installing WinXP Pro

[Guest]

i have a HP machine that had WinXP Home on it. we deleted the two partitions
and then we are trying to install WinXP Pro, but we continue to receive this
message when entering the Product Key, that the Product ID key is not valid.
we have checked and rechecked the Product ID key many times and we continue
to receive the same message.

now, when we start the computer and do not enter setup for WinXP Pro, the
computer boots to a menu to either load WinXP Home or Pro. we have formatted
the computer, both quick and full format and still get both these options
when they are not installed on the computer.

i have checked the BIOS to see if there are any startup OS options there but
have not seen any.

we tried using the XP Home CD Key thinking that maybe it has some setting
that is referring to that CD Key, but that did not work either.

anything else you might know of before i pull the hard drive out and try a
new drive would be appreciated!

larz

 

[Guest]

the error message is:

"The Product ID you entered is not valid"


thanks!

 

[Tom]

i have a HP machine that had WinXP Home on it. we deleted the two partitions
and then we are trying to install WinXP Pro, but we continue to receive this
message when entering the Product Key, that the Product ID key is not valid.
we have checked and rechecked the Product ID key many times and we continue
to receive the same message.

now, when we start the computer and do not enter setup for WinXP Pro, the
computer boots to a menu to either load WinXP Home or Pro. we have formatted
the computer, both quick and full format and still get both these options
when they are not installed on the computer.

i have checked the BIOS to see if there are any startup OS options there but
have not seen any.

we tried using the XP Home CD Key thinking that maybe it has some setting
that is referring to that CD Key, but that did not work either.

anything else you might know of before i pull the hard drive out and try a
new drive would be appreciated!

larz

Be sure to look at the key numbers and characters closely, as a "B" can look like a "8", etc. Also, refer here for a complete reinstallion.

http://michaelstevenstech.com/cleanxpinstall.html

 

[Carey Frisch [MVP]]

Troubleshooting invalid CD key error message during Windows XP setup
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;310637

Clean Install Windows XP
http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/cleanxpinstall.html

[Courtesy of MS-MVP Michael Stevens]

--
Carey Frisch
Microsoft MVP
Windows XP - Shell/User

Be Smart! Protect Your PC!
http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/protect/default.aspx

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

:

| i have a HP machine that had WinXP Home on it. we deleted the two partitions
| and then we are trying to install WinXP Pro, but we continue to receive this
| message when entering the Product Key, that the Product ID key is not valid.
| we have checked and rechecked the Product ID key many times and we continue
| to receive the same message.
|
| now, when we start the computer and do not enter setup for WinXP Pro, the
| computer boots to a menu to either load WinXP Home or Pro. we have formatted
| the computer, both quick and full format and still get both these options
| when they are not installed on the computer.
|
| i have checked the BIOS to see if there are any startup OS options there but
| have not seen any.
|
| we tried using the XP Home CD Key thinking that maybe it has some setting
| that is referring to that CD Key, but that did not work either.
|
| anything else you might know of before i pull the hard drive out and try a
| new drive would be appreciated!
|
| larz

 

[Guest]

Thanks for the suggestions Tom!

i tried checking the numbers and letters and all appears to be correct. i
even tried switching the B's with 8's and the D's with 0's in case, but i get
the same message.

 

[Tom]

Where did you get the Pro disk?

Thanks for the suggestions Tom!

i tried checking the numbers and letters and all appears to be correct. i
even tried switching the B's with 8's and the D's with 0's in case, but i get
the same message.

 

[Yves Leclerc]

The CD/Product keys for XP Home do not work with XP Pro and vise versa.
Retail keys are different from VLA or OEM keys. You can not mix and match
the key where installing XP.

You need to be using valid:

Home keys with XP Home CDs
Pro Keys with XP Pro CDs

OEM based keys with OEM media CDs
VLA key with the special VLA install media
Retail kets with the Retail CDs.

Also, some older keys may have been blocked with SP1 and/or SP2.

 

[Guest]

MS. it is an authentic disk with a large envelope that folds open. i might
just call MS and see what is up.

thanks for your help!

 

[CS]

On Mon, 27 Dec 2004 10:25:02 -0800, "Larz"

At this point in time, you need to contact HP support. It appears
they may have used an installation product key to image the system.
That key of course is different from the one which is on the machine
label.

 

[Tom]

Did you enter the Key that is on an orange sticker inside that envelope?