OEM product key prob

[alfajulietta]

I installed XP Pro OEM on my computer a few weeks back,
and tried to update this week, only to be told by MS that
my product key wasn't valid. I had received the disk all
sealed up, so I knew that wasn't the problem, but after
doing some digging, found that I had misentered the
product key!

I tried a few methods outlined here to change the product
key and input the correct one, but I keep getting
an "incorrect product key" message.

What can I try now?
Thx.

 

[Larry Samuels MS-MVP XP \(Shell/User\)]

You can call the activation center to activate--good luck because the story
you are telling is a hard one to buy.

If you had entered the wrong key during the install,the install would not
have completed.
There are NO blocked OEM keys--the only blocked keys are for illegal VL
keys..

Your best bet is to perform a repair install with your OEM CD and use the
key from the sticker during the repair.This will upgrade the current
installed version to the legal XP Pro OEM.
..
Larry Samuels MS-MVP XP

 

[Bruce Chambers]

Greetings --

If you had initially mistyped his Product Key, the OS would not
have installed in the first place.

Are you trying to install Service Pack 1 and getting the
following:

The Product Key Used to Install Windows Is Invalid
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;Q326904

Purchase and use a legitimate full copy of WinXP Pro to perform a
repair (a.k.a. in-place upgrade) installation, using the new CD and
Product Key.

How to Perform an In-Place Upgrade of Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/directory/article.asp?ID=KB;EN-US;Q315341

Remember, you should also report whomever sold you the pirated
software to your local law enforcement agency.



Bruce Chambers

--
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[Ron Martell]

I installed XP Pro OEM on my computer a few weeks back,
and tried to update this week, only to be told by MS that
my product key wasn't valid. I had received the disk all
sealed up, so I knew that wasn't the problem, but after
doing some digging, found that I had misentered the
product key!

I tried a few methods outlined here to change the product
key and input the correct one, but I keep getting
an "incorrect product key" message.

Does your installed XP still operate?

Was it the Windows XP Service Pack 1 update that you tried to install?

If so then the product key used to install your XP was probably one of
the ones used with the widely pirated "corporate" version of XP.

If you have a Windows XP CDROM and a valid product key sticker then
you can try doing a "Repair Install" of your Windows XP as per the
instructions at http://michaelstevenstech.com/XPrepairinstall.htm

That will retain all of your installed applications, configuration
settings, and user data files. Windows Updates will have to be
reinstalled.

Good luck


Ron Martell Duncan B.C. Canada
--
Microsoft MVP
On-Line Help Computer Service
http://onlinehelp.bc.ca

"The reason computer chips are so small is computers don't eat much."