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legit XP serial number won't work

J

jst0ney

Platinum Member
Just got a new thinkpad and wanted to give it a fresh install from that start. The only problem is that I only got a key not a CD with the laptop. No problem I thought, I'll just use another xp cd that I have and enter the key that came with my comp. Well I've now found out the differences between retail and oem versions of the keys. Right now I have the other version of XP installed but I can't get updates becasue this key is already registered. I want to change the key to the oem one that I have. I there a way? Is this legit?
 
I tried this myself and couldn't get it to work.
In the end, I had to format and use the correct OEM disc
 
Call MS, they may be able to help you if you explain the problem. They are pretty good....when you own the OS (which they know you do with a thinkpad)
 
Originally posted by: nweaver
Call MS, they may be able to help you if you explain the problem. They are pretty good....when you own the OS (which they know you do with a thinkpad)
Click to expand...

MS will tell you to contact IBM. 😛

jst0ney, any oem copy of XP Home or Pro (depending on what shipped with your notebook) will work with your product key.
 
Originally posted by: John
Originally posted by: nweaver
Call MS, they may be able to help you if you explain the problem. They are pretty good....when you own the OS (which they know you do with a thinkpad)
Click to expand...

MS will tell you to contact IBM. 😛

jst0ney, any oem copy of XP Home or Pro (depending on what shipped with your notebook) will work with your product key.
Click to expand...



Correct has to be OEM Copy. Thoretically you could download a version of OEM Windows XP from the Internet and use that. as long as your COA is valid.

Phil
 
The only thing windows cares about is you having a legit license. Whether you actually purchased windows or not, they don't care.
 
There are 3 types of disc and 3 types of serial which cant be mixed and matched.

Retail
OEM
Volume Licensing

Retail - like you would buy off the shelf - the full boxed product
OEM - the build that PC manufacturers use
VL - The holy grail 🙂 A CD & Key that never needs activating 😉
 
even with oems, i have had to call to activate, it kind of is a pain in the but, however, the give you a new number anyway, just read them the COA key and Arun will give you a new one

jC
 
Originally posted by: Chunkee
even with oems, i have had to call to activate, it kind of is a pain in the but, however, the give you a new number anyway, just read them the COA key and Arun will give you a new one

jC
Click to expand...

yeah you gotta convince them that your key isn't working and the situation you're in
 
Originally posted by: Seeruk
There are 3 types of disc and 3 types of serial which cant be mixed and matched.

Retail
OEM
Volume Licensing

Retail - like you would buy off the shelf - the full boxed product
OEM - the build that PC manufacturers use
VL - The holy grail 🙂 A CD & Key that never needs activating 😉
Click to expand...

There's more than that. Here's 3 off the top of my head. 🙂

NFR
Academic
Action Pack

All use a specific product key that will not work with other 'versions'.
 
Since you have a new Thinkpad.

All new TP's that come with an os installed and a coa sticker on the bottom also have a hidden partition on the hrive. If you hit the Blue Access IBM button upon booting you will be given options to restore your os to factory. BTW this works amazingly well.

You can also download a prog from the IBM website called Restore and Recover. With this you can follow the prompts and make your own recovery cds. Should be around 8 of them depending on the software options that came with the Thinkpad.

You can order a set of cd's from IBM for around $40.00.

You can copy the i386 folder from your current installation to cd, and clear your hdrive, copy it back to hdrive and do a reinstall from it. You will need to use the coa# from the bottom of the TP to activate. If you do the Access IBM method, no activation is necessary.

The last option is to use another oem cd and usually the coa# works.

Unless you are very limited on hdrive space, there is no reason to delete this hidden pre-service partition from your TP. There is an option in bios to make it viewable if you want to image the drive with an imaging program. If you buy a 2nd hdrive bay adapter from IBM for $45.00 and free shipping, you also get an imaging prog called EZgig which is identical to Acronis Trueimage, but works a lot more reliably. A bargain for that price.
 
lol. I was on MS Support getting help with some weird error in XP, and they wanted me to copy a .dll from my XP cd. I had lost my CD somehow when I brought it to someone's house to do a recovery on their computer.

So I told MS that I lost the CD and they sent me a fresh one with a new CD Key and everything. Good service.
 
I remember buying three copies of Win98. I soon found out that the keys were not interchangeable. They only one that worked was the one printed on the box of a specific CD. That led me to believe that each CD had a hidden code tied to a specific key ID. But - this forum convinced me that was not so - however - there has never been another valid explanation of that. ???
 
You have to get the right disk in order to install Windows using an OEM key. You have to find the OEM version of Windows XP.
 
From what I've been told(could be false), they actually remove batches of old serials to keep ahead of the pirate underground. If you call them with your serial and it matches one of those that are removed, they ask you where you got it. I had this happen to me, legit serial from a Dell XP CD. I just told them it was a Dell disc and it matched so they gave me an activation code. They only needed my first set of numbers too. Went faster than talking to the robot chick 😛
 
Yeah, same happened to me after I had activated xp for like the 4th time, after several hardware changes, followed by a new hard drive.
 
Originally posted by: corkyg
I remember buying three copies of Win98. I soon found out that the keys were not interchangeable. They only one that worked was the one printed on the box of a specific CD. That led me to believe that each CD had a hidden code tied to a specific key ID. But - this forum convinced me that was not so - however - there has never been another valid explanation of that. ???
Click to expand...

thats strange. did you purchase them all at the same time? i have had to google a 98 key before and it worked.



 
Originally posted by: JonnyBlaze
thats strange. did you purchase them all at the same time? i have had to google a 98 key before and it worked.
Click to expand...

All at the same time from the same vendor. The serial/key numbers were not interchangeable. It was as if the number were embedded in the CD that it went with. They were not OEM - they were M$ upgrades.

 
Originally posted by: nweaver
Call MS, they may be able to help you if you explain the problem. They are pretty good....when you own the OS (which they know you do with a thinkpad)
Click to expand...

My experience with MS is that they will send you back to the computer manufacturer.
 
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