Validation key states illegle Windows software!

[Guest]

Hi, can anyone help me? I bought a laptop at an auction approx 8 months ago
with a valid Windows XP pro key attached to the laptop. At the time of
purchase the laptop had been formated but I received a windows XP Pro CD with
it. Windows worked fine until the validation tool update was downloaded and
now it states that I have an illegal copy of windows! I have looked into
this a bit with microsoft and it seems the only thing I can do is pay for
another copy of windows! - which i really don't want to do. Is there any way
I can get this to work? Or download another copy of Windows XP pro and use
my serial currently on the laptop without having to purchase another copy??
If anyone could help that would be great.

 

[Carey Frisch [MVP]]

The product key affixed to your laptop is only valid
with the laptop manufacturer's recommended restore
method. Contact the manufacturer of the laptop
for assistance in obtaining their restore CD.

--
Carey Frisch
Microsoft MVP
Windows - Shell/User
Microsoft Community Newsgroups
news://msnews.microsoft.com/

---------------------------------------------------------------------------­----------------

:

| Hi, can anyone help me? I bought a laptop at an auction approx 8 months ago
| with a valid Windows XP pro key attached to the laptop. At the time of
| purchase the laptop had been formated but I received a windows XP Pro CD with
| it. Windows worked fine until the validation tool update was downloaded and
| now it states that I have an illegal copy of windows! I have looked into
| this a bit with microsoft and it seems the only thing I can do is pay for
| another copy of windows! - which i really don't want to do. Is there any way
| I can get this to work? Or download another copy of Windows XP pro and use
| my serial currently on the laptop without having to purchase another copy??
| If anyone could help that would be great.

 

[Jupiter Jones [MVP]]

Is the CD genuine or a copy?
There is no legitimate source for a copied or burned CD.

See if this applies:
http://www3.telus.net/dandemar/invalpk.htm
If the above applies, you purchased a computer with pirated Windows and not
purchase a valid Windows license.

If the above does not describe your circumstances, post back with more
details.

 

[steam3801]

Hi, can anyone help me? I bought a laptop at an auction approx 8 months ago
with a valid Windows XP pro key attached to the laptop. At the time of
purchase the laptop had been formated but I received a windows XP Pro CD with
it. Windows worked fine until the validation tool update was downloaded and
now it states that I have an illegal copy of windows! I have looked into
this a bit with microsoft and it seems the only thing I can do is pay for
another copy of windows! - which i really don't want to do. Is there any way
I can get this to work? Or download another copy of Windows XP pro and use
my serial currently on the laptop without having to purchase another copy??
If anyone could help that would be great.

Buying the laptop at auction is no guarentee that the version you have
is legal - even though there was a key code with it, and you had the
CD.

The key attached to the laptop is from the manufacturer of the laptop,
and will only work with the restoration CD(s) supplied by the
manufacturer for your particular laptop and supplied with the laptop.

Download the (free) program Belarc Advisor
(http://www.belarc.com/free_download.html) install and run it - check
if the CD key listed as being installed on your laptop is the same as
the key displayed witrh the laptop - I would hazard a guess that it's
not.

 

[... et al.]

Note that the OP writes "the laptop had been formated but I received a
windows XP Pro CD", whatever that may mean.
I think most laptops nowadays come with an
Manufacture-branded-bastardized OEM version of WinXP.

Is the CD genuine or a copy?
There is no legitimate source for a copied or burned CD.

So if a computer-manufacturer doesn't supply any OS-discs with the
machine, but do have a software-tool to burn backup-CD's [or DVD's] from
the HDD's recovery partition, these become ilegitimate sources if you
hand them over together with a computer you sell?
Come again.

--
"... all the loathsome nonsense that goes by the name of patriotism
- how passionately I hate them!"

Please followup in the newsgroup.
E-mail address is invalid due to spam-control.

 

[Jone Doe]

Hi, can anyone help me? I bought a laptop at an auction approx 8 months
ago
with a valid Windows XP pro key attached to the laptop. At the time of
purchase the laptop had been formated but I received a windows XP Pro CD
with
it. Windows worked fine until the validation tool update was downloaded
and
now it states that I have an illegal copy of windows! I have looked into
this a bit with microsoft and it seems the only thing I can do is pay for
another copy of windows! - which i really don't want to do. Is there any
way
I can get this to work? Or download another copy of Windows XP pro and
use
my serial currently on the laptop without having to purchase another
copy??
If anyone could help that would be great.

Follow the steps to make it legal. And remember "Let the buyer beware" next
time.

