Where and what is the Product Key?

[micky]

I've been borrowing a friend's laptop, until I got my own.

Now I notice that on his, I can read clearly 24 of the characters of
the Product Key, but not the first one. It had been worn away by use.

So I dl'd Jelly Bean, and it found a Product ID that had OEM in the
middle of it, but not the 5-groups-of-5 Product Key that's on the
bottom of the computer. Might the owner of a laptop not need the
Product Key some day.

So I dl'd Belarc and it gave an ID with OEM in the middle of it (I
didn't check if the r est was t he same) and a Product Key, 5 groups
of 5. But that was not the same as the one on the sticker on the
bottom.

Oh, I just recall that he bought the machine reconditioned. Is that
the difference?

If so, which is the true Product Key that he will need when it says
"Enter Product Key"?

Thanks a lot.

 

[micky]

I've been borrowing a friend's laptop, until I got my own.

Both of these run XP Home. Sorry for omitting that.

 

[Paul]

I've been borrowing a friend's laptop, until I got my own.

Now I notice that on his, I can read clearly 24 of the characters of
the Product Key, but not the first one. It had been worn away by use.

So I dl'd Jelly Bean, and it found a Product ID that had OEM in the
middle of it, but not the 5-groups-of-5 Product Key that's on the
bottom of the computer. Might the owner of a laptop not need the
Product Key some day.

So I dl'd Belarc and it gave an ID with OEM in the middle of it (I
didn't check if the r est was t he same) and a Product Key, 5 groups
of 5. But that was not the same as the one on the sticker on the
bottom.

Oh, I just recall that he bought the machine reconditioned. Is that
the difference?

If so, which is the true Product Key that he will need when it says
"Enter Product Key"?

Thanks a lot.

There are two keys.

The OEM key is not the one pasted on the exterior of the laptop as
a COA. The OEM key might be the one that Jelly Bean is showing you.

The OEM key works, by SLIC authorization. The BIOS has a table called
SLIC, that says "Dell" in it, or the equivalent of that. The OS understands
the SLIC, and knows the machine is OEM. It activates without a fuss.
It is the combination of the OEM key, and a valid SLIC, that
allows activation.

Now, say the hard drive on the laptop fails, the user is too stupid
to make the recovery CD or DVDs they were supposed to, the recovery
CD or DVDs are no longer for sale, and... all is lost. At that point,
you can take a regular Windows installer disc, and use the key on the
COA sticker. The sticker where the first character is erased in your
case.

Based on your description, I think I'd want to backup the contents of
that laptop well enough, so that the recovery partition on the hard
drive can be used in the future. Make sure at least the recovery
DVDs have been burned, and the DVDs themselves backed up as ISO9660
files, in case you need them in the future. If you don't have a
good COA sticker as a source for the second key, you may lose the
ability to install from a regular Windows CD.

In conclusion, the Jelly Bean value reflects the OEM key. But you
can't use the regular Windows installer CD with the OEM key. You
need the second key off the COA sticker for that. That's my understanding
of how it works.

Paul

 

[micky]

There are two keys.

The OEM key is not the one pasted on the exterior of the laptop as
a COA. The OEM key might be the one that Jelly Bean is showing you.

The OEM key works, by SLIC authorization. The BIOS has a table called
SLIC, that says "Dell" in it, or the equivalent of that. The OS understands
the SLIC, and knows the machine is OEM. It activates without a fuss.
It is the combination of the OEM key, and a valid SLIC, that
allows activation.

Now, say the hard drive on the laptop fails, the user is too stupid
to make the recovery CD or DVDs they were supposed to, the recovery
CD or DVDs are no longer for sale, and... all is lost. At that point,
you can take a regular Windows installer disc, and use the key on the
COA sticker. The sticker where the first character is erased in your
case.

