Activate WinXP-Home - Help!

[thricipio]

I have a bit of a dilemma...

My DELL Inspiron 1000 has crapped out on me for the umpteenth time (okay, I
exaggerate... but it *is* the 3rd time), so it's "in the shop."

My brother was kind enough to lend me his Inspiron 8600 (for which I hold
out no high hopes... but I need a computer and have limited funds). Using
his computer has involved upgrading to a new HDD and thus a reinstall of
WinXP Home. Problem is, my brother couldn't find his XP install CD. So,
I've used the one that came with my I-1000. All seemed well until I tried
activating XP and input the code that was
on the bottom of my brother's I-8600. As I'm sure you've guessed, it didn't
work... and actually, I sort of anticipated this. But I wasn't sure, so
thought I'd give it a try.

So now the question is this:
Should I . . . . . . . .
(a) go to "the shop" and get the code off the bottom of my I-1000 and input
it when trying to activate the I-1000 XP license on my brother's I-8600?
--or--
(b) should I redouble my efforts to locate my brother's XP-CD and start over
on his machine?

I guess another way of asking the question is: are the install CD and the
code on the bottom of the PC it's shipped with, mapped to eachother, such
that you can swap the mapped pair between two machines... as long as you keep
them together?

Thanks ahead of time for whatever help you can provide.

--Thri

 

[Colin Barnhorst]

Yes, recover the product code for the cd you are using.

 

[Nepatsfan]

I have a bit of a dilemma...

My DELL Inspiron 1000 has crapped out on me for the umpteenth time (okay, I
exaggerate... but it *is* the 3rd time), so it's "in the shop."

My brother was kind enough to lend me his Inspiron 8600 (for which I hold
out no high hopes... but I need a computer and have limited funds). Using
his computer has involved upgrading to a new HDD and thus a reinstall of
WinXP Home. Problem is, my brother couldn't find his XP install CD. So,
I've used the one that came with my I-1000. All seemed well until I tried
activating XP and input the code that was
on the bottom of my brother's I-8600. As I'm sure you've guessed, it didn't
work... and actually, I sort of anticipated this. But I wasn't sure, so
thought I'd give it a try.

So now the question is this:
Should I . . . . . . . .
(a) go to "the shop" and get the code off the bottom of my I-1000 and input
it when trying to activate the I-1000 XP license on my brother's I-8600?
--or--
(b) should I redouble my efforts to locate my brother's XP-CD and start over
on his machine?

I guess another way of asking the question is: are the install CD and the
code on the bottom of the PC it's shipped with, mapped to eachother, such
that you can swap the mapped pair between two machines... as long as you keep
them together?

Thanks ahead of time for whatever help you can provide.

--Thri

First off, I'm taking for granted that XP Home Edition was also installed on
your brother's Inspiron. Double check the sticker on the bottom of his laptop.
It has to say XP Home Edition. If not, keep looking for his installation CD. As
a matter of fact, finding that CD would be the answer to all your problems. When
using the correct installation CD, Dell systems don't require activation. They
use an SLP key. That's a fancy way of saying that you wouldn't have to enter the
CD key from the sticker.

Don't do (a). Odds are you'd run into the same problem anyway. Instead when you
try to activate, chose phone activation and tell them you're reinstalling XP
using the key on the bottom of the laptop. Give only enough information to get
the job done.

Good luck

Nepatsfan

 

[thricipio]

Colin-

Thanks for your brief asnwer to my (regrettably) long-winded question.

--Thri

 

[thricipio]

The guy at "the shop" made a similar suggestion, instructing me to tell MS
that I had to replace the motherboard.

Of the two, suggestions, I'm tempted to go with (a), based on the following
reasoning (which may be flawed -- feel free to tell me if you think it is):
If I went out and purchased a shrinkwrapped copy of XP it would come with a
similar activation code, which I think I'd have to input when I tried to do
the actual installation. From this, I infer that the key-code isn't tied to
the hardware, but to the installation disk. Therefore, since I've installed
with my I-1000 CD, then inputting its key-code should do the trick.

Since I'll be driving past "the shop" tomorrow, I'll stop in and copy the
key-code and try it upon my return. If that doesn't work, then it's good to
know that the phone option might.

Thanks for your help.

