XP product key

[Guest]

I have an old Dell computer which has not been used for a year. At startup
about 60 safety upgrades was downloaded. After this I accepted the
installation of SP2. After this installation the coputer started but newer
fully started Win XP, instead it restarted the computer. This continued
without end. The computer was delivered with Win 98 and when Win XP came out
I bought a Win XP family upgrade. Since the computer did no longer start I
finally decided to reinstall XP from the CD, which seemed to go well until it
asked for the product key. We live abroad but I have now been searching our
summer home for two weeks without finding this code. It should be on the back
of a sleeve, which no longer seems to exist. The disk is stored in a hard
case for safety. Is there any solution to this? I went to a store and tried
to buy a new XP but they said that it is not sold any longer and the computer
can not run Vista.
I would be very grateful for any help in this case.

 

[John John]

If the drive was not formated you can retrieve the key from the
registry. If the drive was formated you are out of luck, unless you
want to try to use recovery utilities to undo the format so that you can
then retrieve the information from the registry file.

John

 

[Nepatsfan]

In

I have an old Dell computer which has not been used for a
year. At startup
about 60 safety upgrades was downloaded. After this I
accepted the
installation of SP2. After this installation the coputer
started but newer
fully started Win XP, instead it restarted the computer. This
continued
without end. The computer was delivered with Win 98 and when
Win XP came out
I bought a Win XP family upgrade. Since the computer did no
longer start I
finally decided to reinstall XP from the CD, which seemed to
go well until it
asked for the product key. We live abroad but I have now been
searching our
summer home for two weeks without finding this code. It
should be on the back
of a sleeve, which no longer seems to exist. The disk is
stored in a hard
case for safety. Is there any solution to this? I went to a
store and tried
to buy a new XP but they said that it is not sold any longer
and the computer
can not run Vista.
I would be very grateful for any help in this case.

The key for an XP Upgrade CD would have been on an orange
sticker inside a tri-fold binder with a green cover if XP Home
Edition and a blue cover if XP Professional.

It's a long shot but you might want to contact Microsoft to see
if they can help.

How to replace Microsoft software or hardware, order service
packs and product upgrades, or replace product manuals
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=KB;en-us;326246

FYI: Some online retailers are still selling XP.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...149+40000368&Manufactory=1149&SubCategory=368

Good luck

Nepatsfan

 

[Ron Martell]

I have an old Dell computer which has not been used for a year. At startup
about 60 safety upgrades was downloaded. After this I accepted the
installation of SP2. After this installation the coputer started but newer
fully started Win XP, instead it restarted the computer. This continued
without end. The computer was delivered with Win 98 and when Win XP came out
I bought a Win XP family upgrade. Since the computer did no longer start I
finally decided to reinstall XP from the CD, which seemed to go well until it
asked for the product key. We live abroad but I have now been searching our
summer home for two weeks without finding this code. It should be on the back
of a sleeve, which no longer seems to exist. The disk is stored in a hard
case for safety. Is there any solution to this? I went to a store and tried
to buy a new XP but they said that it is not sold any longer and the computer
can not run Vista.
I would be very grateful for any help in this case.

You will need to remove the hard drive from the Dell computer and
install it as a second hard drive in another machine.
Product key recovery where disk is not bootable but is still readable:
http://www.dagondesign.com/articles/windows-xp-product-key-recovery/


If you can recover the Product Key for your current Windows XP license
then you should make a new installation that has Service Pack 2
slipstreamed into it:
XP Slipstream:
http://www.winsupersite.com/showcase/windowsxp_sp2_slipstream.asp
http://www.helpwithwindows.com/WindowsXP/winxp-sp2-bootcd.html
http://www.msfn.org/articles.php?action=show&showarticle=49

Windows XP Service Pack 2 complete download:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/...BE-3B8E-4F30-8245-9E368D3CDB5A&displaylang=en


Good luck



Ron Martell Duncan B.C. Canada
--
Microsoft MVP (1997 - 2008)
On-Line Help Computer Service
http://onlinehelp.bc.ca

"Anyone who thinks that they are too small to make a difference
has never been in bed with a mosquito."