lost track of which serial# went with which cd

[Beemer Biker]

Is there any way to tell which CD went with which serial#? Recently we had
to re-install xp and the cd I used didnt match the serial#. I had to wait
till one of my kids got home from college for him to bring the cd as the one
he took up there was the wrong one. I thought they were all the same but
they are not. I am not in the resale business, we have 4 kids in college
with notebooks and multiple desktops plus my wife has income tax network all
with XP. All systems have those XP stickly license labels except 4 from the
utsa bookstore that have a non-removable tag on the envelope.

2 XP home service pack 0
2 XP pro "oem" service pack 0
---the above bought with cpus and hard drives---

2 XP dell service pack 0
2 XP dell service pack 1a

4 XP pro student license "utsa bookstore" with no sticky label serial#

I think i tried the dell with 1a and used a serial number from the dell
service pack 0 . That didnt work. I have a program aida32 that can tell
what XP system is on what computer so I can match up the hardware with the
(for example) student XP that has no sticky label. On another re-install, I
discoverd that those original OEM (non dell) serials worked only with the cd
even though I bought them all at the same time from the vendor. I failed to
mark on th]ose OEM cd the serial#.

Is there a way to tell which CD goes with which serial#?

One of the XP dell with service pack 1a is still in original sealed wrapper.
I believe the serial numbers from the stick pads work on either cd since
they are both service pack 1a. Is that right?

Why didnt the dell 1a cd work with the serial number of the other dell from
the original XP release (i called it service pack 0)

I will be using a marker to mark which cd has which serial number, should
have done that earlier.

...thanks in advance..

 

[Taurarian Fire]

If Windows XP is still installed on the computer:

Magical Jelly Bean Keyfinder v1.41
http://www.magicaljellybean.com/keyfinder.shtml

http://www.webtree.ca/windowsxp/repair_xp.htm
Near the bottom "View Product Key XP"
This will enable you to view the Product Key of the Windows installation which is
currently on your computer.

 

[Beemer Biker]

If Windows XP is still installed on the computer:

Magical Jelly Bean Keyfinder v1.41
http://www.magicaljellybean.com/keyfinder.shtml

http://www.webtree.ca/windowsxp/repair_xp.htm
Near the bottom "View Product Key XP"
This will enable you to view the Product Key of the Windows installation which is
currently on your computer.

thanks, but AIDA32 does that and more. I need to identify which of the
about 12 various XP CD's I got go with which serial numbers. This only
became a problem when i tried up re-install Xp using a serial number on the
side of the case that didnt match the cd I was using.

 

[Shenan Stanley]

Taurarian Fire wrote

If Windows XP is still installed on the computer:

Magical Jelly Bean Keyfinder v1.41
http://www.magicaljellybean.com/keyfinder.shtml

http://www.webtree.ca/windowsxp/repair_xp.htm
Near the bottom "View Product Key XP"
This will enable you to view the Product Key of the Windows
installation which is currently on your computer.

thanks, but AIDA32 does that and more. I need to identify which of
the about 12 various XP CD's I got go with which serial numbers.
This only became a problem when i tried up re-install Xp using a
serial number on the side of the case that didnt match the cd I was
using.

Usually there are no CD Keys assigned to a particular CD. I personally
(other than using unattended/winnt.sif) have never seen a way to permanently
lock a CD to a given (specific) key.. There are different VERSIONS (OEM,
Retail, Upgrade, Volume License) - and in some ways - even those can be
gotten around. You probably just need to know what type of CD you are using
and make sure the number you are using matches that type of CD.

IE: if the number is on a sticker on the machine and/or the copy of XP came
in a cellophane wrapped piece of cardboard - likely OEM. If it came in a
nice box, likely Retail/Retail upgrade. If its a volume license, you should
just KNOW that. heh

 

[Guest]

All systems have those XP stickly license labels except 4 from the
utsa bookstore that have a non-removable tag on the envelope.
Don't get too confused: click START> RUN
Type in WINVER and press enter. The version of Windows will be displaid for
that PC.

You can also use 'keyfinder' to identify the serial number on that PC; if
the Microsoft label is not affixed to the case.

Each XP CD will be identified with the version, such a SP1. The Dell OEM
CDs will also have the version on them.

Now you can match Serial Number, Version and Installation Disk!

As long as you use the correct serial number 'range' with the appropriate
edition of XP then it won't hurt, thus any SP1 CD can be used with the
appropriate serial number as identified on the case. The Dell OEM CDs cannot
be used with other hardware as the manufacturer adds components to the
installation files to check that it is being used on Dell Hardware of the
specific model / type for which it was supplied. The Dell Laptop CD can't be
used on a Dell Desktop!

 

[Beemer Biker]

Taurarian Fire wrote




Usually there are no CD Keys assigned to a particular CD. I personally
(other than using unattended/winnt.sif) have never seen a way to permanently
lock a CD to a given (specific) key.. There are different VERSIONS (OEM,
Retail, Upgrade, Volume License) - and in some ways - even those can be
gotten around. You probably just need to know what type of CD you are using
and make sure the number you are using matches that type of CD.

Sorry for the late followup but I just discovered the following....

One of my Windows XP "Dell" CD's installs without asking for a serial
number. It has to be activated of course. I ran aida32 and it gave
XJM6Q-.....etc... for a serial number. Just out of curiosity i did a
search for that serial number (just the XJM6Q) using google and found 100's
of hits on that exact serial number, all 25 characters. I picked a couple
of hits (dont try this unless you got the latest McAfee antivirus) and
quickly hit some trojan virus just trying to view the web page and that my
serial number listed. I did not attempt to download anything, just wanted
to ready the text that had my serial number.

That fact that a CD I purchased (with dell computer) has its serial listed
on the internet does that indicate I got a pirated version? Why does the CD
have that serial number where every other XP install I have done quickly
asks for a serial number? This cd installs fully w/o asking.