How to tell an Win XP OEM, Retail, Corporate,Upgrade CD

[Motley67]

Is there anyway to tell the difference in the versions mentioned above by looking at the content of the cd. I lost my CD and I have to re-install using my OEM number. A friend loaned me his cd but it keeps saying that the cd key is invalid. I know the number works since it was on my hard drive before it crashed, so I think I need an OEM version CD.

So, once again, is there a way to tell by looking at the cd contents or by the activation code?

Or are there any sites which explain this?

Thanks

Motley67

 

[corkyg]

Originally posted by: Motley67
A friend loaned me his cd but it keeps saying that the cd key is invalid. I know the number works since it was on my hard drive before it crashed, so I think I need an OEM version CD.

That is the way it is supposed to be. Your key ID will not work with any CD other than yours because it must match what is burned and hidden in the cd. You would have to use your friend's ID, but then you will run into activation problems.

Your best solution is to find your own CD or get a replacement. You don't lose something like that.

You might want to check: ID

What you could do is install from your friend's OEM CD, and then use the above procedure to replace his ID key with your own.

 

[Motley67]

I have never heard of a code being burned into a cd! My god..what would it cost to do each individual cd that way, considering that mass production cd's are stamped out much the same way records were in the past.

However, I do know that Microsoft distributes their cd with a code that is stamped into the programming that signifies that disc to be either OEM, Retail, Upgrade or such. And that the corresponding activation code along with the correct cd is what allows you to install it. For example, an activation code for a retail version will not work with a cd stamped as an OEM disc. It has been done this way since Win 98.

So... this is as far as I've gotten. I just need to figure out how to tell a retail from an OEM from and upgrade cd so I don't screw around with cd's until I find one.

Can anybody please help me with this?

Motley

 

[Motley67]

Bump!!! Can anyone help me?

 

[corkyg]

Originally posted by: Motley67
I have never heard of a code being burned into a cd! My god..what would it cost to do each individual cd that way, considering that mass production cd's are stamped out much the same way records were in the past. However, I do know that Microsoft distributes their cd with a code that is stamped into the programming that signifies that disc to be either OEM, Retail, Upgrade or such. And that the corresponding activation code along with the correct cd is what allows you to install it. For example, an activation code for a retail version will not work with a cd stamped as an OEM disc. It has been done this way since Win 98. So... this is as far as I've gotten. I just need to figure out how to tell a retail from an OEM from and upgrade cd so I don't screw around with cd's until I find one. Can anybody please help me with this? Motley

OK - reverse the logic. The CD, when printed gets a generated ID code - and then that code is extracted for the tag on the jewl case. All I know, from experience, is that the wrong CD will not work. I have three computers, and got three legit CDs when 98 came out. The key numbers had to match the CD in each case or it would not install. If it is not burned in - then how does it know that? I also had two OEM Cds - they were different. They had "OEM" printed on the CD label. All I know is that the CD must match the ID code provided with it. Once it is installed, that ID can be changed.

 

[MSantiago]

No, that's entirely untrue. They do not press CDs with a unique "hidden" key. The way you can tell a CD's version is by looking at setupp.ini in the \i386 directory on the CD. Here's what you'll see when you open it up:

ExtraData=707A667567736F696F697911AE7E05
Pid=55034000

(or something similar)

The contents of the CDs are all identical except for the Pid value in this file. To see what version of the CD you have, compare it to this:

Retail = 51882 335
Volume License (aka Corporate) = 51883 270
OEM = 82503 OEM

The first five digits make the CD act in a certain way. Retail will let you do a clean install or an upgrade. The OEM will only let you do a clean install. The volume license will let you do pretty much anything. The last 3 digits will determine which CD keys it accepts. You can mix and match these however you want.

For example, if you want the CD to behave like a volume license CD that lets you do anything, but also want it to accept an OEM key for an install, set the Pid line in setupp.ini to read Pid = 51883OEM. Make sure there aren't any spaces. Just copy the CD to your hard drive, edit i386\setupp.ini, and burn it onto a new CD.

 

[mcveigh]

I always they had "lots"

you know a shipment of cd's would work with a certain set, then say a day or a week later they change the codes it would work with

 

[Motley67]

MSantiago....if this works...you just made my day.

I tried calling Microsoft for a replacement and, after going through a bunch of accusitory questioning as if to imply that I was trying to chest them out of something, they passed me over to their product replacement department.

It seem Microsoft wants $45 for a replacement. And even though I know they could charge $5.00 for the disc and still make money, I was ready to pull out my credit card and cough up the money because of my stupidity for losing the original in the first place.