Based on your description, I think I'd want to backup the contents of
that laptop well enough, so that the recovery partition on the hard
drive can be used in the future. Make sure at least the recovery
DVDs have been burned, and the DVDs themselves backed up as ISO9660
files, in case you need them in the future. If you don't have a
good COA sticker as a source for the second key, you may lose the
ability to install from a regular Windows CD.

In conclusion, the Jelly Bean value reflects the OEM key. But you
can't use the regular Windows installer CD with the OEM key. You
need the second key off the COA sticker for that. That's my understanding
of how it works.

Thanks a lot, Paul, and for your usual thorough answer. . I will
start doing all that. Doing it for my laptop was on my list, but
since I may have ruined the COA product key for my friend, I will do
it for him too.

As an alternative, since only one character of the key is obliterated,
adn sine only 24 of the 36 characters are used in keys, I could try 24
different choices if I ever need the COA. Product Key The odds are
I would find it by the 12th try. This would be easy if it said I
had entered an invalid key as soon as I entered it, but my
recollection is that the key is entered and it isn't for 10 minutes or
more that it stops the installation if a bad key was used. So now
I'm upt to 12 x 2 hours or more t edious work to figure out the
missing character.

Is my recollection accurate? That it takes 10 minutes or more from
entering the Product Key before it says it was an invalid key?

 

[Paul]

Thanks a lot, Paul, and for your usual thorough answer. . I will
start doing all that. Doing it for my laptop was on my list, but
since I may have ruined the COA product key for my friend, I will do
it for him too.

As an alternative, since only one character of the key is obliterated,
adn sine only 24 of the 36 characters are used in keys, I could try 24
different choices if I ever need the COA. Product Key The odds are
I would find it by the 12th try. This would be easy if it said I
had entered an invalid key as soon as I entered it, but my
recollection is that the key is entered and it isn't for 10 minutes or
more that it stops the installation if a bad key was used. So now
I'm upt to 12 x 2 hours or more t edious work to figure out the
missing character.

Is my recollection accurate? That it takes 10 minutes or more from
entering the Product Key before it says it was an invalid key?

To be honest with you, I've never tried an invalid key,
to be able to find out.

I suppose I could try that now, in a VM, and see what it says.
I have a VM (virtual machine) here with broken networking,
which should do nicely.

Maybe someone else knows the answer to that, and can give their
test results before I finish

Paul

 

[Bob F]

Thanks a lot, Paul, and for your usual thorough answer. . I will
start doing all that. Doing it for my laptop was on my list, but
since I may have ruined the COA product key for my friend, I will do
it for him too.

As an alternative, since only one character of the key is obliterated,
adn sine only 24 of the 36 characters are used in keys, I could try 24
different choices if I ever need the COA. Product Key The odds are
I would find it by the 12th try. This would be easy if it said I
had entered an invalid key as soon as I entered it, but my
recollection is that the key is entered and it isn't for 10 minutes or
more that it stops the installation if a bad key was used. So now
I'm upt to 12 x 2 hours or more t edious work to figure out the
missing character.

Is my recollection accurate? That it takes 10 minutes or more from
entering the Product Key before it says it was an invalid key?

IIRC, when I mis-typed a product key on XP installation, it just made me retype
it.

 

[micky]

To be honest with you, I've never tried an invalid key,
to be able to find out.

I suppose I could try that now, in a VM, and see what it says.

No, no. That's going fall beyond the call of "duty". (What duty?)

I can try it mysellf when the time comes.

I have a VM (virtual machine) here with broken networking,
which should do nicely.

Maybe someone else knows the answer to that, and can give their
test results before I finish

Enter Bob F, only 12 minutes later.

Well iuf it just makes one retrype, immediately. we're talking about
an extra minute to test all the possibilities if it doesn't erase what
I had typed. And about 10 minutes total, not for each try, if I have
to type or copy and paste each section.

P.S. I'm going to try Belarc on a one-owner-before-me laptop, bought
new by him, not reconditioned, that I just bought and see if the PK
matches what is on the COA label. Tomorrow or this weekend.

