Dell and Windows XP COA

[pioneercrazed]

Hi everybody,

I just got my first laptop, a dell e1505... Problem is all the bloatware!

Anyways, I'm wanting to do a fresh install of XP... It has XP home on it currently, but did not come with any discs; just the image restore on the hdd...

The thing is I do have a XP SP2 disk, but have heard if you use this with the COA on the bottom of the laptop it will be denied. That is unless you use the cd that dell has...

Is this true? I don't want to be stuck without a pc after reformatting the HD...

Also, have people had issues with the media direct after reformatting?

Thanks

 

[Lepard]

If the CD you have is the OEM Home version it will work.

 

[fbrdphreak]

To use your existing XP license, use the guide listed here to create your own OEM XP CD:
http://www.4saad.com/WhatsNew/Fresh_XP_Install/index.htm

That guide is for a Thinkpad, but the idea is the same. Basically copy the the i386 directory from your hard drive (or maybe your recovery disc if its not there), use the recommended downloads + programs to create your own XP CD, then when putting in the serial number you need to use the XP OEM serial:
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/winxppro/deploy/oempreac.mspx