Help ! We need a complete list of invalid WinXP Product IDs !

[PGWatch]

I work in the maintenance department, and recently the company I work
for has gone through a major restructuring. Currently we are facing
with the maintenance of a lot of PCs from various departments, with a
lot of problems.

One of the problems we have is that some of the PCs may have been
running pirated copies of WinXP, and to further complicate the
problem, we have no idea which PC is running genuine copies, and which
is not.

We are determined to sort out the pirated copies from genuine one, and
we need help.

We need a list of invalid WinXP Product IDs to compare with the ones
on our hand, and although I've downloaded a copy from
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=326904, I believe that there are
other invalid Product IDs out there that aren't in the list.

Hence, if we can get the complete list of invalid WinXP Product IDs,
it would help us a lot of weed out the pirated copies from the genuine
ones.

As if the problems we face isn't enough, some of the WinXP are OEM
issued, and some of them have COA with them. Some have SP1 installed,
some SP2, and we also have lots of in-betweeners, all mixed up.

As to now we still haven't a clue how best to sort out the genuine
from the pirated versions.

Can anyone please help? Thx !

 

[PA Bear [MS MVP]]

Uh-huh. Now pull the other one...

Seriously now, send an email request for this, including your name, address,
work & home phone numbers, to (e-mail address removed) with a CC to
(e-mail address removed).

 

[Shenan Stanley]

I work in the maintenance department, and recently the company I
work for has gone through a major restructuring. Currently we are
facing with the maintenance of a lot of PCs from various
departments, with a lot of problems.

One of the problems we have is that some of the PCs may have been
running pirated copies of WinXP, and to further complicate the
problem, we have no idea which PC is running genuine copies, and
which is not.

We are determined to sort out the pirated copies from genuine one,
and we need help.

We need a list of invalid WinXP Product IDs to compare with the ones
on our hand, and although I've downloaded a copy from
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=326904, I believe that there are
other invalid Product IDs out there that aren't in the list.

Hence, if we can get the complete list of invalid WinXP Product IDs,
it would help us a lot of weed out the pirated copies from the
genuine ones.

As if the problems we face isn't enough, some of the WinXP are OEM
issued, and some of them have COA with them. Some have SP1
installed, some SP2, and we also have lots of in-betweeners, all
mixed up.

As to now we still haven't a clue how best to sort out the genuine
from the pirated versions.

Can anyone please help? Thx !

In the situation you are in - if you cannot find the CoA (Certificate of
Authenticity) - you are probably better off assuming that license is not
valid. For OEM copies - that is usually attached to the PC itself - a
sticker.

 

[SG]

http://www.microsoft.com/genuine/downloads/faq.aspx#ID0EXC

http://www.microsoft.com/resources/howtotell/

 

[PGWatch]

http://www.microsoft.com/genuine/downloads/faq.aspx#ID0EXC

http://www.microsoft.com/resources/howtotell/

Many thanks for the links !

 

[PGWatch]

In the situation you are in - if you cannot find the CoA (Certificate of
Authenticity) - you are probably better off assuming that license is not
valid. For OEM copies - that is usually attached to the PC itself - a
sticker.

Previously many of the different departments have their own IT support
staffs and they purchase their own PCs. That's why right now we have a
total combo --- a true mess.

Some of the OS are pirated, but not all. That's why we need to know
just how many are pirated before we can send our report to the bean
counters for them to agree to issue the check.

We also have XP that comes in boxes, and I dunno how many of those
boxes are genuinely from Microsoft either. Sigh !

 

[Gis Bun]

[I know this is weird but you may want to at least get them all up to date.]
Aside from SG's suggestions, roll out Windows Media Player 11. WMP11 requires
a valid Win XP copy. Any failures would either be:
1) invalid copy of XP
2) already on there
3) another unknown issue

 

[Dr.Hal0nf1r£$]

Previously many of the different departments have their own IT support
staffs and they purchase their own PCs. That's why right now we have a
total combo --- a true mess.

Some of the OS are pirated, but not all. That's why we need to know
just how many are pirated before we can send our report to the bean
counters for them to agree to issue the check.

We also have XP that comes in boxes, and I dunno how many of those
boxes are genuinely from Microsoft either. Sigh !

Download and run the Microsoft Genuine Advantage tool; it'll soon tell you
if the o/s is a pirate when you search for non-critical updates.