Product Key Media Mismatch

[SanJacRat]

I have the product key sticker without the original OEM
media and XP Home distribution media from Microsoft. The
Product Key will not take. Why should it matter which CD
the OS comes from so long as the Product Key is valid?

 

[Carey Frisch [MVP]]

The Product Key that came with your computer will only
work with the CD that also shipped with your computer.
Without that CD, the Product Key will not work.

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

Be Smart! Protect your PC!
http://www.microsoft.com/security/protect/

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


| I have the product key sticker without the original OEM
| media and XP Home distribution media from Microsoft. The
| Product Key will not take. Why should it matter which CD
| the OS comes from so long as the Product Key is valid?

 

[Guest]

They only sent a recovery CD that ghosts to a different
size HD than the fried one. This is unfair practice. A
License is bought and paid for. What media source should
not matter.

 

[Rick \Nutcase\ Rogers]

Hi,

Product Keys are specific to the type of media being used. You can't mix and
match them. Your key is only valid when used with the correct type of media.

--
Best of Luck,

Rick Rogers aka "Nutcase" MS-MVP - Win9x
Windows isn't rocket science! That's my other hobby!

Associate Expert - WinXP - Expert Zone

 

[Guest]

They are both XP Home, just from different sources,
OEM/Microsoft.

 

[Rick \Nutcase\ Rogers]

Doesn't matter if they are both XP Home, it matters that one is OEM and one
is retail. This is what prevents you from using the key. OEM versions are
tied to the system they are originally installed on. Using the key and the
associated media allows only for reinstallation and reactivation on that
same machine. A retail disk and matching key can be used on any machine,
just one at a time. You cannot use a retail key on an OEM disk and vice
versa, this is by design and is intentional. You must use the key with the
appropriate media.

--
Best of Luck,

Rick Rogers aka "Nutcase" MS-MVP - Win9x
Windows isn't rocket science! That's my other hobby!

Associate Expert - WinXP - Expert Zone

 

[Steve C. Ray]

That's one of the reasons OEM is cheaper than retail. You get what you pay
for. (I know I will get other opinions on that!)

 

[Alex Nichol]

I have the product key sticker without the original OEM
media and XP Home distribution media from Microsoft. The
Product Key will not take. Why should it matter which CD
the OS comes from so long as the Product Key is valid?

Different 'styles' of CD work only with their own series of key. The
OEM one or other means of restoring to ex-factory state will work only
with whatever key came with the machine (on a sticker on the back); the
distribution media - presumably a retail one - only with the key that
came with it, or with similar disks

 

[SanJacRat]

I totally agree you get what you pay for. However
parents do not listen to their kids. They go and buy
bundled systems that come with recovery CD, no original
media. Still a valid key should could for something.
Maybe Microsoft should examine fairness issues for
customers in possession of legit software. I have been
tempted to violate, but never have. Now I feel i am owed
one.

 

[Bruce Chambers]

Greetings --

Product Keys are bound to the specific type and language of
CD/license (OEM, Volume, retail, full, or Upgrade) with which they are
purchased. For example, a WinXP Home OEM Product Key won't work for
any retail version of WinXP Home, or for any version of WinXP Pro, and
vice versa. An upgrade's Product Key cannot be used with a full
version CD, and vice versa. An OEM Product Key will not work to
install a retail product. An Italian Product Key will not work with
an English CD. Product Keys and CDs cannot be mixed & matched.

It's an anti-theft mechanism, to ensure that you have a valid
license. It's based upon the rather obvious reasoning that a valid
licenser purchaser/owner would, of course, have both the installation
CD and the matching Product Key in his/her possession, as they
originally came together and there'd be no legitimate reason to
deliberately separate them. It is, however, a little troublesome for
the disorganized or negligent.

But all is not lost:

How to Replace Lost, Broken, or Missing Microsoft Software or Hardware
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=KB;en-us;326246

If it was an OEM license, you should contact whomever sold you the
PC; although very few manufacturers/vendors keep records of the
Product Keys they've sold, it's worth a try before you have to buy a
new license.


Bruce Chambers

--
Help us help you:



You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don't ever count on
having both at once. -- RAH

 

[Bruce Chambers]

Greetings --

No, it's not unfair at all. You deliberately chose to save money
by purchasing a PC with such a limited license. You got exactly what
you paid for. That's life.


Bruce Chambers

--
Help us help you:



You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don't ever count on
having both at once. -- RAH

 

[Bruce Chambers]

Greetings --

Sounds like this is your parents' problem. I presume that they're
therefore adults? If so, they should be accustomed to accepting the
consequences of their own decisions. Neither Microsoft, nor any
other, business, has any obligation to look after the interests of
people who cannot be bothered to look out after their own.

Because this involves an OEM license, Microsoft is completely out
of the picture, anyway. You, or your parents, need to seek redress
from the PC's manufacturer. (This is another condition of the OEM
license: the PC manufacturer agrees to provide _all_ support and
Microsoft is contractually obligated to say out of the matter.)


Bruce Chambers

--
Help us help you:



You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don't ever count on
having both at once. -- RAH