S
sithlord70
I own a small computer services company and just recently acquired a
new business client with about 8 XP Pro workstations and two 2000
server machines. Most of the machines including the two servers are
from HP and Dell and contain official licensed copies of the OS's from
what I can see. Problem is there are about 5 workstations that their
previous computer guy built and loaded with XP Pro. After a recent
Windows Update which included the Windows Validation update those
machines are now popping up an alert on startup as well as the alert
bubble in the tray that the copy of Windows might be counterfeit.
Obviously I immediately suspected that what he loaded were pirated
licenses. They cannot remember how their former tech handled everything
and they paperwork confirming they purchased the licenses. I had them
contact him to see if he had any documentation of the licensing. He
seems to be of little help and doesn't seem to have any documentation
about the purchases either though he mentioned the name of company he
said bought the licenses from. I can't recall the name of it at the
moment. I suspect they are not legal licenses. If he cannot produce
some proof I told the client that we'll just buy whatever licenses are
needed which they are fine with. They just want everything all legal
like. Coincidently they are a lawyers office
My question is, can I simply buy the licenses and reenter the license
key at each workstation without having to reinstall the OS. If I do
need to reinstall it I keep a copy with me all the time for recovery
console access and reinstalls for my customers with valid keys but
missing CD's. Thank God most OEM's put the OS product key on a COA
sticker on the tower nowadays rather then only on COA sheets because
customers seem to misplace their recovery CD's and paperwork more often
then not I find. In this case the towers are custom and of course there
are no COA stickers on them.
new business client with about 8 XP Pro workstations and two 2000
server machines. Most of the machines including the two servers are
from HP and Dell and contain official licensed copies of the OS's from
what I can see. Problem is there are about 5 workstations that their
previous computer guy built and loaded with XP Pro. After a recent
Windows Update which included the Windows Validation update those
machines are now popping up an alert on startup as well as the alert
bubble in the tray that the copy of Windows might be counterfeit.
Obviously I immediately suspected that what he loaded were pirated
licenses. They cannot remember how their former tech handled everything
and they paperwork confirming they purchased the licenses. I had them
contact him to see if he had any documentation of the licensing. He
seems to be of little help and doesn't seem to have any documentation
about the purchases either though he mentioned the name of company he
said bought the licenses from. I can't recall the name of it at the
moment. I suspect they are not legal licenses. If he cannot produce
some proof I told the client that we'll just buy whatever licenses are
needed which they are fine with. They just want everything all legal
like. Coincidently they are a lawyers office
My question is, can I simply buy the licenses and reenter the license
key at each workstation without having to reinstall the OS. If I do
need to reinstall it I keep a copy with me all the time for recovery
console access and reinstalls for my customers with valid keys but
missing CD's. Thank God most OEM's put the OS product key on a COA
sticker on the tower nowadays rather then only on COA sheets because
customers seem to misplace their recovery CD's and paperwork more often
then not I find. In this case the towers are custom and of course there
are no COA stickers on them.