Laptop came with Acer XP home OEM with sticker on back with product key.
The disc backup which was created from the hidden partition does not work.

Is it possible to use another generic OEM home disc but use the original key
which is stickered on the laptop?
I think that it is the license which is important here, not the actual disc
that is used.

thanks

Beck wrote:
> Laptop came with Acer XP home OEM with sticker on back with product key.
> The disc backup which was created from the hidden partition does not work.
>
> Is it possible to use another generic OEM home disc but use the original
> key which is stickered on the laptop?
> I think that it is the license which is important here, not the actual
> disc that is used.
>
> thanks

Yes, it is possible. The OEM install disk must be a true generic, not
one from another computer mftr. You will need to call to activate
Windows after installation. A better solution would be to call Acer and
have them send you actual recovery cd's.

Malke
--
Elephant Boy Computers
www.elephantboycomputers.com
"Don't Panic!"
MS-MVP Windows - Shell/User

Beck wrote:
> Laptop came with Acer XP home OEM with sticker on back with product key.
> The disc backup which was created from the hidden partition does not work.
>
> Is it possible to use another generic OEM home disc but use the original
> key which is stickered on the laptop?
> I think that it is the license which is important here, not the actual
> disc that is used.
>
> thanks


It should be possible to use an unbranded, generic WinXP Home OEM CD
with that Product Key, but it'll lack the proprietary devices drivers
for the Acer laptop. Make sure you can download those from Acer's
website before proceeding.


--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:
http://dts-l.org/goodpost.htm
http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html

They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. -Benjamin Franklin

Many people would rather die than think; in fact, most do. -Bertrand Russell

"Bruce Chambers" <(E-Mail Removed)3t> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed)...
> It should be possible to use an unbranded, generic WinXP Home OEM CD with
> that Product Key, but it'll lack the proprietary devices drivers for the
> Acer laptop. Make sure you can download those from Acer's website before
> proceeding.

HI Bruce,

I do have another disc which contains all the drivers I need. When I got
the Acer I was prompted to create two discs. One for the OS and one for
drivers and bundled software.

"Malke" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:%23$(E-Mail Removed)...

> Yes, it is possible. The OEM install disk must be a true generic, not one
> from another computer mftr. You will need to call to activate Windows
> after installation. A better solution would be to call Acer and have them
> send you actual recovery cd's.

Hi Malke,

Thanks for the reply. Yes the XP OEM spare is a generic one I purchased with
some hardware. I might not even have to activate by phone as the product
key is bios-tied anyway and it may recognise that and activate it with no
problem.
I can get another copy of it from Acer, just need to fill in a form for
ownership details etc.

"Beck" <beck@none> wrote in message
news:%(E-Mail Removed)...
>
> "Malke" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
> news:%23$(E-Mail Removed)...
>
>> Yes, it is possible. The OEM install disk must be a true generic, not one
>> from another computer mftr. You will need to call to activate Windows
>> after installation. A better solution would be to call Acer and have them
>> send you actual recovery cd's.
>
> Hi Malke,
>
> Thanks for the reply. Yes the XP OEM spare is a generic one I purchased
> with some hardware. I might not even have to activate by phone as the
> product key is bios-tied anyway and it may recognise that and activate it
> with no problem.
> I can get another copy of it from Acer, just need to fill in a form for
> ownership details etc.


The key on the back of the computer may be BIOS keyed but it will need
activation. The one used at the factory is not the same key.

--
Kerry Brown
Microsoft MVP - Shell/User
http://www.vistahelp.ca

"Bruce Chambers" <(E-Mail Removed)3t> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed)...

> It should be possible to use an unbranded, generic WinXP Home OEM CD with
> that Product Key, but it'll lack the proprietary devices drivers for the
> Acer laptop. Make sure you can download those from Acer's website before
> proceeding.

Forgot to ask, sorry, if I need to, is it possible to untie the XP from that
Vista in the future? Say if I wanted to move the Vista to another PC and
have original XP back on laptop can I do that or are they tied forever?

Acers normally have an i386 folder on C: which contains the setup files. Burn
this to a CD, run winnt.exe from DOS.

Only thing I do find is that it complians of three missing oembios.* files.
You just skip these, though, and it works.

"Beck" <beck@none> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed)...
>
> "Bruce Chambers" <(E-Mail Removed)3t> wrote in message
> news:(E-Mail Removed)...
>
>> It should be possible to use an unbranded, generic WinXP Home OEM CD with
>> that Product Key, but it'll lack the proprietary devices drivers for the
>> Acer laptop. Make sure you can download those from Acer's website before
>> proceeding.
>
> Forgot to ask, sorry, if I need to, is it possible to untie the XP from
> that Vista in the future? Say if I wanted to move the Vista to another PC
> and have original XP back on laptop can I do that or are they tied
> forever?

LOL wrong group, sorry.

"Kerry Brown" <(E-Mail Removed)*a*m> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed)...
>
>
> The key on the back of the computer may be BIOS keyed but it will need
> activation. The one used at the factory is not the same key.

Thankyou. I don't mind calling them if I have to, no problem :-)