 

[Ted]

I've been borrowing a friend's laptop, until I got my own.

Now I notice that on his, I can read clearly 24 of the characters of
the Product Key, but not the first one. It had been worn away by use.

So I dl'd Jelly Bean, and it found a Product ID that had OEM in the
middle of it, but not the 5-groups-of-5 Product Key that's on the
bottom of the computer. Might the owner of a laptop not need the
Product Key some day.

So I dl'd Belarc and it gave an ID with OEM in the middle of it (I
didn't check if the r est was t he same) and a Product Key, 5 groups
of 5. But that was not the same as the one on the sticker on the
bottom.

Oh, I just recall that he bought the machine reconditioned. Is that
the difference?

If so, which is the true Product Key that he will need when it says
"Enter Product Key"?

Thanks a lot.

When I did it on a laptop I found it didn't like the COA key so I used the
OEM installer key that I usually record when I get a new computer. It
accepted the OEM installer key with no problem. Don't recall if I used the
disk or not but I always make a record of both keys when I get a new
computer. Just in case.
Ted

 

[micky]

When I did it on a laptop I found it didn't like the COA key so I used the
OEM installer key that I usually record when I get a new computer. It
accepted the OEM installer key with no problem. Don't recall if I used the
disk or not but I always make a record of both keys when I get a new
computer. Just in case.
Ted

I guess I'd better do that, huh. I did so for my friend's,
yesterday, and I'll probably get to mine today

Probably have to install Belarc (which gave more informatio that Jelly
Bean. Jelly Bean only gave the OEM number, but Belarc gave a number
with OEM in it and a 5 by 5 number (even though it didnt' match the
COA. ) Plus Belarc gives lots of other stuff. For example, I
bought a wi-fi printer, installed it, and I use it, yet it's not
listed in my Control Panel/ Printers. But Belarc found it and gave
the brand and model number.

Thanks.

 

[Twayne]

In

I've been borrowing a friend's laptop, until I got my own.

Now I notice that on his, I can read clearly 24 of the
characters of the Product Key, but not the first one. It
had been worn away by use.

So I dl'd Jelly Bean, and it found a Product ID that had
OEM in the middle of it, but not the 5-groups-of-5
Product Key that's on the bottom of the computer. Might
the owner of a laptop not need the Product Key some day.

So I dl'd Belarc and it gave an ID with OEM in the middle
of it (I didn't check if the r est was t he same) and a
Product Key, 5 groups of 5. But that was not the same
as the one on the sticker on the bottom.

Oh, I just recall that he bought the machine
reconditioned. Is that the difference?

If so, which is the true Product Key that he will need
when it says "Enter Product Key"?

Thanks a lot.

Simply stated, he'll need the key that you got from the key extractors,
which is the one for the current version of the operating system. Every
version of the OS has its own key. That's also the key MS will have on file
from when it was activated.

HTH,

Twayne`

 

[Greegor]

Product Key (capital letters) does not say OEM in it.
That's the "product code" (mostly numeric) that
results from entering the "product key".

Jelly Bean gives you both but the "product key"
can be vastly more important than the "product code".
You may need the "key" and the matching
install CD if you need to reinstall XP from scratch.

CD's and Product Keys were issued in batches.
Each batch of CD's only work with a set range of matching keys.
Typically these matching sets are only for one
make or model of hardware as well.
Very little mix and match will work.

In addition to the SLIC stuff somebody mentioned, OEM
computer restore CDs and even the computers don't
actually use the Product Key on the side of the computer.

A company with 100 identical computers would
typically find that all 100 computers and their
restore CD's automatically use the same Product Key.
(They don't even ask!)

If somebody tries to enter the Product Key from
the sticker on the side, they may end up talking
to MS on the phone to OK the Product Key.
That would then be locked uniquely to that
individual computer. This can cause huge
problems in a fleet of 100 computers.

