Change product key?

[Nigel Molesworth]

I may have sorted out my problem with my friend's PC (see Corrupted
registry: possibly Cryptographic service problem?), but in order to do
so I've have to do an "in-place upgrade", see:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/315341/

The problem is that my friend doesn't have a Microsoft Windows XP PRO
CD, just a recovery CD from Sony. To do the "upgrade" I had to use my
own CD, and my product key. The PC now insists on activating Windows
before I can log in, but the Change Product key on the activation
window won't accept the correct Sony key. I obviously don't want to
re-use my product key to activate his PC.

I've tried telephoning the activation line, but they cannot help.

Any suggestions?

 

[Kerry Brown]

I may have sorted out my problem with my friend's PC (see Corrupted
registry: possibly Cryptographic service problem?), but in order to do
so I've have to do an "in-place upgrade", see:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/315341/

The problem is that my friend doesn't have a Microsoft Windows XP PRO
CD, just a recovery CD from Sony. To do the "upgrade" I had to use my
own CD, and my product key. The PC now insists on activating Windows
before I can log in, but the Change Product key on the activation
window won't accept the correct Sony key. I obviously don't want to
re-use my product key to activate his PC.

I've tried telephoning the activation line, but they cannot help.

Any suggestions?

You have to do the "in-place upgrade" or repair install with the same
version as the key you want to use. i.e. OEM XP Pro SP2 or Retail XP Home
SP1 etc.. You may be able to do a repair install with a generic OEM XP Pro
and use the Sony key. This may not work as some OEM versions (e.g. Sony,
Dell, HP) may be BIOS locked and tied to a particular BIOS. If you used a
generic OEM XP Pro and the Sony key doesn't work then this is what you are
up against. You have two options in this case. Get a Windows CD from Sony or
perform the restore to factory condition procedure that came with the Sony
computer.

 

[Guest]

Sounds to me like you are trying to use an OEM key (your friends Sony one)
with your now Retail installation of Windows XP. These keys are not
interchangeable and must be used with the correct media.

 

[Nigel Molesworth]

Sounds to me like you are trying to use an OEM key (your friends Sony one)
with your now Retail installation of Windows XP. These keys are not
interchangeable and must be used with the correct media.

So I've found. Is it possible to do a standard Windows install (rather
than a Sony recovery) by copying the SonyCD\I386 folder etc to the PC.

 

[Kerry Brown]

So I've found. Is it possible to do a standard Windows install (rather
than a Sony recovery) by copying the SonyCD\I386 folder etc to the PC.

No. You have to get a Windows CD from Sony or use the factory restore
process or possibly a generic OEM CD of the version that corresponds to the
key.