Product Key problem with installing XP Home

[Gregg]

Currently deployed overseas and a friends laptop crashed.
He tried to use his restore disks, to no avail. I found
someone with a install disk for XP home and used that
reformat and start the install process. But for some
reason XP home keeps saying his product key is invalid.
The laptop originally came with XP Home on it, and the
product key I'm using is the one stuck to the underside of
it. Is it maybe not accepting that Product key simply
because it is the not same version of XP home?? He has a
HP laptop so assume he has a bundled XP Home install disk
which is catered to the HP laptop. Whereas the version we
are trying to install is a generic off the shelf version.
Any ideas?

 

[jim]

I have the same problem, have just installed the xp disc.
and run through installation up to the point of installing
windows. The error msg saysone of the components that
windows needs is to continue set up could not be
installed? Have tried a few times now but i am stuck!!
Any ideas where we go now?

Jim

 

[McSanya]

This is almost my problem too. Could recover the Toshiba
laptop with the Recivery CD provided, got to get off shelf
WinXP Home edition. Setup ran smooth to the last
stage: "Finalizing installation->saving settings" then
stopped and computer turned off.
What to do?
Thanks.
McSanya

 

[Randy Byrne [MVP]]

The XP Home that came with the laptop was an OEM version. The XP Home from the friend
is a retail version. The CDKEYs are NOT interchangeable.

--

Randy Byrne
Microsoft MVP (Windows Technologies)
http://support.microsoft.com/support/mvp
Associate Expert
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/expertzone
Do not email me, please use the newsgroup so that everyone benefits.

 

[Bruce Chambers]

Greetings --

You're trying to use an OEM Product Key to install from a retail
installation CD. This won't work. Product Keys are bound to the
specific type of CD/license (OEM, Volume, retail, full, or upgrade)
with which they are purchased. For example, a WinXP Home OEM Product
Key won't work for any retail version of WinXP Home, or for any
version of WinXP Pro, and vice versa. An upgrade's Product Key cannot
be used with a full version CD, and vice versa. They cannot be mixed &
matched.


Bruce Chambers

--
Help us help you:



You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don't ever count on
having both at once. -- RAH