R said:
I am helping my cousin set up her computer - she got it off
craigslist and the guy said he had put Windows back on the computer.
It is XP Professional.
What he did not do is activate the computer, so when we are trying to
activate it with the serial number provided, we are unable to do it.
It says it is an incorrect product key.
What can we do now to get it activated?
Craigslist? Buyer beware!
You *might* be in luck. What is the make and model of the PC? Perhaps it
comes with a hidden recovery partition.
Does it have a Certificate of Authenticity (COA) sticker on the case? If
so, that means the PC *did* come with a license. Does it say XP Home or
XP Pro (or something else) on it?
What you can do (assuming there is no hidden recovery partition on it --
and you really should double-check that!) is obtain an installation CD
for the matching flavor of OS. For instance, if the COA says XP Home and
it is an OEM license, you may use a generic OEM XP Home installation CD
(hopefully you may borrow one), using the Product Key on the *COA
sticker on the PC*.
If there is no COA sticker, you're on your own. You may always purchase
a generic OEM version of XP Home (there is most likely no need to
install XP Pro!) and use the Product Key that comes with it. Here's one:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116511
Depending on the PC and its license, this site *could* help:
http://www.restoredisks.com/