How can I determine the version of XP pro that I have?

[Dave Allen]

I'm not talking about XP Home vs Pro. How can I tell what kind of XP pro a installation is.
How many different versions are there?
I've seen
Retail
OEM
MSDN
Corporate

CD keys for one type does not work on the others.

 

[R. McCarty]

That information is contained in a file on the installation CD-ROM.
In the i386 folder is a file Setupp.Ini. The Pid string is the identifier
that denotes the product (Home, Pro) and the disk type (OEM or
Retail). Once installed the Product ID will have the string OEM in
the key to identify it as Original Equipment Manufacturer.

 

[Bob I]

Winkey+Pause/Break key.

 

[Shenan Stanley]

I'm not talking about XP Home vs Pro. How can I tell what kind of XP
pro a installation is. How many different versions are there?
I've seen
Retail
OEM
MSDN
Corporate

CD keys for one type does not work on the others.

Technically - you should know.

It is unlikely if you bought it yourself in a store (legitimate) you have a
Volume License or MSDN.
If it came in a nice box.. It is likely it is Retail (now is it Upgrade ot
Full - well - how much did you pay?)
If it came with a computer (pre-installed) or it came wrapped in cellophane
with a cardboard backing and/or there is a sticker on your computer with the
CD Key on it - then it is likely OEM.

Otherwise - you need to look into PIDs and how to change one CD type to
another in Google - where you will learn how to tell which type of CD you
have.

 

[Wesley Vogel]

The very bottom line of %windir%\System32\eula.txt will tell the XP version.

Windows XP Professional Retail
EULAID:WX.4_PRO_RTL_EN

Windows XP SP 1 Professional Retail
EULAID:XPSP1_RM.1_PRO_RTL_EN

Windows XP SP 2 Professional Retail
EULAID:XPSP2_RM.0_PRO_RTL_EN

IF OEM, OEM will be in place of RTL (Retail).

--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In

 

[Bruce Chambers]

I'm not talking about XP Home vs Pro. How can I tell what kind of XP pro a installation is.
How many different versions are there?
I've seen
Retail
OEM
MSDN

These are all readily identified simply by reading the CD label and
packaging.

Corporate

There's no such thing.

CD keys for one type does not work on the others.

Correct.

You already should know the answer; what type of license did you purchase?


--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:



You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don't ever count on having
both at once. - RAH

 

[Dave Allen]

So then this would be
Media Center Edition 2005
EULAID:MCE05E_RM.0_UPD_OEM_EN

Can anyone supply an example of a MSDN or a corporate version?

"Wesley Vogel" <[email protected]>
|>The very bottom line of %windir%\System32\eula.txt will tell the XP version.
|>
|>Windows XP Professional Retail
|>EULAID:WX.4_PRO_RTL_EN
|>
|>Windows XP SP 1 Professional Retail
|>EULAID:XPSP1_RM.1_PRO_RTL_EN
|>
|>Windows XP SP 2 Professional Retail
|>EULAID:XPSP2_RM.0_PRO_RTL_EN
|>
|>IF OEM, OEM will be in place of RTL (Retail).

 

[Dave Allen]

Technically no

this question is for systems that have XP already installed on them
and I do not have the CD's

Its just a question.
If I have a retail key at home I cannot use my OEM cd that came with
my dell machine. That seems lame to me. A license is a license.
My company has some sort of site license or volume licensing.
Our systems come from corporate already imaged so no I don't have
the cd.


"Shenan Stanley" <[email protected]>
|>Technically - you should know.
|>
|>It is unlikely if you bought it yourself in a store (legitimate) you have a
|>Volume License or MSDN.
|>If it came in a nice box.. It is likely it is Retail (now is it Upgrade ot
|>Full - well - how much did you pay?)
|>If it came with a computer (pre-installed) or it came wrapped in cellophane
|>with a cardboard backing and/or there is a sticker on your computer with the
|>CD Key on it - then it is likely OEM.

 

[Wesley Vogel]

The eulas that I looked at on MSDN CDs have mostly RTL. These were not
volume license software versions.

WTF is a corporate version? Do you mean volume license software versions?

--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In

 

[David Candy]

MSDN versions are all full retail and have retail eula. However that is not the eula used in MSDN as it is separate to the product.

 

[Dave Allen]

I have seen "warez" versions on the net that were labeled corporate versions or
"dell" versions or compaq or whatever. Since those kind of things exist I thought
that there were versions of XP that had CD keys that could be used over and over
again thus bypassing the windows verification thing. So I don't know, are those
type of cd keys "volume licensing" I have never had volume licensing on windows XP
before. I have only purchased volume licensing on server OS and server apps.

Again the reason I am asking is because different windows xp cd's are not compatable
with different cd keys. I have a dell OS reinstallation CD that I cannot use with
my XP pro license that I own at home. Also my dell OS reinstallation key does not
prompt me to enter a cd key and it does not do the windows verification thing like my
home version of XP pro does.

"Wesley Vogel" <[email protected]>
|>The eulas that I looked at on MSDN CDs have mostly RTL. These were not
|>volume license software versions.
|>
|>WTF is a corporate version? Do you mean volume license software versions?

 

[Rock]

Again the reason I am asking is because different windows xp cd's are not compatable
with different cd keys. I have a dell OS reinstallation CD that I cannot use with
my XP pro license that I own at home. Also my dell OS reinstallation key does not
prompt me to enter a cd key and it does not do the windows verification thing like my
home version of XP pro does.

The Dell version is BIOS locked. As long as it's installed in a
compatible Dell system it won't need activation. As you found out it
can't be installed elsewhere or used with a different CD key.

 

[Dave Allen]

whats wierd is that I *can* (does not mean that I have)
I can install that dell XP cd on any and all Dell computers.
Even on dell computers that shipped with Windows NT
So much for windows verification


Rock <[email protected]>
|>Dave Allen wrote:
|>
|> > Again the reason I am asking is because different windows xp cd's
|>are not compatable
|>> with different cd keys. I have a dell OS reinstallation CD that I cannot use with
|>> my XP pro license that I own at home. Also my dell OS reinstallation key does not
|>> prompt me to enter a cd key and it does not do the windows verification thing like my
|>> home version of XP pro does.
|>
|>The Dell version is BIOS locked. As long as it's installed in a
|>compatible Dell system it won't need activation. As you found out it
|>can't be installed elsewhere or used with a different CD key.