Where do I stick my license key?

[mike]

It's a VERY long story...
I have a dell Dimension 2300 with xp home that's gone corrupt.
I don't have the Administrator
password, so I've limited access to clean things up.
I decided to just reload it.

It won't install from the i386 partition on the hard drive.
Complains that it needs drivers.cab and mstask.ini.
When I borrow those from another similar Dell machine, it gets a lot further
but has problems: sxs.dll finds syntax errors in default.man...

Ok, I give up.
I cloned the drive from a Dimension 4550 and after a lot of
messing around with drivers, it appears to work and msoobe
claims it's activated.

Now, I have two machines with the same license key.

I have two keys for the 2300. One from the sticker on the case
and a different one extracted from the registry. I "understand"
that's normal for an OEM preinstall??? I also saved the wpa.dbl
file from the original disk.

So, to make it all legal, which key do I use and how do I get it
into the right place...without screwing up the activation?

What's the risk of doing nothing? Am I likely to encounter downloading
or activation-related problems later?

 

[mike]

Use the recovery CDs (that you were supposed to create after getting the
computer) to reinstall the original image that came on the computer when
you bought it. Or hit the F key mentioned during bootup to run their
recovery manager from the hidden partition on the hard disk if you've
been lazy or forgetful in following the manual's description on how to
burn the recovery CDs from that hidden partition.

You cloned an OS for one hardware config onto another host of a
different hardware config. You had to install all the drivers to
support the real hardware on the Dimension 2300 because it is different
than the hardware in the Dimension 4550. That it works means you got
lucky ... for now. Personally I'd be leery of this recovery method,
especially considering the Dell garbage "utilities" that get included in
their bastardized version of Windows.

One key is the product ID. It identifies the product, not the license.
I suspect that is what you got out of the registry. The other key is
the license or product key used during installation. You never
mentioned WHAT you used to "extract" the "key(s)" from the registry.
Belarc Advisor will show you both as "prodID (prodKey)". The 2nd one is
what you need to use as the license key. Obviously you use the license
key on the sticker on the host where you want to install that license
key. The prodKey shown by Belarc (or whatever you used to "extract"
whatever key) when ran on the 2300 will be the prodKey for the 4550. I
don't know why you are trying to extract the product key from the
registry (which is for the OS instance that you cloned from the 4550).
You need to use the product key on the sticker on the 2300.

Reactivate your cloned Dimension 2300 so you can enter its product key
(from its sticker). See http://support.microsoft.com/kb/810892.

Why not just reboot and use the F key to run their recovery manager to
restore the sales-time image onto the hard disk? Or call Dell to have
them send you the recovery CDs (because you didn't bother to make them
beforehand) for that model at about a cost of $20? Would be a safer
setup than hoping a clone job will work on different hardware.

Why is it so HARD to get a direct answer to a simple question?
Am I the first person in the universe to acquire a USED computer that
didn't come with reinstall CD's?
Am I the only person in the universe to stumble over the INCREDIBLE
number of roadblocks MS intentionally installed to waste my time?
Do you think we ask complex questions because we're too stupid to try
the simple stuff? Or we can't type "google"?
I may be forgetful, but lazy I'm NOT!
Things would go more smoothly if helpers would assume that we
had half a brain and answered the question asked before rambling
off on why we should do something different. Extra help is good
as long as it's EXTRA and not INSTEAD OF.

I extracted the license key from the 2300 using SIW.
Yes it's the LICENSE KEY because it is in the correct format and the
label said LICENSE KEY, NOT PRODUCT KEY which was a different number.
(Yes, it's different from the license key on the 4550)
AND different from the license key on the COA stuck to the side of the 2300.

Also, the license key extracted from the 4550 is different from the
license key on the COA on the 4550
I have experience with Gateway systems where the license key on the COA
wouldn't work with ANY of the XP CD's I was using for the reinstall, but
the extracted key WOULD work and the system activated. I made the rash
assumption that this is normal so the system builders don't have to
enter a key for every system they configure. But I digress...

Yes, there is a hidden partition on the 2300, but it's a diagnostics
partition, not a restore partition.

There is an i386 directory on the 2300. I assumed it was put there by
the factory for restore purposes, because it is 900MB of bloat and dell
stuff. It has ALL the files that exist in the i386 directory on a normal
XP install CD, but has only the LANG subdirectory of the i386 directory.

I can't help that the previous owner didn't pass original cd's on to me.
Doesn't make ANY sense to pay $20 for something you already have license
to use and put it on a $2 computer. I need to fix this with what I have
or can get for free.

