Cristina said:
Guys,
I need help. I bought an IBM ThinkCentre preloaded with Windows XP Pro. For
many reasons, my OS got corrupted and I had no back up then. Due to the
stupidity of some of my friends, they reinstalled a Windows XP pro...with a
product key different from the one that is written on the Sticker- "proof of
authenticity". So time went by and now i need to update my Win XP. But I
can't update because it says during the update that my WinXP is not
authentic. My question is: how do I activate my "pirated" Win XP using my
authentic product key without reinstallation. By the way, my friends
formatted my hard disk...so the "preloaded" part of the disk is gone.
Your "pirated" version of XP Pro is probably one of the volume
licensed versions that have been spread around.
Product keys are very specifically coded and will only work with the
exact edition and version of Windows XP that they were provided with.
Right-click on "My Computer" and select Properties. Look at the 20
character Product i.d. value that is reported on the last line of the
"Licensed to" section. If the second segment of the Product i.d.
reads OEM then your installed XP Pro is an OEM version and your OEM
product key should work. However if the second segement is numeric
then your installed XP Pro is either a retail or a volume license
version and an OEM product key will not work.
Your IBM Thinkpad probably has an image of the original XP install
stored on a hidden partition on the hard drive (unless your "friends"
removed this partition as part of their installation of the pirated XP
Pro. Normally on a ThinkPad you would access this hidden partition by
pressing the F12 key immediately after you turn the computer.
**WARNING** Using the IBM image will result in a total wipeout of your
installed XP, including all of your user data files etc. Do not do
this unless and until you have an adequate backup (or two) of
everything that is important.
At this point you probably don't have much choice except to do the F12
Restore, unless you want to go to the added expense of purchasing a
new full install version of Windows XP Pro for your system. But you
can do some preparation work ahead of time so that the restore process
can be as painless as possible.
Hopefully your Thinkpad has a CDRW drive. Most of the recent models
do. My daughter's, which is a few years old now, has a combinatation
DVD reader and CDRW drive.
The first thing you need to do is to ensure that you have all of the
CDs necessary in order to reinstall your application programs. These
will be wiped out when you restore to the factory state.
Then you need to make a backup (or two or three) of your important
files, including emails and address book. You can use the Files And
Settings Transfer Wizard in Windows XP to do this for you. First
create a new folder named Transfer on your hard drive. Then launch
the FASTW, choose the "this is the old computer" option and tell it to
safe the results in the Transfer folder you just created. When it
finishes burn the Transfer folder and its contents to a CD.
Next download the complete Service Pack 2 from Microsoft
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/...BE-3B8E-4F30-8245-9E368D3CDB5A&displaylang=en
and burn that to a CD as well.
Finally boot the computer, press the F12 key and replace the Windows
with a fresh copy. Your original XP key from the sticker will work.
Good luck
Ron Martell Duncan B.C. Canada
--
Microsoft MVP
On-Line Help Computer Service
http://onlinehelp.bc.ca
In memory of a dear friend Alex Nichol MVP
http://aumha.org/alex.htm