XP Pro

[Allen]

Correction to previous post:

I purchased xp pro over the internet and it came WITHOUT
Product ID Code and can not contact the seller. What can
I do from here that i have what looks like a legal cd but
came WITHOUT the Prod ID code. MS will not let you
email them without Prod ID Code. go figure.
Thanks

 

[Phil]

If you didn't get a product key, then you have a 50 cent piece of plastic.
You got ripped off. The product key/license is what you pay for, not the cd.
Best to buy windows at your local store. Lesson learned.

 

[Allen]

Can Micro Soft examine the CD to determine if it has
ever been registered before?

 

[Tom]

Correction to previous post:

I purchased xp pro over the internet and it came WITHOUT
Product ID Code and can not contact the seller. What can
I do from here that i have what looks like a legal cd but
came WITHOUT the Prod ID code. MS will not let you
email them without Prod ID Code. go figure.
Thanks

Contact the seller, and then if you cannot get anything out of it, you
hopefully learned a lesson. In this case, report this to:
http://www.microsoft.com/piracy/reporting/default.asp and let the seller
know. You can laso dispute this with your credit card company (hopefully you
didn't pay by Pay Pal with your checking account n umber, or directly from
that account with a credit/debit type cared, then you are screwed.)

Other than that, MS isn't going to give you a code, if they cannot obtain a
legitmatelt purchased copy of XP, that came in a MS XP Box with bar code,
and had the CD in it. The Box will have a tri-folder (green for home, blue
for Pro) and in that folder is the CD and the Product Key.

 

[Tom]

Can Micro Soft examine the CD to determine if it has
ever been registered before?

No, it doesn't work that way. There are product keys made for certain
installing cersion, i.e.

XP Pro Full Retail version all have their own type of alpha-numeric Product
Key

XP Pro Retail Upgrade all have their own type of alpha-numeric Product Key

XP Home Full retail all have their own type of alpha-numeric Product Key

If one person had the same kind of installation disk, and the product key
had never been used yet (or it is flushed from the MS database, which
happens every 120 days) and you have the same kind of install disk, and the
same key, whoever installs it first will get activated no probelm. When the
other tries it, then they make a call and explain. But without a code, you
are screwed.

I think you get the picture from here.

 

[Phil]

The cd does not matter. It's the license/product key that you pay for.
Actually you could use someone elses cd if you had a product key for that
version of the cd. The cd isn't the important part and it doesn't get
registered. The product key is what allows installs of xp and activation of
xp. Without a product key you have nothing.

 

[Unknown]

Again, Nothing!