OEM vs Volume key

[Guest]

Is there a technological way to understan if a product key included in system
image is Volume or OEM or Retail key ?

 

[Ron Martell]

Is there a technological way to understan if a product key included in system
image is Volume or OEM or Retail key ?

Not in an image file as such, but it can be done quite easily in the
installed copy.

Just right-click on My Computer and select Properties.
In the System Properties window the Product I.D. code is displayed as
the last item in the "Licensed to" section. If the second segment of
the Product I.D. (3 characters) reads OEM then it is an OEM version.
If it is a numeric value then it is one of the non-OEM versions
(retail, volume license, academic, etc.).

Good luck

Ron Martell Duncan B.C. Canada
--
Microsoft MVP (1997 - 2008)
On-Line Help Computer Service
http://onlinehelp.bc.ca

"Anyone who thinks that they are too small to make a difference
has never been in bed with a mosquito."

 

[Guest]

Thabks for your replay,

How can you distinguish Retail from Volume XP ?
Is there a way or its causa perduta ?

 

[Ron Martell]

Thabks for your replay,

How can you distinguish Retail from Volume XP ?
Is there a way or its causa perduta ?

The Product I.D. code does make this distinction. I do have a partial
list of Product Code components and what they mean. However the list
is not complete and I cannot vouch for the accuracy:

Product values per \i386\setupp.ini on the installation CD:
55274 : XP Pro generic OEM or Volume License (VL is a special case of
OEM)
55276 : XP Pro (upgrade)
55276 : XP Home (?) †
55277 : XP Home generic OEM
55285 : XP Pro †
55661 : XP Pro (retail)
76475 : XP Home (upgrade) (?)
76477 : XP Home Royalty OEM
76487 : XP Media Center Edition 2005
76487 : XP Pro Royalty OEM
76487 : XP Pro volume license (with '640' channel ID)
76500 : XP MCE 2005 (XP Pro with AD/GPO disabled)
76588 : XP Pro x64 OEM
(This is the first number of the Product ID.)

The second number is Channel ID
-------------------------------------------
000 : Other (includes some retail, upgrade and evaluation versions)
007 : Retail
009 : Not for resale - bundle
011 : XP Home Upgrade
OEM : OEM (This does not specify royalty or normal OEM)
270 : Volume License
296 : MSDN
308/347 : Microsoft Action Pack subscription
335 : Retail
640 through 648, 652 : Volume License (usually generated via 270 CID
in
setupp.ini)
699 : Volume Windows XP Tablet Edition
071 : Possible, but unknown. Possibly an SP2 integrated install of
some
variety.


Hope this is of some help. Sorry for the delay in replying but I
have been having some health issues (chemotherapy).

Ron Martell Duncan B.C. Canada
--
Microsoft MVP (1997 - 2008)
On-Line Help Computer Service
http://onlinehelp.bc.ca

"Anyone who thinks that they are too small to make a difference
has never been in bed with a mosquito."