Change Windows Product key prior to activation

[TKMarshall]

Can anyone offer guidance?

I have two licensed copies of Windows XP Home, one of which is on a damaged
disk...a fact I became aware of when I recently swapped out a dead pc. Long
story short I currently have two machines loaded from the same XP install
disk. Assuming this will eventually cause problems, I have tried to update
the product key during telephone activation per Knowledgebase article 810892
but the activation routine will not accept the change. I have also tried to
use the windows KeyUpdateTool with equal lack of success. Any thoughts before
I punt and go to Linux?

 

[Big_Al]

Can anyone offer guidance?

I have two licensed copies of Windows XP Home, one of which is on a damaged
disk...a fact I became aware of when I recently swapped out a dead pc. Long
story short I currently have two machines loaded from the same XP install
disk. Assuming this will eventually cause problems, I have tried to update
the product key during telephone activation per Knowledgebase article 810892
but the activation routine will not accept the change. I have also tried to
use the windows KeyUpdateTool with equal lack of success. Any thoughts before
I punt and go to Linux?

If they are *exactly* the same CD's then there is no reason you can't
use the same CD for both machines, just use different license Keys to
activate.
But if you are having issues with the keys, then I suspect the problem
is that the OS's are not loaded the same. Like one is retail and the
other is an OEM. If you right click on my computer | properties. Do
they both say the same thing. Does either key under the product name
have an OEM on it?

 

[ByTor]

Can anyone offer guidance?

I have two licensed copies of Windows XP Home, one of which is on a damaged
disk...a fact I became aware of when I recently swapped out a dead pc. Long
story short I currently have two machines loaded from the same XP install
disk. Assuming this will eventually cause problems, I have tried to update
the product key during telephone activation per Knowledgebase article 810892
but the activation routine will not accept the change. I have also tried to
use the windows KeyUpdateTool with equal lack of success. Any thoughts before
I punt and go to Linux?

Grab 1.51........It will allow you to change the key. I'm not familiar
with the newer versions & their capability.

http://magicaljellybean.com/keyfinder/old.shtml

 

[TKMarshall]

Big_Al, thank you for the reply. Yes, the "good" disk is OEM and the "bad"
disk is retail.

 

[TKMarshall]

ByTor, thanks for the suggestion unfortunately it did not work. Windows
Script Host returned an error ndicating the product key is a bad number. I
checked and rechecked my keypunch several times to confirm accurate input.
The article linked from MagicalJellyBean keyfider tool indicates it is for
volume license agreements. Perhaps this makes a difference?

 

[Mistoffolees]

ByTor, thanks for the suggestion unfortunately it did not work. Windows
Script Host returned an error ndicating the product key is a bad number. I
checked and rechecked my keypunch several times to confirm accurate input.
The article linked from MagicalJellyBean keyfider tool indicates it is for
volume license agreements. Perhaps this makes a difference?

The product key for the retail version of Windows XP is still valid.
Either get an exact replacement cdrom from Microsoft (check its website
on how to accomplish it) or borrow an exact version from a friend and
duplicate it. Product keys are linked to specific versions of XP and
are not interchangeable amongst the different varieties of Windows XP.

 

[TKMarshall]

Many thanks...just to recap what I've learned for the benefit of others:
Windows product keys can be changed with...
Phone Activation
Windows KeyUpdateTool
MagicalJellyBean Tool

But only if it's a similiar type windows product key,i.e. OEM to OEM, Volume
Licensing Agreement to Volume Licensing Agreement or Retail to Retail.
Changing product keys across types will not work.

To obtain a replacement windows disk I found this as Mistoffolees suggested:

Knowledgebase Article 171931
"If your CD-ROM or floppy disk is clearly physically defective (cracked,
badly warped, contains a deep scratch, etc.), you can exchange it for a
replacement CD-ROM or floppy disk in the United States of America by calling
Microsoft Press at 800-MS-PRESS." Open Monday thru Friday 8:00am to 10:00pm
Eastern.

Again thanks to all