telling you that.

Mercutio: That was my attitude as well, but I don't have a volume license to put on this thing so I was using something I downloaded off alt.binaries.cd.image for a long time and that was fine until this WGA BS hit and gives you the annoying message you aren't legit.

Bozo & Will Rickards: I will look into NLite and read up on slipstreaming, thanks.

Thanks for the help!

PS: this vista beta is damn "pretty" and much more compatible than the one I tried a while back. Most of what I needed to install it failed the initial install and then vista comes back and says "install with recommended settings" which usually works.

 

[Stereodude]

In the meantime, MS got smart and in cahoots with the big boys - Dell, IBM, HP, Compaq, Gateway - came up with a way to customize XP's installation routine slightly for each manufacturer, and tie it to the the BIOS of the m/c. Each of the big boys now has some code in the BIOS that identifies it, and the custom installation routine recognizes it. So re-installation / reactivation on the same motherboard works flawlessly (I've done it), but change the motherboard and you're out of luck. Try installing a DELL XP copy on an HP, and it won't.

I was able to install a Dell version of XP Media Center on a non-Dell PC without issue, however it wanted to be activated, whereas on the Dell PC it did not ask to be activated. I didn't bother to try to activate it though.

On another note, does a normal retail copy of XP ask for the CD Key during install?

 

[LiamC]

On another note, does a normal retail copy of XP ask for the CD Key during install?

Yes.
It will ask to be activated, I think you have 50 grace boot-ups.
It will cost more than OEM versions
It should be transportable.

 

[MaxBurn]

On another note, does a normal retail copy of XP ask for the CD Key during install?

Yes I believe it does. Along the lines of this thread it also requires a retail CD key...

 

[mubs]

I was able to install a Dell version of XP Media Center on a non-Dell PC without issue, however it wanted to be activated, whereas on the Dell PC it did not ask to be activated.

M$ has been tightening the noose a little bit at a time, over a pretty long period of time, the latest manifestation of which is the WGA crap. Would your copy of Dell's XP be an older one? At one time, this was the case; a large mfr OEM copy would install, but ask to be activated if installed on a non-mfr. m/c. What makes this issue so vexing is that every permutation/combination exists!

 

[Stereodude]

M$ has been tightening the noose a little bit at a time, over a pretty long period of time, the latest manifestation of which is the WGA crap. Would your copy of Dell's XP be an older one? At one time, this was the case; a large mfr OEM copy would install, but ask to be activated if installed on a non-mfr. m/c. What makes this issue so vexing is that every permutation/combination exists!

It was a pretty recent copy. I got it a few months ago with my new Dell notebook.

 

[Stereodude]

Yes.
It will ask to be activated, I think you have 50 grace boot-ups.
It will cost more than OEM versions
It should be transportable.

Interesting... The copy of XP Media Center that came with my Dell installed on another non-dell PC without asking for a key, but wanted to be activated after install. On my Dell (that shipped with it), it installed without asking for a key and never prompted for activation.

 

[mubs]

 

[Mercutio]

Some of my studens have been bitching about WGA problems on their PCs, but I haven't run into a problem with it yet on machines that I deal with personally. How big of a problem is it?

 

[ddrueding]

Some of my studens have been bitching about WGA problems on their PCs, but I haven't run into a problem with it yet on machines that I deal with personally. How big of a problem is it?

It's a PITA. At this point I have a way around it that involves rebooting in safe mode, changing the permissions of it's DLL, then rebooting again. It's not that big a deal, I'm just bummed that the VLKs a friend hooked me up with have now been reported.

 

[MaxBurn]

Some of my studens have been bitching about WGA problems on their PCs, but I haven't run into a problem with it yet on machines that I deal with personally. How big of a problem is it?

Well for me doing something quazy unapproved of depending on how you interpret things it's an issue. I guess I will ride out this vista thing for a while and see what I can do to pick up a legit XP on ebay or something. The price should be going down with the next big thing coming up right?

 

[Stereodude]

Some of my studens have been bitching about WGA problems on their PCs, but I haven't run into a problem with it yet on machines that I deal with personally. How big of a problem is it?

I don't know, I haven't let the update install except on my notebook which is completely legit.

I have a legal copy or two of XP, but I used XP corporate with a VLK to avoid activation hassles on my other PCs. I might actually break down and get them all nice a legal (with the purchased copies installed) because it's becoming a real pain to stay one step ahead of MS.

 

[Bozo]

Well for me doing something quazy unapproved of depending on how you interpret things it's an issue. I guess I will ride out this vista thing for a while and see what I can do to pick up a legit XP on ebay or something. The price should be going down with the next big thing coming up right?

Even if I get a free copy of Vista, I'm keeping XP. Vista seems to be a bad mixture of ME & NT3.1

Bozo :joker:

 

[Mercutio]

Hahahahahahahahaha

 

[Bozo]

Hahahahahahahahaha

Another reason not to move to Vista.

Bozo :joker:

 

[MaxBurn]

Another reason not to move to Vista.

Bozo :joker:

??

Those screenshots are of XP.

 

[Bozo]

If you do a clean install of XP, you can install SP2 and whatever security and/or OS fixes you deem necessary, manually. That way you don't get WGA.

WGA is built into Vista.


Bozo :joker:

 

[MaxBurn]

Ah, I see.

I ordered XP Pro X64 edition today along with a new motherboard, about $130 more that I didn't need to spend but at least I am adding some features.