Windows XP Product Key specific to CD?

[Guest]

Hello everyone, I'm helping a friend clean up his daughters' computers. I've
done windows reinstall on one computer, which went fine. However, he's lost
the install cd for the other computer. The second computer does have an oem
sticker on it with an activation/product key (sorry can't remember what its
called).

Can I use the physical install cd from the first computer on the second
computer and activate it with that second computer's windows key? I hope I'm
making sense.

I'm wondering if I will just be told, during installation, that the key is
invalid.

 

[Donny Broome]

Yes, as long as the media is the exact same version of XP. (OEM, Retail,
Volume Licensing, etc.)


--

 

[Guest]

Great, thanks Donny. I'm going to try it out tonight.

oneils.

 

[Larry Samuels]

Not if it is a brand name PC and the second PC is a different brand. You
can't use a generic disk on any brand name,and you can't mix brands as it
will break activation. You can call the activation hotline in such a
case,but they may refuse to activate the pc.

--
Larry Samuels Associate Expert
MS-MVP (2001-2005)
Unofficial FAQ for Windows Server 2003 at
http://pelos.us/SERVER.htm
Expert Zone-

 

[Larry Samuels]

Hey Donny,
They changed the rules on us in Feb 2005--you can no longer use a generic
disk on a branded system and have it activate automatically.

--
Larry Samuels Associate Expert
MS-MVP (2001-2005)
Unofficial FAQ for Windows Server 2003 at
http://pelos.us/SERVER.htm
Expert Zone-

 

[Guest]

In many cases the branded disc supplied WITH a branded PC wil no longer even
install with the supplied key, let alone activate. HP and Packard-Bell are
cases in-point.

That's how bad it's got, and on a global scale, it's costing legitimate
users time and money.

 

[Guest]

Hi guys, they are both the same brand. The brand is called "Mind Computers"
or something like that. It was a short lived brand carried by Compusmart a
few years back - at least that is what I remember of it. I think I might go
for it and activate over phone if I have to. Do you foresee any problems with
that?

oneils.

 

[Larry Samuels]

Should be no problem

--
Larry Samuels Associate Expert
MS-MVP (2001-2005)
Unofficial FAQ for Windows Server 2003 at
http://pelos.us/SERVER.htm
Expert Zone-