Product Key Problem

[Bareill]

Hi all. I had to reinstall Windows XP Home Edition on my cousins (Dell) pc.
When I tried to reinstall I was getting the error mesage file pci.sys
corrupted, so I used my own (Medion) legit XP disk. Her disk had a large
circular score on it.The disk is named Reinstallation CD. After getting
everything downloaded and updated I went to to reactivateWindows XP. I
entered the
Product Key number which is on the side of her tower. I'm now getting the
message that this is the wrong number. I was always under the impression
that any XP disk would do as long as you have the proper Product Key. Can
anyone enlighten me on this.
Thank you for your time

 

[Shenan Stanley]

I had to reinstall Windows XP Home Edition on my cousins
(Dell) pc. When I tried to reinstall I was getting the error mesage
file pci.sys corrupted, so I used my own (Medion) legit XP disk. Her
disk had a large circular score on it.The disk is named
Reinstallation CD. After getting everything downloaded and updated I
went to to reactivate Windows XP. I entered the
Product Key number which is on the side of her tower. I'm now getting
the message that this is the wrong number. I was always under the
impression that any XP disk would do as long as you have the proper
Product Key. Can anyone enlighten me on this.

Incorrect. Her CD is an OEM CD and has special drivers for the DELL and
likely other applications that are specific to that PC.
If you had another OEM CD, that MIGHT work - but there is a possibility it
might not.

 

[Bareill]

Incorrect. Her CD is an OEM CD and has special drivers for the DELL and
likely other applications that are specific to that PC.
If you had another OEM CD, that MIGHT work - but there is a possibility it
might not.

--
<- Shenan ->
--
The information is provided "as is", it is suggested you research for
yourself before you take any advice - you are the one ultimately
responsible for your actions/problems/solutions. Know what you are
getting into before you jump in with both feet.

Thank you for the insight Shenan. I ran Belarc
http://www.belarc.com/free_download.html and it has the same key number on
it. So I guess the only thing I can do is to get in touch with Dell to see
if she can purchase a replacement disc.

 

[Bareill]

Hello again Shenan. I found this while browsing
http://www.thetechguide.com/howto/setuppini.html
When I followed the instructions I found out that both XP Home discs are OEM

 

[Shenan Stanley]

Hello again Shenan. I found this while browsing
http://www.thetechguide.com/howto/setuppini.html
When I followed the instructions I found out that both XP Home discs
are OEM

As I said - another OEM disk MAY or MAY NOT work. There is a term "BIOS
Locked". It is entirely possibly you have encountered this.

 

[Nepatsfan]

You may have run into this issue:

http://netscape.com.com/Microsoft+Activation+shift+wont+be+a+pain/2100-1011_3-5595059.html

http://www.edbott.com/weblog/archives/000516.html


You might want to contact the product activation center by phone:

http://www.microsoft.com/licensing/resources/vol/numbers.mspx

 

[D.Currie]

Thank you for the insight Shenan. I ran Belarc
http://www.belarc.com/free_download.html and it has the same key number on
it. So I guess the only thing I can do is to get in touch with Dell to see
if she can purchase a replacement disc.

The number that Belarc reports is the one *you* input, so of course it's the
same. There's no number on the CD itself, just a method for determining
whether the key matches the type of CD you had.

If you had used a generic oem cd, you probably would have been OK. But
customized CDs from the big oems can have further restrictions as to what
machine they'll install on and what code they'll accept. That's not
something MS puts there, it's something the oem does as part of its
customization of the installation CD.

Dell's service seems to be pretty good as far as replacement parts, but if
the computer is out of warranty, you'll probably have to pay something for
the replacement.