Spike9458 said:
Hi all. I am reinstalling XP home on my moms computer as
it's corrupted and says to reinstall it. Since it won't boot
up, I am going to attached her hard drive as a slave on my
computer to retrieve her data files, then reformat and
install. My question is ... where on her hard drive will I
find her XP key? I have the disk for my computer, she can't
find hers ... but I'm pretty sure can use her key with my
disk, if I can locate it.
Thanks in advance,
--Jim
First off, in order to recover her data files you may need to
take ownership of the files.
How to take ownership of a file or folder in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;308421
Note: If you are running Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition, you
must start the computer in safe mode, and then log on with an
account that has Administrative rights to have access to the
Security tab. To start in Safe Mode, reboot your computer and
start tapping the F8 key as soon as you see anything displayed
on the screen. Keep hitting F8 until the Advanced Startup
Options menu appears. Use the up and down arrow keys on your
keyboard to select Safe Mode. Hit Enter.
As for your CD key question, have you looked on your mom's PC
for a sticker which contains the 25 digit CD key? I'm not sure
you're going to be able to retrieve the CD key from a
non-bootable XP installation.
Why do you think you need to reinstall XP? What error message
are you getting that says the installation is corrupt? Don't
format the hard drive until you've exhausted all possibilities
of fixing the computer. You may find yourself installing XP and
being unable to activate. Also, in order to use your CD with
her key they must be of the same type and version, OEM CD ->
OEM key, Retail CD -> Retail key, etc.
Good luck
Nepatsfan