So after all of the questioning and then giving me the price I'd have to pay...I'm informed that it would be a month before they got any in. Not that their out of stock, mind you...but they never had any in the first place. This is a multi-billion dollar a year corp who has a department set up to deal with this type of situation and they still don't have and never had any in stock to handle repalcement cd's for an OS that's been out for over a year. GO FIGURE!!!!

Anyway, I'll try what you say and let you know how it works. By the way, are there any hidden files on the cd I need to look out for that might not copy over to the hard drive?

thanks

Motley

 

[Jeff7181]

No offense, but this sounds like a case of trying to pirate an operating system. Be careful what kind of helpful information you throw around for ANYONE to read.

 

[Jeff7181]

Retail = 51882 335
Volume License (aka Corporate) = 51883 270
OEM = 82503 OEM

Your topic got me more interested, so I decided to have a friend check his CD... the first 5 numbers of his didn't correspond to what you said... I'm just curious, were your numbers used for demonstration purposes or what?

 

[Motley67]

First of all Jeff, I'm not trying to pirate anything. I didn't ask anyone for their ACTIVATION CODE...did I? Not that that would do any good...unless I tried to scam a corporate code anyway because I would still need a legit activation code. I have a legit code which I purchased myself. I've documented in the previous statement the trouble I've had with MS in replacing the cd, admitted that I should have kept better track of the original one (mistakes are made) and that all I want to do is be sure I have the right cd version before I end up having to format my hard drive and re-install countless times. THAT'S ALL!!!! If Microsoft had their act together, I would have just ordered the replacement CD and that would have been that.

Don't go accusing someone, or even hinting things like you did in your statement without first thinking things through and actually reading the entire thread first.

As for everybody who tried to help...THANKS!!!! and if there's any more info you can help me with, I'd appreciate it.

Motley

 

[Jeff7181]

Woah there killer. Didn't mean to accuse you directly. I was just stating that with the information given, it would be easier to "steal" a copy of Windows XP. And I did read the entire thread, my double post was because they were unrelated issues.

(edit) To back myself up, I was in a Yahoo chat where someone was asking how legal it would be to download a copy of XP Pro from Kazaa, change the numbers that were mentioned here, burn the CD, and use his CD Key from his Retail version, because his retail version came on a Sony computer with a Sony recovery disk that had Windows XP Pro along with a bunch of drivers and Sony wallpaper and that type of stuff. Then just yesterday, I saw him in there again asking how he can get SP1 and keep his copy of Win XP Pro working since he's using the Corporate version.

 

[Motley67]

OK...so I over reacted. Sorry...I apologize. However, like I said someone would need an activation code first. Just making a cd to work with a code you already own is easy. But the code is whats necessary for activation.

Also, to help with your question, the first 5 digits on te cd's I've looked at are all different. But the last three a consitents with what I've heard about that signifying what version the cd will install. Maybe we should start a thread here to see if there is any variance.

Anyone who reads this...check the setupp.ini file on their cd. Report the numbers in the PID line and what version of XP they are running. Let's see if there's variance...especially in the last three numbers.

Motley

 

[Jeff7181]

Activation code meaning... CD Key? I see key generators out there all the time. And I was just informed that there's already a new Corporate key that someone generated and tested which will allow people to download SP1 and still use WinXP.
Also... I know a lot of Win2k Pro OS's were being used illegally, even registered. To my knowledge, there was an OEM key being passed around. If there was a generic key for Win2k, why not XP? Or is that how MS did away with that, no generic OEM keys?

 

[Motley67]

i heard the the final release of SP1 will contain something that will change the algorhyrhems (SP?) of the keys so that anything generated before that will be unavailable and that a new key generator will be needed. But that's if you were trying to be illegal about the OS installed.

You know...with the trouble I've had trying to be honest with Microsoft and the run around they gave me...it seems that they themselves make it easier to be illegal than legal. Oh well!!!

HEHE

Motley

 

[Jeff7181]

People justify stealing OS's by saying they're over priced, and they're bought enough MS products. Bottom line is, stop buying MS products, and they'll stop developing them as well. You get what you pay for, and in the case of MS, you also pay for the name, because there is no OS that can compete with MS's hold on the market. Linux is better, but not as user friendly, MacOS is better and more user friendly, but doesn't have software support because it's not open source like Linux, or as mainstream as Windows.

By the way Motley... how do you like XP? I've been thinking about upgrading from 2k... would it be worth the $150?

 

[Motley67]

In my humble opinion, XP is the BOMB. I had Win2k on my systems before and it was very, very stable but the game support (and I like my games) wasn't there. XP has the best of both worlds, combining 2K stability wit hte ability to blast whatever you want in whatever game you wamt without the worry about whether it will run or not. The only complaint I have is all the extra animation; i.e. the search animations. They are kind of like the office assistants. But those options can be turned off.

