XP product ID on trashed HDD

[Guest]

Two questions, hope someone can help me:

1. If I go to Accessories, System tools and there is no sub option to
Activate Windows (per article 810892), does this mean that this copy of
Windows XP SP2 HAS been activated?

2. My HDD crashed, and my new hard drive has Windows XP on it. I gave the
technician a product ID from another computer already in use, wanting to
activate the new system later with the product ID that was on the crashed
hard drive. But it looks to me, per # 1 above, that the technician already
activated the new drive with the "in use" system. I imagine that I have 30
days before one or the other of these system stops working.

I cannot find the original product ID for the crashed system. But if I can
recover the data, I may have that ID stored in a document or spreadsheet. OR
I understood that there is a file that I can retrieve from the crashed drive
that will set up the new system as a valid XP installation.

So a) how would I "unactivate" a spurious activation? b) how can I get the
valid ID/license information from the crashed drive to the new drive?

Thanks very much if you can help

 

[Dave B.]

In reference to question 1, that usually means it has been activated.
There is no way to unactivate an activated installation, if you recover the
correct key there are utilities to change the product key to the correct
one.

 

[Nepatsfan]

In

Two questions, hope someone can help me:

1. If I go to Accessories, System tools and there is no sub
option to
Activate Windows (per article 810892), does this mean that
this copy
of Windows XP SP2 HAS been activated?

2. My HDD crashed, and my new hard drive has Windows XP on
it. I gave
the technician a product ID from another computer already in
use,
wanting to activate the new system later with the product ID
that was
on the crashed hard drive. But it looks to me, per # 1 above,
that
the technician already activated the new drive with the "in
use"
system. I imagine that I have 30 days before one or the other
of
these system stops working.

I cannot find the original product ID for the crashed system.
But if
I can recover the data, I may have that ID stored in a
document or
spreadsheet. OR I understood that there is a file that I can
retrieve
from the crashed drive that will set up the new system as a
valid XP
installation.

So a) how would I "unactivate" a spurious activation? b) how
can I
get the valid ID/license information from the crashed drive
to the
new drive?

Thanks very much if you can help

Just out of curiosity, why aren't you asking the technician who
installed XP these questions?

Note: Do not under any circumstances include the CD keys you
find with the utilities listed below to any response you may
post to this or any other newsgroup. OK, let's get to your
questions.

First off, have you tried going to Windows Update to see if
your installation can be validated? You can download a utility
from Microsoft that will tell you whether your installation is
legal.

Microsoft Genuine Advantage Diagnostic Tool
http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=52012

It's been my experience that the "Activate Windows" shortcut
will be missing on the Start menu of XP computers manufactured
by large companies such as Dell or HP. They use what's called
an SLP key to install XP. This process does not require
activation. If your system came from such a company, the
technician may have had the appropriate media to complete the
installation.

To see if your system has been activated do the following;

Hit the Windows key + R to launch the Run box.
Enter the following next to where it says Open.

%SYSTEMROOT%\system32\oobe\msoobe.exe /A

Download this program to check what key was used to install XP
on your computer.

Magical Jelly Bean Keyfinder
http://www.magicaljellybean.com/keyfinder.shtml

This information will confirm if your second CD key was used.

As for your second question, I know of no way to retrieve an XP
CD key from an installation that cannot boot.

To retrieve data from your old drive you would need to connect
it to your working system as a slave drive. Make sure both hard
drives are jumpered correctly. Look on the top of each drive
for the proper configuration.

Once you have the old drive in place, you'll probably have to
disable Simple File Sharing and take ownership of your old
files. Take a look at these articles for more info;

"Access is Denied" Error Message When You Try to Open a Folder
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/810881

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.

Good luck

Nepatsfan

 

[Guest]

Thanks for your answer To answer your first question -- the reason I posted
instead of talking to the technician is that he (or the shop) is the reason I
am in the fix to begin with. They activated my computer instead of letting me
do it.

But the bright side is, using the keyfinder, I discovered that he apparently
activated me with a key different than the one I gave him to get me up and
running temporarily, so I am not in danger (I take it) of having the computer
from which I borrowed that product ID deactivated.

I guess he got the key from HP or somewhere -- I am told that technicians
can somehow get an XP installation activated and validated legitimately. I'm
just going to assume all is well.

But it seems from what I have read that the key is found somewhere in the
registry (which is what I dimly remember from a previous incident), so would
still like to know how to get at that. I recall it being a matter of copying
a file or two. The utility you pointed me to, and others, will find the key
on an existing installation, but I'd like to find it of a drive that has the
recovered files, but is not a boot drive with XP installed and running.

Again, many thanks for your help.

 

[Nepatsfan]

You're welcome.

Good luck

Nepatsfan

In

Thanks for your answer To answer your first question -- the
reason I
posted instead of talking to the technician is that he (or
the shop)
is the reason I am in the fix to begin with. They activated
my
computer instead of letting me do it.

But the bright side is, using the keyfinder, I discovered
that he
apparently activated me with a key different than the one I
gave him
to get me up and running temporarily, so I am not in danger
(I take
it) of having the computer from which I borrowed that product
ID
deactivated.

I guess he got the key from HP or somewhere -- I am told that
technicians can somehow get an XP installation activated and
validated legitimately. I'm just going to assume all is well.

But it seems from what I have read that the key is found
somewhere in
the registry (which is what I dimly remember from a previous
incident), so would still like to know how to get at that. I
recall
it being a matter of copying a file or two. The utility you
pointed
me to, and others, will find the key on an existing
installation, but
I'd like to find it of a drive that has the recovered files,
but is
not a boot drive with XP installed and running.

Again, many thanks for your help.

 

[Nepatsfan]

Almost forgot to pass along the following;

1. Odds are the technician had a copy of an HP OEM CD with the
correct version of XP for your system. That would allow him to
install the operating system without having to activate it.
That's were the SLP key comes into play.

2. Since your computer is an HP, there should have be a sticker
on the side, or the bottom if it's a laptop, with the 25 digit
key code. This key can be used with a generic OEM installation
CD but will probably require phone activation.

3. You're right that the installation key on the failed hard
drive will be found in the registry. I had forgotten that you
can use this bootable CD and attempt to retrieve the CD key.
The keyfinder is listed under Information and Diagnostic tools
on the Start menu. It takes some effort to create this CD but
you can order a copy.

Ultimate Boot CD for Windows
http://www.ubcd4win.com/index.htm

The problem here is that the CD key you recover will probably
be an SLP key. That's the type of key used with the HP OEM CD.
It can only be used with their installation media.

Good luck

Nepatsfan

In

 

[David B.]

Assuming he didn't use a pirated copy to do the installation. AFAIK tech's
have no special way of acquiring a new product key from HP or any other OEM.
I would do a Google search on the product key he used, if you get hits it's
pirated and you'll likely have issues.