Can't Authenticate XP

  • Thread starter Thread starter Jim Walker
  • Start date Start date
J

Jim Walker

I have installed Windows XP and now can't authenticate it. There is no
icon on the Task Bar for activation and there is no task in System Tools for
it. I bought the computer and the seller imaged XP onto the computer and
says the key is good. I am not getting any messages to active before the
month expires. Any suggestions?
 
I have installed Windows XP and now can't authenticate it. There is no
icon on the Task Bar for activation and there is no task in System Tools for
it. I bought the computer and the seller imaged XP onto the computer and
says the key is good. I am not getting any messages to active before the
month expires. Any suggestions?
Click to expand...
perhaps it is a pirate copy then if he imaged it onto your pc. Did he
give you an xp product disk ?
 
If you did not receive a Windows XP CD and Product Key, then you do
not have a valid license to use Windows XP on your computer. The "seller"
did you no favor by "imaging" Windows XP and then not providing you
with the Windows XP CD and Product Key. All you can do is purchase
a "Full Version" of Windows XP and perform a "Repair Install".

How to Perform a Windows XP Repair Install
http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/XPrepairinstall.htm

[Courtesy of MS-MVP Michael Stevens]


Is your copy of Windows XP legal?
http://www.microsoft.com/resources/howtotell/ww/windows/default.mspx

Reporting Software Piracy
http://www.microsoft.com/piracy/reporting/default.asp

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

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

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


|I have installed Windows XP and now can't authenticate it. There is no
| icon on the Task Bar for activation and there is no task in System Tools for
| it. I bought the computer and the seller imaged XP onto the computer and
| says the key is good. I am not getting any messages to active before the
| month expires. Any suggestions?
|
|
| --
| Jim Walker
| Northern Virginia
 
I just found out that it is already activated by using
C:\Windows\system32\oobe\msoobe.exe /A in the Start/Run. This was suggested
to be on another newsgroup. The seller says that the key is the one on my
computer. I haven't had to check this out yet, but the seller seem to be
ok. He just didn't know how the activation worked on this particular OS.
 
Jim said:
I just found out that it is already activated by using
C:\Windows\system32\oobe\msoobe.exe /A in the Start/Run. This was
suggested to be on another newsgroup. The seller says that the key
is the one on my computer. I haven't had to check this out yet, but
the seller seem to be ok. He just didn't know how the activation
worked on this particular OS.
Click to expand...

Listen to Carey. The seller is most certainly *NOT* OK. You have stolen
software on your system! If he merely imaged it, you have no licence and no
means to repair or reinstall should it be necessary. Did he provide you with
a disc and a COA with the product installation key on it?! No? Then you
don't have a valid licence.
 
Ok. I don't know everything about the OS. The seller imaged it and it
was apparently owned by a company with multiple computers runnng the same
OS. The computer is a Thinkpad which normally comes with the restore OS on
a partition. This computer did not have such a partition, but the seller
imaged it according to him. That made me wonder if it was the original OS
for this computer. The key is on a label attached to the computer, and the
seller swears that it is the correct one for XP installed on the computer.
There must be some way to find the key on my currently installed XP, but I
would bet it is a guarded secret if it is possible. I am not trying to use
an illegal OS, but one that I was told is legal. It looks like it will run
ok and update, etc, but the repair function will not be there. If I had to
replace the OS I would go to IBM and get a replacement disk for the computer
for $35. I don't know if that replacement disk would allow repair but I
doubt it. All previous replacement disks for other IBM Thinkpads allow only
a complete restoration.
 
Greetings --

You should be able to use AIDA32 Enterprise from
http://www.aida32.hu/aida32.php to find the Product Key. (If you have
a factory-installed OEM license, and haven't since reinstalled the OS,
the revealed Product Key is probably of the drive image used at the
factory and not _your_ specific Product Key; therefore, it probably
cannot be -- and definitely should not be -- used for a
re-installation.)


Bruce Chambers

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