Re: OEM Product Key's not working on Image

Hello, try using sysprep.inf with a prefilled line
containing the Retail product key.
That is allowed, I have asked.
With sysprep.inf you can fill in the appropriate answers
instead of using the full MINI setup.

/Björn

>-----Original Message-----
>One answer is not to use imaging.
>
>It is possible to script the creation of unattend.txt, so
that you
>look up the relevant product key in a spreadsheet. This
is what I do
>at my organization to perform unattended network installs
using OEM
>media; the technician just needs to type in the asset
tag, and then
>the host name and Windows product key are set
automatically before the
>installation starts.
>
>See <http://unattended.sourceforge.net/> for the basic
framework.
>Email me personally if you are curious about my site-
specific
>customizations.
>
> - Pat
>
>"Darren Nye" <techmgr@designresourcesgroup.nospam.com>
writes:
>
>> Hello,
>>
>> I'm the tech manager for a small company of about 35
>> people. We've recently replaced almost all of our PC's
>> with Dell desktops and notebooks.
>>
>> Each Dell has been shipped with Windows 2000 SP3, and
they
>> all have a unique Windows 2000 Product Key on them.
>>
>> However, I've wiped out the drives when restoring my
>> standard image to them. These images were prepared with
>> sysprep 1.1 for Windows 2000. The original Windows 2000
>> Pro CD used, was an off-the-shelf retail package of
>> Windows 2000 Pro.
>>
>> I've set sysprep to prompt for the Product Key. After
>> restoring the image and booting one of the new
computers,
>> entering any of the Dell OEM Windows 2000 Pro product
keys
>> that are stamped on the Dells, returns an error during
the
>> mini-setup, stating that it's an invalid Product Key.
>>
>> The only way I can continue from this point, is to key
in
>> the Product Key from the Windows 2000 Pro CD that I
used
>> to setup the original computer.
>>
>> Is there a way I can change the Product Key to the
actual
>> Dell OEM Product Key, after the image restore and mini-
>> setup is complete?
>>
>> I know from a licensing perspective it doesn't matter
that
>> every PC has the same Product Key, as long as I
actually
>> paid for the license.
>>
>> However, the reason I'd like the Product Key unique on
>> each computer, is because this key creates a unique
>> Product ID, which can then be used to get a few free
>> online support sessions for Windows 2000 via
Microsoft's
>> online support.
>>
>> Any thoughts/suggestions?
>.
>