XP Licenses and CD Images

[Mike Lang]

Hi all,

Over the last 5 years I've accumulated a number of defunct XP PCs - mainly
notebooks. I have at least 10 or 12 VALID Xp licenses in a mix of Home and
Pro from various sources. Although I have a Windows XP Pro and Windows XP
Home CD, these are quite old and do not seem to match the licenses I have.

I've tried on a number of occasions to use these license keys in clean
Windows XP installs (to stay legal) but always end up with the install
telling me that the license is not valid for that version.

My question is:
Is there any way of telling which version a license number is for?
Is there anyway of getting a valid CD image for the identified version or is
there a way of forcing XP to accept the keys. I don't mind going through the
Microsoft phone based authentication procedure AFTER I've installed the XP
version.

Please bear in mind the fact that I wish to stay legal on this.

Thanks

Mike

 

[PA Bear [MS MVP]]

OEM CDs are permanently tied to the machine they came with, Mike.

 

[cornedbeef007-groups]

Hi all,

Over the last 5 years I've accumulated a number of defunct XP PCs - mainly
notebooks. I have at least 10 or 12 VALID Xp licenses in a mix of Home and
Pro from various sources. Although I have a Windows XP Pro and Windows XP
Home CD, these are quite old and do not seem to match the licenses I have..

I've tried on a number of occasions to use these license keys in clean
Windows XP installs (to stay legal) but always end up with the install
telling me that the license is not valid for that version.

My question is:
Is there any way of telling which version a license number is for?
Is there anyway of getting a valid CD image for the identified version oris
there a way of forcing XP to accept the keys. I don't mind going through the
Microsoft phone based authentication procedure AFTER I've installed the XP
version.

Please bear in mind the fact that I wish to stay legal on this.

Thanks

Mike

The COA (Certificate of Authenticity) which has the key on it
identifies the type of disk it matches.
If it's a full install key, then the red sticker with the key printed
on it tells you what sort of disk it matches.

IOW, if you've got ALL the stuff you need, then you don't have to ask
here.

Also, if the licenses you've acquired over the years are oem, when the
machine they were on died, so did your license.

Good Luck.

 

[Daave]

Hi all,

Over the last 5 years I've accumulated a number of defunct XP PCs -
mainly notebooks. I have at least 10 or 12 VALID Xp licenses in a mix
of Home and Pro from various sources. Although I have a Windows XP
Pro and Windows XP Home CD, these are quite old and do not seem to
match the licenses I have.
I've tried on a number of occasions to use these license keys in clean
Windows XP installs (to stay legal) but always end up with the install
telling me that the license is not valid for that version.

My question is:
Is there any way of telling which version a license number is for?

Do you mean Product Key? Not unless it's a Volume License Key. It
doesn't sound like that's your situation!

Is there anyway of getting a valid CD image for the identified
version

Yes, but it's generally frowned upon. And frankly, if you have to ask,
you're probably not sophisitcated enough to avoid other CD images that
are very similar but not valid and often riddled with malware.

or is there a way of forcing XP to accept the keys.

It's possible to create your own installation CD, conceivably turning a
Retail CD into an OEM one, but you will still need a valid key!

I don't
mind going through the Microsoft phone based authentication procedure
AFTER I've installed the XP version.

That probably won't even happen in your case. As long as you have a
vaild Product Key, automatic activation over the Net should occur.

Please bear in mind the fact that I wish to stay legal on this.

Your choices are:

1. If the PC came with a hidden recovery partition on the hard drive,
simply use it!

2. Contact the PC manufacturers. They might ship you the proper
installation media for a modest fee.

3. If #2 doesn't work, this site might help:

http://www.restoredisks.com/

4. Obtain generic OEM install CDs -- one for Home and the other for Pro.
Then simply use the Product ID on the COA sticker on the PC. Perhaps you
can borrow these disks from friends, neighbors, relatives, or
colleagues. If not, they are still available for sale. Newegg.com is one
online retailer you can use. Although it's possible to find images for
these CDs online (albeit not authorized by Microsoft), I'd caution
against it for the reason mentioned above -- it's just too easy to get
images riddled with malware. If you insist on doing that anyway, it's
imperative you spend a lot of time researching, paying special attention
to things like MD5 hash values, but again, it's not recommended! There
are some here who will say it's not legal. I'm more on the pragmatic
side that it's not SAFE. If these PCs have licenses to run XP and you
have the associated Product Keys (found on the COA stickers), that meets
the ethical test as far as I'm concerned. But borrowing an actual
installation CD from someone you know is much safer than downloading an
image of it! And since there are no legit avenues of download (even if
the final *outcome* is above board), you will see few people
recommending it.

HTH.

 

[Joe Grover]

As others have mentioned, it's quite possible that the keys you have
accumulated will not do you any good anywhere. OEM keys are tied to the
machine they were installed on using the BIOS. If you have an OEM license
key for XP Home from an old Dell Optiplex and try to use it to install XP
Home on a Compaq Presario, it isn't going to work. Retail license keys will
work, though you will probably run into problems if the keys have previously
been activated on other hardware (automatic activation won't occur). So it
comes down to the keys you have more than the CDs. You coud have the actual
OEM XP install CD that came with a computer, but unless you have the license
key for *that* computer, the CD won't do you any good.

