Lost CD Key?

[DavidJ726]

Tony,

Another option that might be viable is to buy a copy of Spinrite from
www.grc.com. It may be able to recover your hard drive, in which case
you'll get both your XP key and your hard drive back.

David...

 

[OShah]

Tony,

Another option that might be viable is to buy a copy of Spinrite from
www.grc.com. It may be able to recover your hard drive, in which case
you'll get both your XP key and your hard drive back.

David...

What Tony needs is the registry of the previous install. That's where the
encoded productId is located (and from where his product key can be
recovered).


--
------------------------------------------------------------------------
oshah [shexec32]
Control Panel -> System -> Advanced -> Error Reporting -> Choose Programs
-> Do not report errors for these programs:

Acrobat.exe
waol.exe

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

 

[T. Waters]

. Replace lost, broken, damaged or defective Microsoft software disks.
. Purchase product upgrades.
. Replace broken or defective Microsoft hardware products.
. Check the status on support orders.
. Order downloadable service packs.
. Replace missing manuals.


It would be beneficial for MS to state that keys are available by the same
means as the above. If the list is only a partial list, there should be a
mention of "other" items. For folks who don't see the sense of asking for
something not offered, the list is a deterrent.

In

Very interesting boilerplate, but stupid.

What exactly is stupid about the reply?
It points the OP to a link that supplies information on how to get a
replacement Product Key.
Replacement of CD or Product Keys
To replace a CD or Product Key, you must contact PSS. To locate the
appropriate phone number for your product, visit the following Microsoft Web
site:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=fh;EN-US;CNTACTMS

--
Michael Stevens MS-MVP XP
(e-mail address removed)
http://www.michaelstevenstech.com
For a better newsgroup experience. Setup a newsreader.
http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/outlookexpressnewreader.htm

If OEM supplied look on the case for the sticker, if retail
How to replace lost, broken, or missing Microsoft software or
hardware
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;[ln];326246

Tony Williams wrote:

Yes I know everyone will view this with suspicion but I really have
lost my CD Key and I need to do a clean reinstall. We moved house
and I think it's probably at the bottom of a crate along with a few
other things that have gone missing. I have my original CD, it is
XP Professional with SP2 but I obviously can't install without the
key. Anyone any ideas? I'm desperate because I had a hard drive
failure and need to reinstall.
Thanks
Tony

 

[DavidJ726]

That's correct, depending on how severe his hard drive crash is, SpinRite or
some other utility may be able to recover the data.

I haven't followed this entire thread so I don't know how severe his failure
was. If it's a hardware failure then SpinRite probably can't help him. If
it failed due to not being able to read data, then maybe something like
Spinrite can help him.

David...

What Tony needs is the registry of the previous install. That's where the
encoded productId is located (and from where his product key can be
recovered).


--
------------------------------------------------------------------------
oshah [shexec32]
Control Panel -> System -> Advanced -> Error Reporting -> Choose Programs
-> Do not report errors for these programs:

Acrobat.exe
waol.exe

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

 

[Richard Urban]

Yes, for someone who is not responsible - I guess it may be (-:

That same person may also lose their wallet once a year and complain to
anyone who listens. Some just do not ever want to claim responsibility for
their actions or inactions. It's always someone else's fault that THEY
screwed up!

--
Regards,

Richard Urban

aka Crusty (-: Old B@stard

If you knew as much as you think you know,
You would realize that you don't know what you thought you knew!

 

[BBUNNY]

Al Smith wrote:
|| What if "on the CD" meant a label physically on the CD? How much
|| extra would that cost? As for security and piracy issues, it would
|| not seem to create a problem, IMO.
||
|| ||
|||||| Tony;
|||||| The tools only locate the key on a computer.
|||||| The Product Key is not on the CD at all.
|||
||||
|||| Because that would make too much sense.
|
| It just seems to me that there should be a way of selling XP so
| that nobody can lose the CD key. So many people lose it. The
| reason people lose it is because it's stuck on the back of the
| computer, or on a piece of paper, instead of on the CD. What's
| wrong with putting it on the CD? The person who buys XP gets both
| the CD and the CD key, right? Why shouldn't that person get them
| stuck together, so the key can't be lost? Why is there security in
| putting it on a separate piece of paper? If somebody else can
| borrow the CD, then they can borrow the key along with it, right?
| Unless the original owner hasn't already lost the damn thing.
|
| The first thing I do when I make a copy of XP is use a Sharpie to
| write the key across the CD. That goes for any software program I
| copy.

Do you know what a paper and pencil are?
Do you know what a magic marker is?
I have a lockout key hidden in my yard, why not
for your PC also????

 

[Al Smith]

The first thing I do when I make a copy of XP is use a Sharpie to

| write the key across the CD. That goes for any software program I
| copy.

Do you know what a paper and pencil are?
Do you know what a magic marker is?
I have a lockout key hidden in my yard, why not
for your PC also????

You have a "lockout" key hidden in your yard? Hmmmmm. Leaving
aside for the moment what a lockout key may be, why are you hiding
things in your yard?