Invalid Product Key

[Guest]

Hi all,
A few weeks ago a computer-savvy friend of mine and I reinstalled everything
on my computer, including Windows XP Professional and all the drivers
installed on my laptop, in the hopes of making it run faster. The product
recovery DVD-ROM disk that came with my Toshiba laptop did not work and a
recovery disk for my version of Windows XP was not included with the laptop,
so we had to reinstall everything by hand off a burned CD. For the past
couple of weeks the laptop ran fine. However, yesterday I received a message
on startup telling me that my version of Windows XP was not genuine and
because of this I was ineligible for Microsoft updates. I have a genuine
product key that came with my laptop for my pre-installed (but no longer
working) version of Windows XP Home Edition and a "for distribution only with
a new PC" start here booklet for Windows XP Home Edition, but no CD to
recover my version of Windows and no idea how to solve this problem without
paying the $200.00 for a new version of Windows or $50.00 to contact someone
at Microsoft. Any suggestions would be much appreciated! Thanks.

 

[Carey Frisch [MVP]]

From whom did you obtain the Product Key for Windows XP
Professional from? It is that Product Key that appears to be
non-genuine. The Product Key affixed to your PC is only
valid when using the PC manufacturer's recovery CD.

To resolve your problem, you need to purchase a genuine
"full version" of Windows XP Professional and use that CD
and Product Key to perform a "repair install".

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

Example:

Microsoft Windows XP Professional With SP2 - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16837102062

--
Carey Frisch
Microsoft MVP
Windows - Shell/User
Microsoft Community Newsgroups
news://msnews.microsoft.com/

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

"*Jenn" <* wrote:

| Hi all,
| A few weeks ago a computer-savvy friend of mine and I reinstalled everything
| on my computer, including Windows XP Professional and all the drivers
| installed on my laptop, in the hopes of making it run faster. The product
| recovery DVD-ROM disk that came with my Toshiba laptop did not work and a
| recovery disk for my version of Windows XP was not included with the laptop,
| so we had to reinstall everything by hand off a burned CD. For the past
| couple of weeks the laptop ran fine. However, yesterday I received a message
| on startup telling me that my version of Windows XP was not genuine and
| because of this I was ineligible for Microsoft updates. I have a genuine
| product key that came with my laptop for my pre-installed (but no longer
| working) version of Windows XP Home Edition and a "for distribution only with
| a new PC" start here booklet for Windows XP Home Edition, but no CD to
| recover my version of Windows and no idea how to solve this problem without
| paying the $200.00 for a new version of Windows or $50.00 to contact someone
| at Microsoft. Any suggestions would be much appreciated! Thanks.

 

[Guest]

The product key came from the friend who re-installed everything on my
computer. Is there any way I could get access to the PC manufacturer's
recovery CD? Had the Toshiba product recovery DVD-ROM worked, is Windows XP
what it would have recovered? Thanks.

 

[Carey Frisch [MVP]]

You can contact Toshiba support and request a new
recovery CD. However, if the recovery CD is for
Windows XP Home Edition, you would need to reformat
your hard drive in order to install it as one cannot
"downgrade" from XP Pro to XP Home.

Toshiba Support
http://www.csd.toshiba.com/cgi-bin/tais/su/su_sc_home.jsp

It appears your "computer-savvy friend" used a well-known
pirated version of Windows XP Pro. He or she should have
purchased a genuine version of Windows XP in the first place
or attempted to contact Toshiba for a proper recovery CD replacement.

--
Carey Frisch
Microsoft MVP
Windows - Shell/User
Microsoft Community Newsgroups
news://msnews.microsoft.com/

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

:

| The product key came from the friend who re-installed everything on my
| computer. Is there any way I could get access to the PC manufacturer's
| recovery CD? Had the Toshiba product recovery DVD-ROM worked, is Windows XP
| what it would have recovered? Thanks.

 

[Larry Samuels]

Contact the manufacturer of your laptop for recovery media.

--
Larry Samuels Associate Expert
MS-MVP (2001-2005)
Unofficial FAQ for Windows Server 2003 at
http://pelos.us/SERVER.htm
Expert Zone-

 

[Jupiter Jones [MVP]]

Jenn;
The "computer-savvy friend" has made more work for you by his own ignorance.
Turn to others next time, preferable a reputable computer tech.
The "computer-savvy friend" clearly is not a reputable computer tech.

Normally there is a hidden partition used to restore the computer, check
your manual and/or contact the manufacturer for details.
However in helping you, your "computer-savvy friend" most likely destroyed
the recovery partition.
You will need to contact the computer manufacturer for a replacement
recovery CD.
If your computer is beyond warranty, your friend may have also cost you $ to
replace the operating system.