--Thri

 

[thricipio]

I'm a bonehead! I didn't see your first paragraph before posting my first
reply to your post. Having read that, I've decided to try and find my
brother's CD. But... I'm still gonna try using the key-code off the bottom
of my I-1000 and see what happens. I guess, my second option will be the
phone one, since I don't want to redo the efforts I've already put into this
build. If that fails, then I'll have my brother's CD as a last resort...
assuming I can find it.

Thanks again for your help. --Thri

 

[Nepatsfan]

I think you'll find that using the CD key from your Inspiron 1000 system will
give you the same results. As noted in my earlier response, Dell uses what's
called an SLP key during the installation of XP. This key is usually stored in
the I386\winnt.sif folder on your installation CD. Using the correct CD for that
laptop means activation is not required. Take a look at this article for more
info on SLP keys.

System Locked Preinstallation
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/System_Locked_Preinstallation

Now, here's the problem you're going to run into. A few years ago, Microsoft
changed how the CD keys on OEM stickers would be handled by the activation
process. It basically invalidated all CD keys that were on computer where
Windows XP had been pre-installed. That's why you're having a problem using the
key on the bottom of your brother's laptop. With this in mind, I'd expect the
same thing to happen if you try to use the CD key from your Inspiron 1000. Take
a look at this article for more info.

Microsoft Closes Activation Loophole
http://www.betanews.com/article/Microsoft_Closes_Activation_Loophole/1109293194

Bottom line, the problem you're having has nothing to do with the CD key being
tied to a particular CD.

If you find your brother's installation CD and it's for the same version of XP,
you may be able to get away with performing a repair installation as opposed to
starting from scratch. Finally, if you end up using the phone activation option,
I'd suggest passing on the advice from the guy at the shop. Keep it simple, you
lost the CD and are using a one from a different Dell computer.

Good luck

Nepatsfan

 

[Daave]

If you find your brother's installation CD and it's for the same
version of XP, you may be able to get away with performing a repair
installation as opposed to starting from scratch.

I'm sure if the brother also had an Inspiron 1000, then this would work.
However, since the brother's laptop is an Inspiron 8600, do you think
this method would work? I've never tried it, but I would imagine it
probably wouldn't. Worth a try, though, I suppose.

 

[Nepatsfan]

I'm sure if the brother also had an Inspiron 1000, then this would work.
However, since the brother's laptop is an Inspiron 8600, do you think
this method would work? I've never tried it, but I would imagine it
probably wouldn't. Worth a try, though, I suppose.

That's why I used the term "may be able to" in my response. I guess I was trying
to be an optimist and give the OP some hope that the current installation on the
Inspiron 8600 was salvageable.

Truth be told, I'm surprised he ran into the problem he's having. I've got
copies of Dell XP Home installation CDs from different Dimension systems and
they appear to be identical. The same CD key shows up in the winnt.sif file on
CDs from 2003 to 2007.

Nepatsfan

 

[Daave]

That's why I used the term "may be able to" in my response. I guess I
was trying to be an optimist and give the OP some hope that the
current installation on the Inspiron 8600 was salvageable.

Truth be told, I'm surprised he ran into the problem he's having.
I've got copies of Dell XP Home installation CDs from different
Dimension systems and they appear to be identical. The same CD key
shows up in the winnt.sif file on CDs from 2003 to 2007.

Very interesting. I'm surprised that Dell is this lax!

 

[Colin Barnhorst]

Lax? Take a look at this:

http://www.amazon.com/Dell-Microsof..._10?ie=UTF8&s=software&qid=1206136176&sr=8-10

and

http://www.amazon.com/Dell-Microsof...e=UTF8&s=miscellaneous&qid=1206136176&sr=8-15

 

[Nepatsfan]

Very interesting. I'm surprised that Dell is this lax!

I wouldn't categorize it as Dell being lax. If you were to run the Magic Jelly
Bean Keyfinder on all the Dell XP computers on the planet, I think you'd find
that thousands if not millions of them share a common CD key. And the
installation CDs that shipped with those systems are probably identical.

I'm no expert on SLP, but I believe the process involves a check of the system's
BIOS. When using a Dell XP installation CD, if it finds the correct info in the
BIOS, the installation will proceed and no activation will be required. The CD
key in the winnt.sif file will be used during the installation. The way I
understand it is that Dell systems running XP Home have a common entry in the
BIOS. Systems running XP Pro have a different setting. As long as you use the
correct Dell XP installation CD for the version you ordered, no activation
should be required.

OTOH, if the info in the BIOS doesn't match, the installation will proceed but
it will not activate. That's what's happening to the OP.

Good luck

Nepatsfan