XP Media Center Key Code Question

[JS]

I'm repairing a friend's computer.
His hard drive is failing. It's a Dell 8400.
Restore partition is kaput.

Installed the Dell Windows CD he gave me
(box of all Dell CDs and applications)
and did a "Clean Install" as any attempt
of a "Repair Install" failed using either his or
my Windows (Retail) CD.

Clean install completed without any issues.
winver showed "XP Home" was installed.

Double checked the sticker on the case and
it labeled Media Center.

How in the world did a Media Center key code
work on a "Dell" Windows XP Home CD?

 

[Daave]

I'm repairing a friend's computer.
His hard drive is failing. It's a Dell 8400.
Restore partition is kaput.

Installed the Dell Windows CD he gave me
(box of all Dell CDs and applications)
and did a "Clean Install" as any attempt
of a "Repair Install" failed using either his or
my Windows (Retail) CD.

Clean install completed without any issues.
winver showed "XP Home" was installed.

Double checked the sticker on the case and
it labeled Media Center.

How in the world did a Media Center key code
work on a "Dell" Windows XP Home CD?

That's not quite what happened.

Dell CDs simply install on Dell PCs (they look for specific
motherboards; notice there is no need to enter the Product Key -- this
is what is known as System-Locked Preinstallation). What you describe is
not permitted by the EULA, but apparently it can happen.

 

[JS]

When I inserted the CD I did not notice
it was labeled XP Home. So when it asked
for the key code I simply entered the code printed
on the case label. Only found out I had installed
Home after the install completed and then I looked at
the CD label.

So it did ask for a keycode and I enter a Media Center
key code and it accepted it as being valid.

The big question is why did Dell ship the PC
with a Home CD when Media Center was installed, the
factory goofed I guess.

Since I'm waiting for the replacement drive to arrive
I can always try the install again and see what happens.

Thanks for taking the time to reply Daave

 

[Daave]

When I inserted the CD I did not notice
it was labeled XP Home. So when it asked
for the key code I simply entered the code printed
on the case label. Only found out I had installed
Home after the install completed and then I looked at
the CD label.

I'm surprised you were given a prompt to enter the Product Key. That's
not normally supposed to happen with Dells!

So it did ask for a keycode and I enter a Media Center
key code and it accepted it as being valid.

The big question is why did Dell ship the PC
with a Home CD when Media Center was installed, the
factory goofed I guess.

Are you sure this is what they did? In your other post, you stated:

Perhaps the XP Home CD was to a *different* Dell your friend (or someone
he knows) once had. Those CDs are ubiquitous!

Since your friend has a license to run XP MCE (which has a few more
features than XP Home), you should really perform another clean install,
using *that* OS. Check again for a CD (sometimes it's a DVD). Or maybe
that particular Dell has a hidden recovery partition. (Since the hard
drive is failing, that would be a big problem.) Or maybe you need to
contact Dell (that's what I would do).

Since I'm waiting for the replacement drive to arrive
I can always try the install again and see what happens.

Thanks for taking the time to reply Daave

YW.

 

[JS]

I'm surprised you were given a prompt to enter the Product Key. That's not
normally supposed to happen with Dells!

I jotted down the keycode on plain paper before I started, as I
did not know that this paticular model normally does require that
you enter the keycode when using a CD, so when prompted
I did not need to turn the case sideways to read it, just used the
code I previously jotted down.

Are you sure this is what they did? In your other post, you stated:


Perhaps the XP Home CD was to a *different* Dell your friend (or someone
he knows) once had. Those CDs are ubiquitous!

I plan to give him a call to find out if they have another Dell
or did at some time in the past.

Since your friend has a license to run XP MCE (which has a few more
features than XP Home), you should really perform another clean install,
using *that* OS. Check again for a CD (sometimes it's a DVD).

Went thru the box again this afternoon, only thing I found this time
around that I missed last time was a badly scratch MS Word CD
(no CD sleeve or keycode) stuffed inside a LinkSys box.

Or maybe that particular Dell has a hidden recovery partition. (Since the
hard drive is failing, that would be a big problem.) Or maybe you need to
contact Dell (that's what I would do).

It did have two hidden partitions, one up front that looked large enought
to be the recovery partition and a much smaller partition at the end.

But trying to use the recovery partition failed, which is why I looked
for and found the Dell CD in the box. Booting from that CD allowed
me to perform a full (NTFS) format of the partition where Windows
was previously installed without touching the other two partition.

Dell does have a means to fix or at least attemp to fix access to
the recovery partition but this 8400 came without a floppy drive
which Dell references in there instructions.

This is a computer that more than 4 years old so I'm not
certain if Dell will even provide any help/support but I can
always call.

 

[JS]

Meant to say: did not know that this particular model normally does "not"
require that you enter the keycode when using a CD

 

[JS]

So far WGA has not raised a "Red Flag"

 

[Daave]

I jotted down the keycode on plain paper before I started, as I
did not know that this paticular model normally does require that
you enter the keycode when using a CD, so when prompted
I did not need to turn the case sideways to read it, just used the
code I previously jotted down.


I plan to give him a call to find out if they have another Dell
or did at some time in the past.


Went thru the box again this afternoon, only thing I found this time
around that I missed last time was a badly scratch MS Word CD
(no CD sleeve or keycode) stuffed inside a LinkSys box.


It did have two hidden partitions, one up front that looked large
enought to be the recovery partition and a much smaller partition at
the end.
But trying to use the recovery partition failed,

I heard that. That is one of the reasons I don't like that method. I
wonder if your friend was instructed to create his own recovery CD or
DVD (not that it matters now!). That's how Acers work.

which is why I looked
for and found the Dell CD in the box. Booting from that CD allowed
me to perform a full (NTFS) format of the partition where Windows
was previously installed without touching the other two partition.

Dell does have a means to fix or at least attemp to fix access to
the recovery partition but this 8400 came without a floppy drive
which Dell references in there instructions.

Do you have access to an external floppy drive?

This is a computer that more than 4 years old so I'm not
certain if Dell will even provide any help/support but I can
always call.

Good luck.

 

[Daave]

Meant to say: did not know that this particular model normally does
"not" require that you enter the keycode when using a CD

My experience with *all* Dells is that entering the Product Key never
happens (provided I use the branded Dell XP Reinstallation CD). Then
again, I never tried installing XP Home to a PC that came with XP MCE
preinstalled.

 

[JS]

I temporarily connect a floppy in an attempt
to repair the recovery partition. Partial success,
the F11 key now starts the recovery process
but it's screwed up/corrupted to the repair fails.

 

[Daave]

I wonder if the hard drive is defective.

I temporarily connect a floppy in an attempt
to repair the recovery partition. Partial success,
the F11 key now starts the recovery process
but it's screwed up/corrupted to the repair fails.

 

[JS]

Your correct it is defective, but I tried to get
XP Media Center restored instead of using
the XP Home CD I mentioned earlier.

If that area of the drive was still good I could have
restored Media Center, created an Image backup
to a second drive and then restored the image to the
new drive I just finished installing.