Product Key/Getting around the Msoft Question

[kurmugon]

Don't have, cant' get, the 25 Character Product Key to complete W XP Home
installation. How to get by the Msoft Support question: "What is your
Character Product Key? A post from way back gives this number:
888-571-2048. Is that a place to start?

 

[David B.]

There is no way around it, if you don't have/can't get your product key,
you'll need to buy a new one.

--

 

[Daave]

Don't have, cant' get, the 25 Character Product Key to complete W XP
Home installation. How to get by the Msoft Support question: "What
is your Character Product Key? A post from way back gives this
number: 888-571-2048. Is that a place to start?

Kurmugon, is this the same issue from your post "The Product Key
problem, again" in the microsoft.public.windowsxp.general newsgroup?
It's better to just stay in that particular thread!

Some other information you provided:

The laptop originated with XP Professional but was overwritten
with XP Home, and from whence it came, I have no clue.

I then asked, "What does "it" refer to -- the laptop or the XP Home
installation?

Bottom line:

What exactly are you trying to do? It sounds like you are trying to
perform a clean install of XP Home. If your license is for XP Pro, I'm
not really sure why you would want to do this. Again, look on the bottom
of your laptop for a Certification of Authenticity sticker? Do you see
one? What is the make and model of this laptop, and where did you get it
from?

If you don't have a license (maybe this laptop was obtained from a
company which had been using a non-transferrable volume license on it?),
you will need to purchase one. Then you will have your Product Key.

But I'm just guessing. You really need to provide detailed information!

 

[kurmugon]

Sorry about the double entry. I could not find the first one (still gotta
write some things down!), hence this entry.
This is a second hand Laptop (IBM Thinkpad Type 2628) that originally had
Windows XP Pro (and that number is still on the bottom). When that crashed
beyond recovery, W XP Home was loaded over that, and I have no idea
what/where the Product Key is for that installation. (And I don't know how/if
I can go through F8 or F12 to find it, but am willing to try.) I have yet
another cy of W XP Home, with the Product Key, but when I crank up the laptop
and move forward, it does not seem to be looking at that one, but the old one
stored inside that I do not have the info for.
Yes, I am trying to reload W XP Home, in sincere hopes of recovering my
Prague pictures!
Am going to work now. Will check here about 11 p.m.
Thanks so much!

 

[Daave]

Comments inline.

Sorry about the double entry. I could not find the first one (still
gotta write some things down!), hence this entry

Fastest way:

http://groups.google.com/groups/search?q=author:kurmugon

This is a second hand Laptop (IBM Thinkpad Type 2628) that originally
had Windows XP Pro (and that number is still on the bottom).

As long as this didn't originally have a volume license OS installed,
this is your license and Product Key. You will need to obtain a generic
OEM version of Windows XP Professional from a friend, relative,
colleague, acquaintance, etc. Then you need to make sure you have all
the necessary drivers. Then a clean install would be your best bet.
Before you do any of this, you need to save any data from the hard
drive. The best way to do this is to get a USB enclosure and put the
hard drive in it. Then attach it to a working computer and transfer the
files you need to save.

When
that crashed beyond recovery, W XP Home was loaded over that, and I
have no idea what/where the Product Key is for that installation.

Who did this? Did you have a license for it?

(And I don't know how/if I can go through F8 or F12 to find it, but
am willing to try.)

You need to determine what method IBM provided to return the laptop to
its original state. In the event there is an image on a hidden
partition, then you would need to follow their directions. It might
involve hitting either F8 or F12 (or some other key) immediately after
booting up. Either contact IBM or post to a support forum for those who
own this type of laptop.

I have yet another cy of W XP Home, with the
Product Key, but when I crank up the laptop and move forward, it does
not seem to be looking at that one, but the old one stored inside
that I do not have the info for.
Yes, I am trying to reload W XP Home, in sincere hopes of recovering
my Prague pictures!
Am going to work now. Will check here about 11 p.m.

It sounds like you may be trying to perform a repair install using an
incorrect version of XP.

What precisely are you trying to do and why?

At any rate, save your data before you lose it.

If you're able to boot up, you can use a product like Belarc Advisor or
Magical Jellybean Finder to see what your current Product Key is. But
from what little information you have given, I have no idea if this is
legitimate or not.

Where did you get this second-hand laptop from?

Are you sure it originally had Windows XP Pro on it? (I would imagine it
may have predated XP.)

Who put XP Home on it and why?

Describe this "other copy" of XP Home. Is it retail or OEM? If the
latter, is it generic or branded? Full or upgrade? You said there is a
key associated with it. You may or may not be authorized to use it. Is
it or was it installed on another PC?

 

[Patrick Keenan]

Sorry about the double entry. I could not find the first one (still gotta
write some things down!), hence this entry.
This is a second hand Laptop (IBM Thinkpad Type 2628) that originally had
Windows XP Pro (and that number is still on the bottom). When that
crashed
beyond recovery, W XP Home was loaded over that, and I have no idea
what/where the Product Key is for that installation. (And I don't know
how/if
I can go through F8 or F12 to find it, but am willing to try.) I have
yet
another cy of W XP Home, with the Product Key, but when I crank up the
laptop
and move forward, it does not seem to be looking at that one, but the old
one
stored inside that I do not have the info for.
Yes, I am trying to reload W XP Home, in sincere hopes of recovering my
Prague pictures!

In that case, you would be best to NOT try to do XP installs right now.

Instead, get a USB2 drive adapter/case, these can be had starting around
$15, remove the hard disk from the Thinkpad and attach it to another XP
system via this case. Then, copy off the files.

The way you're going at the moment, you're at risk of "accidentally" wiping
the drive during an install, and losing the data permanently.


HTH
-pk