 

[NoStop]

Hi, can anyone help me? I bought a laptop at an auction approx 8 months
ago
with a valid Windows XP pro key attached to the laptop. At the time of
purchase the laptop had been formated but I received a windows XP Pro CD
with
it. Windows worked fine until the validation tool update was downloaded
and
now it states that I have an illegal copy of windows! I have looked into
this a bit with microsoft and it seems the only thing I can do is pay for
another copy of windows! - which i really don't want to do. Is there any
way
I can get this to work? Or download another copy of Windows XP pro and
use my serial currently on the laptop without having to purchase another
copy?? If anyone could help that would be great.

Just forget about that toy operating system and start using a real operating
system, such as GNU/Linux. It's free, works far better and is a thousand
times more secure. Besides, thousands of free software packages are
available for the many distros available.


--
When Microsoft stops treating its customers as thieves, I might consider
running Windoze again. Of course, I wouldn't allow it to access the
Internet. Windoze has no place on the Internet.

View Some Common Linux Desktops ...
http://linclips.crocusplains.com/index.php

 

[Richard Urban]

Add to that the fact that it will NOT run some important programs (under any
form of emulation) that you may need to run from within Windows - AutoCAD
being one of them!

--
Regards,

Richard Urban
Microsoft MVP Windows Shell/User

Quote from George Ankner:
If you knew as much as you think you know,
You would realize that you don't know what you thought you knew!

 

[Jupiter Jones [MVP]]

As you suggest, we do not really know what the OP means by a "windows XP Pro
CD", which is why I asked for more details.

I would not buy such a computer, or if I did, I would pay based on no OS
included.
Without original CDs, I will not pay for an OS.

The CDs you describe seem like an exception to what I said.
Unfortunately many OEMs go this route to save $ for themselves and their
customers.
Until customers demand better, they will continue to get 3rd rate recovery
methods.

The CD is not relevant anyways since it is essentially a copy of the
partition.
No different than if you sell me a program with the original CD also give me
the copy of the CD you burned as a back up.
The seller is effectively selling the original and furnishing the copies as
is normally required by a licensing agreement.

--
Jupiter Jones [MVP]
http://www3.telus.net/dandemar
http://www.dts-l.org

Note that the OP writes "the laptop had been formated but I received a
windows XP Pro CD", whatever that may mean.
I think most laptops nowadays come with an Manufacture-branded-bastardized
OEM version of WinXP.

Is the CD genuine or a copy?
There is no legitimate source for a copied or burned CD.

So if a computer-manufacturer doesn't supply any OS-discs with the
machine, but do have a software-tool to burn backup-CD's [or DVD's] from
the HDD's recovery partition, these become ilegitimate sources if you hand
them over together with a computer you sell?
Come again.

--
"... all the loathsome nonsense that goes by the name of patriotism
- how passionately I hate them!"

Please followup in the newsgroup.
E-mail address is invalid due to spam-control.

 

[... et al.]

As you suggest, we do not really know what the OP means by a "windows XP Pro
CD", which is why I asked for more details.

I would not buy such a computer, or if I did, I would pay based on no OS
included.
Without original CDs, I will not pay for an OS.

The CDs you describe seem like an exception to what I said.

Unfortunately, just like you say below, unfortunately that is the way
many laptops are sold to the general public, including to a relative of
mine last month in spite of my qautions. First time we started the
machine /it/ urged us to burn backup discs, because none came with the
machine.

Unfortunately many OEMs go this route to save $ for themselves and their
customers.

Rather in competition with other OEM manufacturers because the
/customers/ doesn't have much choise when going to a general electronics
outlet or computer-store where many(most?) laptops are sold like that,
and the sales-staff, if asked about such odd things as 'do you get real
MS WinXP CD's, OEM CD's or is that just all on the HDD?', are more or
less clueless.

Until customers demand better, they will continue to get 3rd rate recovery
methods.

The CD is not relevant anyways since it is essentially a copy of the
partition.
No different than if you sell me a program with the original CD also give me
the copy of the CD you burned as a back up.
The seller is effectively selling the original and furnishing the copies as
is normally required by a licensing agreement.

The backup "windows XP Pro CD" might have become *very* relevant when
the computer was sold by the second half of what i quoted from the OP's
statment, that "the laptop had been formated" which may or may not have
actually ment the original owner of the machine had repartitioned the
HardDiskDrive so that the 'restore partition' was no more. Not in this
case perhaps, but also after a HDD have been replaced the self-burnt
backup-disk(s) will be the only *legitimate source* of the original
WinXP OS for that machine.

--
"You know, capitalism is above the law.
It say, "It don't count 'less it sells.""

Please followup in the newsgroup.
E-mail address is invalid due to spam-control.