And not one single BSD in over a year!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Motley

 

[Special K]

Anyone who reads this...check the setupp.ini file on their cd. Report the numbers in the PID line and what version of XP they are running. Let's see if there's variance...especially in the last three numbers.

Well, FWIW, my Pid is 55274000, and I haven't been able to identify mine either. None of the websites that explain the Pid codes have mine listed as a possibility. I bought mine from my university's IT dept., BTW.

 

[Motley67]

What sites that list the PID codes? Links...please, pretty please!!!!!! This could really solve my problem!

Motley

 

[corkyg]

Originally posted by: MSantiago
No, that's entirely untrue. They do not press CDs with a unique "hidden" key. The way you can tell a CD's version is by looking at setupp.ini in the \i386 directory on the CD. Here's what you'll see when you open it up: ExtraData=707A667567736F696F697911AE7E05 Pid=55034000 (or something similar) The contents of the CDs are all identical except for the Pid value in this file. To see what version of the CD you have, compare it to this: Retail = 51882 335 Volume License (aka Corporate) = 51883 270 OEM = 82503 OEM The first five digits make the CD act in a certain way. Retail will let you do a clean install or an upgrade. The OEM will only let you do a clean install. The volume license will let you do pretty much anything. The last 3 digits will determine which CD keys it accepts. You can mix and match these however you want. For example, if you want the CD to behave like a volume license CD that lets you do anything, but also want it to accept an OEM key for an install, set the Pid line in setupp.ini to read Pid = 51883OEM. Make sure there aren't any spaces. Just copy the CD to your hard drive, edit i386\setupp.ini, and burn it onto a new CD.

OK - that makes a lot of sense, but does not explain at all how come three identical CDs of Win98, all bought at the same time with three separate ID keys, will only install with the correct key. They are not interchangeable. How is that accomplished?

 

[MSantiago]

Originally posted by: SpecialK

Anyone who reads this...check the setupp.ini file on their cd. Report the numbers in the PID line and what version of XP they are running. Let's see if there's variance...especially in the last three numbers.

Well, FWIW, my Pid is 55274000, and I haven't been able to identify mine either. None of the websites that explain the Pid codes have mine listed as a possibility. I bought mine from my university's IT dept., BTW.

There are tons of different CD versions out there, but the most widespread ones are the OEM, Retail, and Volume License versions. I believe the 55274 prefix may be the code for the educational/not for resale version. I'm sure there are probably a lot more of them floating around, but I don't think a list is available to the public that shows them all. As for the 000 key suffix -- I haven't seen that before. Since you purchased the OS from your university's IT department, I'm guessing it's the suffix that allows it to accept only educational edition CD codes.

 

[MSantiago]

Originally posted by: Motley67
What sites that list the PID codes? Links...please, pretty please!!!!!! This could really solve my problem!

Motley

I don't think that's available to the general public. But you might want to try 82503OEM as your Pid value. That allows you to do an OEM install (clean install only, no upgrade), and will take OEM CD keys only. Remember -- this is NOT piracy. Your CD key is not bound to a specific CD. As long as you have a key and a certificate of authenticity, you can install Windows XP from ANY CD.

Originally posted by: corky-g
OK - that makes a lot of sense, but does not explain at all how come three identical CDs of Win98, all bought at the same time with three separate ID keys, will only install with the correct key. They are not interchangeable. How is that accomplished?

Install or activate? If it won't install, check the last 3 digits of each Pid code in each CD's i386\setupp.ini file. If they're all different, the CDs are NOT identical and only accept the keys that are associated with the Pid value. If the installations won't activate, that's a completely different story. WPA is quirky. Your key is bound to a hardware string that's unique to your system. If you want to interchange keys, that's still possible--you'll just need to call Microsoft and let them know what you're trying to do. They'll set you up and reset your key.

 

[Special K]

What sites that list the PID codes? Links...please, pretty please!!!!!! This could really solve my problem!

this one lists the most basic ones (retail, OEM, and corp.)

 

[MortimRex]

So how does one create a copy of the XP CD? I tried to copy the cd to the hard drive, change the file and copy it back to a CD. Butthe cd won't boot to start an XP install.

Are there hidden files on the cd I can't see? I have display all system and hidden files set in the OS, so I'm assuming that I should see all the files on the cd.

I am cuirous to see if this works.

REX

 

[Motley67]

Can anyone answer Rex's question above? I tried to copy a cd over to my drive, change the PID number and burn it back and it won't boot.

Then I tried to make a bootable cd rom with Nero and the contents fo the XP cd and it booted to DOS and wouldn't let me run setup from there.

Can anypone help me here?

also, I found a cd whose last three numbers in the PID are 000. Does anyone know what that means? I can't find that number referenced anywhere.

Thanks

Motley