Will XP disk that came with one HP laptop work with another HP laptop

[MrBlahh]

I need to do the repair install on a friends HP Pavillion ZV6100 and I have a windows disk that came with my HP pavilion dv6000. Ive never had luck using an xp home retail disk to reinstall windows on a computer using the COA on the side of it. Going through some stuff I found a disk that came with my computer labeled 'microsoft windows xp home SP1a' along with 'Only for distribution with an HP or Compaq PC'.

Will this disk along with the COA from the laptop work? I also found another product number on the busted HP in the Unattend.txt file that Ill try if the first number doesnt work.

Im mainly asking because I dont have time to do it tonight and I want to see if this will just be a total waste of my time tomorrow when I get a chance.

 

[ecom]

If the machine is HP, then any WinXP disk for HP machine will work. Microsoft invalidated the keys on many of the stickers years ago to deter piracy. It should not ask you for any key if it works.

One thing I would do though, is download SP2 and/or SP3 and inject it into the disk first so you don't have to install later since it's much faster this way. I don't remember if SP3 requires SP2 installed first or not. Use Nlite to inject any updates and drivers you want on the disc. Then write to a CD-R. If you save an ISO, you can also write to a DVD which results in a much faster install.

 

[JM Aggie08]

If it doesn't work, you can flash the machine with the OEM bios and it should work like a charm.

 

[pcgeek11]

If the machine is HP, then any WinXP disk for HP machine will work. Microsoft invalidated the keys on many of the stickers years ago to deter piracy. It should not ask you for any key if it works.

Correction to your post:

MS did not invalidate the keys. The keys are still valid. They just blocked them from automatically activating online and they usually require a phone call to microsoft.

pcgeek11

 

[SimMike2]

The only reason to slipstream SP2 or SP3 onto a Windows XP disk is if you have a large hard drive, I'm guessing bigger than 500GB, but I'm not sure where the line is. Otherwise it is kind of a hassle to create these disks, especially for someone who just wants minimum fuss. Installing the service packs afterward is not that big a deal, timewise.

 

[MrChad]

It will work just fine. You should not be prompted for a CD key, as the HP XP setup disc will already have a key in the winnt.sif file and will use OEMBIOS.* files to pre-activate the install.