XP Part I

[jll]

Hi,
I'm sure this question has already been answered many times before in this
forum. But, I'm new to XP and a little confused about some terms. I hear
terms like License #, Product key, registration and Certificate of
Authenticity, COA. The importance of a Product key I'm familiar with having
upgraded thru Win 95, 98 and 98SE. What is the importance of the other terms
and what role do they play in making sure I stay legal? I'm using a DELL PC
that came loaded with XP Home and as far as I know, I've never been prompted
by M$ to get a Certificate. I'm getting updates etc. Any explanation will be
helpful.
Thanks,
jll
(addy is fake)

 

[Malke]

Hi,
I'm sure this question has already been answered many times before in
this forum. But, I'm new to XP and a little confused about some terms.
I hear terms like License #, Product key, registration and Certificate
of Authenticity, COA. The importance of a Product key I'm familiar
with having upgraded thru Win 95, 98 and 98SE. What is the importance
of the other terms and what role do they play in making sure I stay
legal? I'm using a DELL PC that came loaded with XP Home and as far as
I know, I've never been prompted by M$ to get a Certificate. I'm
getting updates etc. Any explanation will be helpful.
Thanks,
jll
(addy is fake)

This should help answer your questions:

http://www.microsoft.com/piracy/activation_how.mspx

Malke

 

[Wesley Vogel]

Product key & COA

Product keys are 25-character alphanumeric strings that are formatted in
groups of five characters, separated by dashes. (for example,
BCDFG-12345-HJKLM-67890-NPQRS).

[[The product key also forms the basis for the product ID that is created
when Windows XP is installed. Each licensed instance of Windows XP has a
unique Product ID. The Product ID has 20 characters arranged like this:
12345-123-1234567-12345. It is listed in the properties for My Computer.]]

What is Windows Product Activation?
http://www.microsoft.com/resources/documentation/windows/xp/all/proddocs/en-us/wpa_overview.mspx

Understanding product keys
http://www.microsoft.com/resources/documentation/windows/xp/all/proddocs/en-us/wpa_product_keys.mspx

Product Key Validation: Frequently Asked Questions
http://www.microsoft.com/resources/howtotell/ww/pid_faq.mspx

Retail COA
http://www.microsoft.com/resources/howtotell/ww/static/images/features/coa_retail_10_lg.gif

OEM COA
http://www.microsoft.com/resources/howtotell/ww/static/images/validation/coa_4_lg.jpg

Preinstalled Non-Windows Software COA
http://www.microsoft.com/resources/howtotell/ww/static/images/features/coa_oem_3_lg.gif

How to Tell: Certificate of Authenticity (COA)
http://www.microsoft.com/resources/howtotell/ww/coa.mspx

How to Tell: COA - Previous Retail Versions
http://www.microsoft.com/resources/howtotell/ww/archived/coa_retail.mspx

How to Tell: COA - Previous OEM Versions
http://www.microsoft.com/resources/howtotell/ww/archived/coa_oem.mspx


--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In

 

[jll]

Hi,
I'm sure this question has already been answered many times before in this
forum. But, I'm new to XP and a little confused about some terms. I hear
terms like License #, Product key, registration and Certificate of
Authenticity, COA. The importance of a Product key I'm familiar with
having upgraded thru Win 95, 98 and 98SE. What is the importance of the
other terms and what role do they play in making sure I stay legal? I'm
using a DELL PC that came loaded with XP Home and as far as I know, I've
never been prompted by M$ to get a Certificate. I'm getting updates etc.
Any explanation will be helpful.
Thanks,
jll
(addy is fake)

Thanks for the information. Apparently I was confusing registration with
activation. My Dell PC has a label on it that shows the 25 alphanumeric
strings and a # for the COA below a bar code. So apparently, I'm OK there.
Now for another question (and it may be meaningless), I did an Everest on my
machine and got the Product ID # and learned that the values for the Product
key on the HD don't match those on the PC label. I have a tendency to let
sleeping dogs lie and assume that the one on the HD is the correct one. Is
that a safe assumption?
Thanks,
jll

 

[Malke]

Thanks for the information. Apparently I was confusing registration
with activation. My Dell PC has a label on it that shows the 25
alphanumeric strings and a # for the COA below a bar code. So
apparently, I'm OK there. Now for another question (and it may be
meaningless), I did an Everest on my machine and got the Product ID #
and learned that the values for the Product key on the HD don't match
those on the PC label. I have a tendency to let sleeping dogs lie and
assume that the one on the HD is the correct one. Is that a safe
assumption? Thanks,
jll

Dell, like other huge OEM's, images their hard drives. The Product Key
on the hard drive is *not* the number you would use if you ever needed
to reinstall Windows. The Product Key on the sticker on the back of the
computer is the correct number for your specific machine.

Malke

 

[jll]

Thanks for the information. Apparently I was confusing registration with
activation. My Dell PC has a label on it that shows the 25 alphanumeric
strings and a # for the COA below a bar code. So apparently, I'm OK there.
Now for another question (and it may be meaningless), I did an Everest on
my machine and got the Product ID # and learned that the values for the
Product key on the HD don't match those on the PC label. I have a tendency
to let sleeping dogs lie and assume that the one on the HD is the correct
one. Is that a safe assumption?
Thanks,
jll

That's good to know. Thanks. So what you're saying is that same Product key
may be on thousands of Dell PCs. If Product keys are so important, how does
M$ sort all that out? Or does it not make any difference.
Thanks,
jll

 

[Malke]

That's good to know. Thanks. So what you're saying is that same
Product key may be on thousands of Dell PCs. If Product keys are so
important, how does M$ sort all that out? Or does it not make any
difference. Thanks,
jll

No, that's not what I'm saying at all. The product key on the sticker on
your computer is unique. That is the product key you would use to
reinstall Windows with your Dell operating system cd. The product key
used to image the drive at the factory is irrelevant to you, the end
user. I really don't know how to make the answer any clearer than this.

Malke

 

[jll]

No, that's not what I'm saying at all. The product key on the sticker on
your computer is unique. That is the product key you would use to
reinstall Windows with your Dell operating system cd. The product key
used to image the drive at the factory is irrelevant to you, the end
user. I really don't know how to make the answer any clearer than this.

Malke
--
MS-MVP Windows User/Shell
Elephant Boy Computers
www.elephantboycomputers.com
"Don't Panic"

I understand that the Product key on my PC label is the one I must use if I
ever have to recertify. You've made that perfectly clear and I thank you for
it. Here's what's puzzling to me. From what I've read before I began using
XP, I understood that all Product keys were unique but apparantly that's not
so.

 

[Malke]

I understand that the Product key on my PC label is the one I must use
if I ever have to recertify. You've made that perfectly clear and I
thank you for it. Here's what's puzzling to me. From what I've read
before I began using XP, I understood that all Product keys were
unique but apparantly that's not so.

There are different licensing plans. Obviously, a huge OEM like Dell
doesn't have a million different product keys. That wouldn't make
sense, would it?

If you want a more detailed explanation of Microsoft's licensing
practices, start here:

http://www.microsoft.com/licensing/default.mspx

Malke