Joe

 

[Mike Lang]

Thanks for the replies everybody.

I understand the principle of the OEM key being tied to the machine by
virtue of identifying itself with hardware features (hence the need to
re-authorise after changing a motherboard) and as I said I have no problem
with going through a phone/internet re-authorisation with Microsoft once XP
has been re-installed.

However, I was under the impression that even with OEM keys, Microsoft had
actually suffered a legal defeat where if a license had been purchased then
the license was valid to use on ANY machine so long as it was used on only
one machine at a time e.g. 1 user, 1 purchase, 1 machine, 1 license and that
license is valid for evermore.

As an example, say I have a notebook which has become faulty and I purchase
another notebook with no OS - does this not mean I have a legal right to use
the original key on my new notebook?

Part of my problem is that we use software which WILL NOT run under Vista no
matter what we do. I am currently using Sun's xVM VirtualBox software to run
the software under XP in a Virtual Machine on the laptop but I want to be
legal in doing this and use a licensed copy of XP.

Also, I just resent the fact that I have so many legal licenses sitting
round and can't seem to use them!

Cheers
Mike

 

[Mike Lang]

Hi David,

Thanks for the reply.

Restoredisks.com seems almost perfect - I don't mind paying for disks for
specific machines. I have about 4 Compaq/HP machines that I need them for.

Yeah sorry - I suppose I should call them Product Keys!

Cheers

Mike



The only one problem I can see is that I do have 1 or 2 IBM's which are not
listed byu

 

[Alias]

Thanks for the replies everybody.

I understand the principle of the OEM key being tied to the machine by
virtue of identifying itself with hardware features (hence the need to
re-authorise after changing a motherboard) and as I said I have no problem
with going through a phone/internet re-authorisation with Microsoft once XP
has been re-installed.

However, I was under the impression that even with OEM keys, Microsoft had
actually suffered a legal defeat where if a license had been purchased then
the license was valid to use on ANY machine so long as it was used on only
one machine at a time e.g. 1 user, 1 purchase, 1 machine, 1 license and that
license is valid for evermore.

As an example, say I have a notebook which has become faulty and I purchase
another notebook with no OS - does this not mean I have a legal right to use
the original key on my new notebook?

Part of my problem is that we use software which WILL NOT run under Vista no
matter what we do. I am currently using Sun's xVM VirtualBox software to run
the software under XP in a Virtual Machine on the laptop but I want to be
legal in doing this and use a licensed copy of XP.

Also, I just resent the fact that I have so many legal licenses sitting
round and can't seem to use them!

Cheers
Mike

If the OEM license came from Dell, HP or someone like that, it can only
be used on the computer it came with because it's tied to the
motherboard's BIOS. A generic copy of OEM may not be moved to another
computer a per the EULA but if it's been over 120 days since the last
activation, you can install it on another computer and it will activate
and become genuine. Whether you want to breach the EULA that you didn't
get to read until it was too late to get your money back, that's up to
you. Retail copies of XP can be moved from one computer to another as
much as you like and still be within the guidelines of MS' EULA.

Alias

 

[Daave]

YW.

Hi David,

Thanks for the reply.

Restoredisks.com seems almost perfect - I don't mind paying for disks
for specific machines. I have about 4 Compaq/HP machines that I need
them for.
Yeah sorry - I suppose I should call them Product Keys!

Cheers

Mike



The only one problem I can see is that I do have 1 or 2 IBM's which
are not listed byu

 

[Daave]

Thanks for the replies everybody.

I understand the principle of the OEM key being tied to the machine by
virtue of identifying itself with hardware features (hence the need to
re-authorise after changing a motherboard)

That's a different phenomenon having to do with certain "royalty" OEMs.
For instance, Dell uses something called System-Locked Preinstallation,
and that system does require the presence of a certain motherboard. Then
you have generic OEM licenses/installation CDs (like System Builder's)
where nothing is tied to anything physically. Still, the license
explicitly ties the license to one PC and further states that it can
never be transferred. However, I'm sure many have violated the EULA by
installing the once-used XP to another PC. It's not permitted, but it's
physically possible.

However, I was under the impression that even with OEM keys,
Microsoft had actually suffered a legal defeat where if a license had
been purchased then the license was valid to use on ANY machine so
long as it was used on only one machine at a time e.g. 1 user, 1
purchase, 1 machine, 1 license and that license is valid for evermore.

Not in the United States. Perhaps in the EU. Where do you live?

As an example, say I have a notebook which has become faulty and I
purchase another notebook with no OS - does this not mean I have a
legal right to use the original key on my new notebook?

If the notebook came with an OEM XP license, then the answer is no, the
EULA does not permit this.

Also, I just resent the fact that I have so many legal licenses
sitting round and can't seem to use them!

If the licenses are Retail, then they may be transferred. However, the
EULA states that the OEM licenses may not be transferred. That is why
they cost considerably less!