OEM versions of Windows like they sold
through Tigerdirect, etc. for individual system
builders are locked to the individual computer
through registration.

 

[Twayne]

In Greegor <[email protected]> typed:

....

A company with 100 identical computers would
typically find that all 100 computers and their
restore CD's automatically use the same Product Key.
(They don't even ask!)

Umm, those are called company licenses; the license is purchased for x or xx
or xxx machines and paid for all at once.

If somebody tries to enter the Product Key from
the sticker on the side, they may end up talking
to MS on the phone to OK the Product Key.
That would then be locked uniquely to that
individual computer. This can cause huge
problems in a fleet of 100 computers.

'm afraid that's the case with EVERY Activated copy of a MS OS. If not, and
even if you do get it to work, you'll not get all the updates and hotfixes
offered to you. Every seat in a "fleet" license is paid for; you really need
to do some further research.
lol, I can imagine an IT guy trying to administer to 100 different
licenses on 100 different machines.

Over the next couple of years it's all going to become moot anyway as MS
forces all new purchases onto a cloud to use their software and licenses
start to become a thing of the past. No more updates to mess with, and no
more ability to know what hotfixes and updates have been institued. Their
platform is supposedly finished and they're going to start implementing it
slowly over the next few years, an area at a time.

OEM versions of Windows like they sold
through Tigerdirect, etc. for individual system
builders are locked to the individual computer
through registration.

Here's a few URLs to peruse:
http://www.windowsazure.com/en-us/pricing/free-trial/?WT.mc_id=azurebg_us_sem_branded_trialpage
http://www.datamation.com/entdev/ar...es-Launch-of-Free-Cloud-Based-Office-Apps.htm
http://talkincloud.com/cloud-channe...-google-apps-microsoft-google-set-trade-blows
http://searchenterprisedesktop.tech...-pricing-pushes-small-businesses-to-the-cloud

I didn't find what I was looking for about their timiing but maybe it's
referenced somewhere in one of those.

HTH,

Twayne`

 

[J. P. Gilliver (John)]

In Greegor <[email protected]> typed:

...


Umm, those are called company licenses; the license is purchased for x or xx
or xxx machines and paid for all at once.


'm afraid that's the case with EVERY Activated copy of a MS OS. If not, and
even if you do get it to work, you'll not get all the updates and hotfixes
offered to you. Every seat in a "fleet" license is paid for; you really need
to do some further research.
lol, I can imagine an IT guy trying to administer to 100 different
licenses on 100 different machines.

Is every "seat" in a fleet/company licence individually activated
though, so MS can log the hardware hashes? If not, presumably these are
the ones that are most pirated, as AFAICS MS can't tell if one has been
added that's beyond the number paid for - right?

Over the next couple of years it's all going to become moot anyway as MS
forces all new purchases onto a cloud to use their software and licenses

And places without a permanent connection will just have to go hang?

start to become a thing of the past. No more updates to mess with, and no
more ability to know what hotfixes and updates have been institued. Their
platform is supposedly finished and they're going to start implementing it
slowly over the next few years, an area at a time.

I can certainly see that they'd like to have finite-time licenses, i. e.
the OS (or other s/w) stops working after a set number of years; for
reasons purely of support I could allow for that, but obviously that's
not the main reason. Except possibly in the business sphere, I can't see
that happening in the near future, though, though I can se it as a
possibility in a few years. The mobile 'phone system is already used to
it (initially network provision, now I think OSes too), and that seems
to be leading computing (and everything else in the world, it sometimes
seems!), so it may come.
[]
--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/<1985 MB++G()AL-IS-Ch++(p)Ar@T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf

And if you kill Judi Dench, you can't go back home. - Bill Nighy (on learning
to ride a motorbike [on which she would be side-saddle] for "The Best Exotic
Marigold Hotel"), quoted in Radio Times 18-24 February 2012.