Product Keys - what software they belong to

  • Thread starter Thread starter JSpence2003
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JSpence2003

I have a stack of sleeves from my company's ActionPack subscriptions, that
the CDs were removed from and not replaced properly...how can I find out what
software the product key is for? Does Microsoft have a reverse lookup thing?
 
NO. It is not possible to know but a bit of common sense would do the
trick. First determine what software you have got on your system. Then
locate the original CDs for these software. Finally, create a test system
and try installing the software from these CDs using the serial numbers you
have.

The chances are you are likely to have Windows XP Professional and/or Office
Professional products. There aren't many M$ products in common circulation!

hth
 
JSpence2003 said:
I have a stack of sleeves from my company's ActionPack subscriptions, that
the CDs were removed from and not replaced properly...how can I find out
what
software the product key is for? Does Microsoft have a reverse lookup
thing?
Click to expand...

No, but system audit utilities, such as Belarc Advisor, will list installed
keys, and that should give you a starting point.
 
ybS2okj said:
NO. It is not possible to know but a bit of common sense would do the
trick. First determine what software you have got on your system. Then
locate the original CDs for these software. Finally, create a
test system and try installing the software from these CDs using the
serial numbers you have.

The chances are you are likely to have Windows XP Professional and/or
Office Professional products. There aren't many M$ products in
common circulation!
Click to expand...

Oh, but there are!

My Action Pack binder has maybe 100 Microsoft products. Let me see:

MS Project 2002
MS Project Guides
MS Sharepoint Services Standard 2003
MS SQL Server Reporting Svcs
MS Publisher 2003
MS Mappoint
MS Visio
MS FrontPage
MS Windows Server Enterprise
MS One Note
MS Virtual PC
MS SQL Server
MS Office Live Comm Server
MS Sharepoint Portal Server
MS Exchange Enterprise Server
MS Mobile Info Server

And that's just one section of six.

About 1/2 of these have activation codes.
 
How many people are idiots like you to accumulate all these software for
fun? Serious users have to earn a living. Not all are doing computing
as a hobby!!!
 
EN59CVH said:
How many people are idiots like you to accumulate all these software for
fun? Serious users have to earn a living. Not all are doing computing
as a hobby!!!
Click to expand...

Looks like the green-eyed monster has bitten another consumer not able to
qualify as a Microsoft partner and is jealous someone else has more money.
Please explain where HeyBub stated that the action pack was for his personal
or home use rather than for his business or "my" really referred to his
employer's copy. Besides, if he has the money, what do you care where he
spends it? Yeah, you drive a Kia and someone else with more money buys a
Lexus. So what. They've probably spent a portion of their income that is
the same as yours. Amazing how everyone wants to be rich but then berates
anyone who already is.

"common" is defined by how the populace is defined to which the term
applies. All the OP said was "There aren't many M$ products in common
circulation". Well, when speaking of Windows, the topic of this forum, that
statement is obviously false even with just consumers who buy individual
Microsoft products to use on a Microsoft operating system. Often it only
takes the need for a few of Microsoft's products to realize that a
subscription (*if* you can qualify) is a cheaper solution.

Maybe when you get a job or a better job to make more money or have worked
long enough to accrue some assets then you, too, can afford to qualify for a
subscription and pay for it. Until then, keep remembering to push those
fries before ringing up the sale.
 
EN59CVH said:
How many people are idiots like you to accumulate all these software
for fun? Serious users have to earn a living. Not all are doing
computing as a hobby!!!
Click to expand...

Hmm. I do use these to earn a living - it's not a hobby and I can't in my
wildest dreams fashion how you would conclude otherwise. I guess there are
just some people whose brain operates differently from normal folk.

The Action Pack subscription costs $200/year.

In addition to the stuff I mentioned, it include ten licenses for XP-Pro and
ten licenses for MS Office. Just those two packages are worth several
thousand dollars for our small software company. (Not of interest here, but
it also includes a like number of licenses for Vista and Win 7). The
subscription also includes the full MS Customer Relations Management, which,
if we bought all the options, would cost over $50,000. Even a minimum
configuration begins at five grand.

True, the licenses are limited to:

* Training,
* Development, and
* Internal use

and cannot be sold or transferred out of the company.
 
EN59CVH said:
How many people are idiots like you to accumulate all these software for
fun? Serious users have to earn a living. Not all are doing computing
as a hobby!!!
Click to expand...

the Action Pack and other MSDN kits are for people like developers and
writers, who use most of the stuff in it to earn a living.

It's not a hobbyist package, by any means.
 
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