In the past, I've been able to create a new install CD by extracting
everything
from another XP install CD, overlaying the i386 directory from the target
machine and reburning the CD.
That ain't gonna work here because the i386 directory won't fit on a CD.
And if it won't install in place, it probably won't from the CD.
If there were a tutorial on which OEM parts need to be extracted
to rebuild an install CD, that
would be great to know.

Thanks,
mike

 

[Nepatsfan]

It's a VERY long story...
I have a dell Dimension 2300 with xp home that's gone corrupt.
I don't have the Administrator
password, so I've limited access to clean things up.
I decided to just reload it.

It won't install from the i386 partition on the hard drive.
Complains that it needs drivers.cab and mstask.ini.
When I borrow those from another similar Dell machine, it gets a lot further
but has problems: sxs.dll finds syntax errors in default.man...

Ok, I give up.
I cloned the drive from a Dimension 4550 and after a lot of
messing around with drivers, it appears to work and msoobe
claims it's activated.

Now, I have two machines with the same license key.

I have two keys for the 2300. One from the sticker on the case
and a different one extracted from the registry. I "understand"
that's normal for an OEM preinstall??? I also saved the wpa.dbl
file from the original disk.

So, to make it all legal, which key do I use and how do I get it
into the right place...without screwing up the activation?

What's the risk of doing nothing? Am I likely to encounter downloading
or activation-related problems later?

You say that XP Home Edition is installed on the Dimension 2300. What version of
XP is installed on the 4550? If XP Pro or Media Center is installed on the 4550,
you're technically violating the EULA by having it also installed on the 2300.

If XP Home is installed on your 4550, do you have an installation CD for that
computer? If you do, why not use that to fix the 2300.

I'm guessing that the original XP installation on the 2300 no longer exists. Did
you run SIW.exe on the 2300 before you tried to fix XP? Did the CD key match the
one you get when running SIW on the 4550?

Bottom line is that when the correct installation procedure is followed a Dell
running XP should never require activation. The CD key that you see when running
a program such as SIW, Magic Jelly Bean, and Belarc Advisor will be identical on
most Dell computers running the same version of Windows XP. And the CD key that
shows up in those programs shouldn't match the CD key on the sticker.

That said, while your approach to fixing this problem was a bit unorthodox, if
both computer are running XP Home Edition you should be fine with respect to
updates and downloading that requires validation.

Good luck

Nepatsfan

 

[mike]

You say that XP Home Edition is installed on the Dimension 2300. What version of
XP is installed on the 4550? If XP Pro or Media Center is installed on the 4550,
you're technically violating the EULA by having it also installed on the 2300.

If XP Home is installed on your 4550, do you have an installation CD for that
computer? If you do, why not use that to fix the 2300.

I'm guessing that the original XP installation on the 2300 no longer exists. Did
you run SIW.exe on the 2300 before you tried to fix XP? Did the CD key match the
one you get when running SIW on the 4550?

Bottom line is that when the correct installation procedure is followed a Dell
running XP should never require activation. The CD key that you see when running
a program such as SIW, Magic Jelly Bean, and Belarc Advisor will be identical on
most Dell computers running the same version of Windows XP. And the CD key that
shows up in those programs shouldn't match the CD key on the sticker.

That said, while your approach to fixing this problem was a bit unorthodox, if
both computer are running XP Home Edition you should be fine with respect to
updates and downloading that requires validation.

Good luck

Nepatsfan

Thank you very much for an actual concise answer to my question.
That's rare here and I really appreciate it.

Guessing often gets us headed in the wrong direction.
The original install on the 2300 does work. I just didn't have the
account passwords to make it usable. I could have reinstalled it in
ten minutes of "user time wasted". Instead, it took me a couple of
dozen hours to research, crack the passwords, etc. just so I could log
in and delete the old accounts, remove 15 gigabytes of junk programs,
remove viruses, repair what the previous user screwed up.

That's what I've been doin' while the other responder has been lecturing
me.

I still don't have the means to reinstall it, but I can backup the
baseline and restore that If I ever need it.

It's up, it's workin' and there's two days of my life I'll never get back.

Thanks, again,
mike

 

[mike]

Getting used hardware does not entitle you to any software on the hard
disks. Unless the operating system was included, what you got was a
polluted hard disk. The seller would have to provide the install or
restore CDs or the restore partition must still be intact to let you
install a legit license.

