Please help!

[Muffadal Attarwalla]

I lost my windows activation key and I cannot get it from
Dell, the company I bought my computer from and I cannot
get any online help from microsoft because the software
came from Dell and I was told to contact them! Is there
anyway I can have my windows activation key retrieved?
Thanks.

 

[Michael Solomon \(MS-MVP Windows Shell/User\)]

First, if Dell provided the software it's possible no key is necessary since
they usually activate at the factory and BIOS lock the software so it cannot
be installed on another machine.

Second, assuming you were provided with a version that required a key, it
should be on your computer case be even if it's not, if XP was provided to
you by Dell, then Dell knows this is their responsibility.

Assuming XP is still installed on your machine, you can retrieve your key
with the following tool:
http://www.magicaljellybean.com/keyfinder.shtml