Misplaced my product Key!

[clayman]

Hi: I hope you can help me with this. I was trying to repair one of my older
machines and chose to wipe off the OP and start over. Only to find that i no
longer have the product key for my XP home edition disc. Is there anything i
can do??

 

[Thee Chicago Wolf]

Hi: I hope you can help me with this. I was trying to repair one of my older

machines and chose to wipe off the OP and start over. Only to find that i no
longer have the product key for my XP home edition disc. Is there anything i
can do??

You could have gotten the key off before you wiped it with a
keyfinder. You're pretty much out of luck now unless you can find the
license key again.

- Thee Chicago Wolf

 

[Mark Adams]

Hi: I hope you can help me with this. I was trying to repair one of my older
machines and chose to wipe off the OP and start over. Only to find that i no
longer have the product key for my XP home edition disc. Is there anything i
can do??

The product key is on the back of the folder or sleeve that the disk came in
when you purchased it. If you separated the disk from it's original
packaging; SURPRISE! You get to buy a new copy of XP. While you still can. If
you hadn't formatted the hard drive you could extract the key with one of the
keyfinder tools. Sounds like you're SOL.

 

[John John (MVP)]

If you didn't install Windows or do anything else to the disk after you
formatted it then you may be able to "unformat" the disk and extract the
key from the old System hive. If you formatted and then proceeded with
the install and wrote to the disk you are pretty well out of luck.

John

 

[Mike Hall - MVP]

Hi: I hope you can help me with this. I was trying to repair one of my
older
machines and chose to wipe off the OP and start over. Only to find that i
no
longer have the product key for my XP home edition disc. Is there anything
i
can do??

You are going to need a credit card/check book/cash and a reliable buying
source..

 

[Alias]

Hi: I hope you can help me with this. I was trying to repair one of my older
machines and chose to wipe off the OP and start over. Only to find that i no
longer have the product key for my XP home edition disc. Is there anything i
can do??

You have several options:

1. Use a pirated copy of XP (not recommended).
2. Buy a new copy of XP.
3. Download the .ISO of Ubuntu and burn it to a CD and install it. It's
free and comes with access to over 24,000 free programs. Check it out at
http://www.ubuntu.com/

Alias

 

[HeyBub]

You have several options:

1. Use a pirated copy of XP (not recommended).
2. Buy a new copy of XP.
3. Download the .ISO of Ubuntu and burn it to a CD and install it.
It's free and comes with access to over 24,000 free programs. Check
it out at http://www.ubuntu.com/

Alias

Using any version of Linux is similar to having a blow-up doll for a
girlfriend.

While it's not the "real thing," it may be sufficient if you only have one
or two activities in mind, can handle the minimally satisfying results, and
don't mind if your friends point at you and snicker.

 

[Alias]

Using any version of Linux is similar to having a blow-up doll for a
girlfriend.

While it's not the "real thing," it may be sufficient if you only have one
or two activities in mind, can handle the minimally satisfying results, and
don't mind if your friends point at you and snicker.

Have you always been this ill informed?

How about these things?:

Email
Surf the web
Burn CDs.
Rip CDs.
Listen to music.
Watch vidoes/DVDs.
Scan and print.
Spreadsheets.
Presentations
Newsgroups.
HTML editing.
Games like Chess, Tetris, all kinds of solitaire, etc.
Make videos.
Download photos from a camera and organize them.
Translations.
Use a dictionary
Learn how to touch type.
Edit images.
Send and receive a fax.
Take screen shots.
Create .PDF files.
Create and use a data base.
Instant messaging with over 10 different programs in one including
Windows Live Messenger.
IRC.
Bluetooth.

and much more!

What you can't do with Ubuntu:

Worry about:
WPA and WGA raising their ugly heads,
DRM,
Viruses,
Root kits,
Spyware,
and
Malware.

Alias

 

[Mike Hall - MVP]

You have several options:

1. Use a pirated copy of XP (not recommended).
2. Buy a new copy of XP.
3. Download the .ISO of Ubuntu and burn it to a CD and install it. It's
free and comes with access to over 24,000 free programs. Check it out at
http://www.ubuntu.com/

Alias

Not 24000 programs.. 24000 PACKAGES.. not the same thing..

 

[Alias]

Not 24000 programs.. 24000 PACKAGES.. not the same thing..

A lot more than come with Windows, regardless of how you count them.

Alias

 

[smlunatick]

The product key is on the back of the folder or sleeve that the disk camein
when you purchased it. If you separated the disk from it's original
packaging; SURPRISE! You get to buy a new copy of XP. While you still can.. If
you hadn't formatted the hard drive you could extract the key with one ofthe
keyfinder tools. Sounds like you're SOL.

Retail versions of XP have the CD key on an orange sticker on the back
of the XP folder. OEM versions have a "certificate of authenticity"
which should be stuck on the PC. You the OP did not stick it on, they
are out of luck, if they lost it. Microsoft will not replace OEM
versions.

 

[HeyBub]

Have you always been this ill informed?

How about these things?:

Email
Surf the web
Burn CDs.
Rip CDs.
Listen to music.
Watch vidoes/DVDs.
Scan and print.
Spreadsheets.
Presentations
Newsgroups.
HTML editing.
Games like Chess, Tetris, all kinds of solitaire, etc.
Make videos.
Download photos from a camera and organize them.
Translations.
Use a dictionary
Learn how to touch type.
Edit images.
Send and receive a fax.
Take screen shots.
Create .PDF files.
Create and use a data base.
Instant messaging with over 10 different programs in one including
Windows Live Messenger.
IRC.
Bluetooth.

and much more!

What you can't do with Ubuntu:

Worry about:
WPA and WGA raising their ugly heads,
DRM,
Viruses,
Root kits,
Spyware,
and
Malware.

I don't worry about any of those things. Linux is for those who worry about
having to worry about those things.

To paraphrase Samuel Johnson, "Using Linux is like a dog raised up on its
hinder legs. It is not surprising that it does it poorly; what is surprising
is that it would want to do so at all."

 

[Alias]

I don't worry about any of those things. Linux is for those who worry about
having to worry about those things.

Which means your computer is probably infected and you don't know it.
The latest Windows worm has infected over 9 million computers and
counting. Had those users been running Ubuntu the figure would be zero.

Snip stupid and inappropriate analogy.

Alias

 

[regfla]

call the maker of your old system they might be able to give you an generic
one as long as they can verify that system was bought from them. i did
through dell and recieved a generic product key which is still working.

 

[Richard in AZ]

If you bought any system from Dell or other Name brand, the product key should be on a label
attached to the case.

| call the maker of your old system they might be able to give you an generic
| one as long as they can verify that system was bought from them. i did
| through dell and recieved a generic product key which is still working.
|
| "clayman" wrote:
|
| > Hi: I hope you can help me with this. I was trying to repair one of my older
| > machines and chose to wipe off the OP and start over. Only to find that i no
| > longer have the product key for my XP home edition disc. Is there anything i
| > can do??
| > --
| > Thanks for now. I really appreciate the help eveyone.