It looks like you got screwed. You bought used hardware but no
software. Then you made an illegal clone of the licensed copy of
Windows from another host. If the operating system was supposed to be
included in the sale/transfer of the used 2300 computer then contact the
seller to get it. Just what came with the 2300 to qualify that a
license of Windows was included with it? The sticker probably shows it
was supposed to include an OEM version (since the OEM license can't be
used on another host) but that doesn't mean the seller actually included
the OS. If you don't have a means to install a legit copy of Windows
that was included in the sale then something was wrong with that sale,
or what you are trying to do with the license from the 4550.


If the seller actually provided the operating system on install CDs,
restore CDs, or the hidden partition was still usable (which the seller
should've used before selling the computer if the OS was included in the
sale) then there would be no difficulties to install. What you are
trying to accomplish is using 2 licenses when it appears you only have 1
legit license.


I was talking about the instructions in the manual (if you even got one
with the used computer, but another should be available online) that
tell you how to create the restore CDs (if and only if they aren't
normally included with the computer and which should have been
surrendered by the seller). A *lot* of users never read the
instructions on creating the restore CDs. They buy the prebuild
computer with the pre-installed OS and never build the bridge backward
to restore.


Why is it so hard to read the Microsoft article? Are we to assume that
you already read it? Are we to assume everything that you already did?
In that case, we would also assume that you already knew the answer. If
you don't tell what you did, no one else is going to know.


Is the extracted license key (never heard of "SIW") the one that you
used when reactivating the cloned copy of the OS on the 2300? If so,
did the reactivation complete okay? If not, did you try reactivating
using the license key on the sticker?


Bummer. How come the used computer didn't come with the install CDs if
it actually included a copy of a license in the transfer?


The i386 subdirectory on my install CD (Windows XP Pro) is only 546MB in
size. All the files together are 658MB (to fit on 1 CD). Because
you're asking about a Dell, there is a lot of other Dell-specific
utilities that are included. I don't remember how many install CDs
there are for a Dell (I don't own any but just have worked on some).

The mstask.ini is a 2-line text file. The driver.cab is under the i386
folder but is it singular, not the plural "drivers", in the filename.
Because Dell customizes the setup for each model, it is probable that a
driver.cab for one model doesn't contain all the drivers needed for all
their other models, and they may have customized it beyond the default
set of drivers supplied by Microsoft.


The license transfer requires the seller provide any and all
installation media for the OS. If it was an OEM license, the seller
isn't allowed to use it on another host, anyway (well, not legally).
That they didn't give you a means to install the OS means they did not
include a legitimate copy of the OS. You got hardware. That's all.


What you have is ONE legitimate license on your 4550. The sticker on
the 2300 means that another legitimate license was supposed to accompany
the transfer of that computer - but it didn't. Your recourse is to get
the seller to find the installation media or renegotiate the sale. If
the computer cost only $2, you bought junked hardware and that rarely
includes any licenses to any software.


I'm now very suspicious that you are attempting to steal a license for
Windows and am not going to help you further your goal of acquiring an
illegal license of Windows. You didn't get one with the used 2300 and
am trying to use the clone from the 4550 along with the sticker on the
2300 (or the key from the registry that was generated on the 4550) to
get a 2nd license that you never got.

Read the Microsoft KB article. You can also run through the activation
wizard and then just call the FREE telephone number for a FREE incident
call to Microsoft to see if they are willing to give you a new number to
activate your iffy clone of Windows. But then you came here because you
already know their answer.

Interesting that attempting to make an install comply with the license terms
leads you to accuse me of stealing. I gave you the facts. Create
whatever fantasy you wish, just don't blame it on me.

Also interesting the leaps of (il)logic that you make.


Thank you again for the time you spent lecturing me.
Let's take a look at what you said...
Say I have a brand new computer. I bought it directly from Microsoft
with a valid license and restore partition on the HD. I have a folder
full of licenses and agreements. I had my lawyer sit down with MS lawyers
and verified that everything is legal.

I get a computer virus. The ONLY thing it does is corrupt a file
on the restore partition that causes the restore to fail.
I no longer have restore media.

According to your interpretation, ALL my licenses are invalidated
and I can no longer legally use my computer. God forbid I should sell
it to someone.
I should go directly to the jail and ask to be let in.

Anyway, we're done here. I think I'm about as amused as I'm
gonna get.

Please take a look at the other responder to this thread.
That's how you answer a simple question with a simple answer.
Learn from it. Embrace the technique. Return your judge's robe
to the rental place.
We'll all be better for it.
mike has left the building...