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#1
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XP key automatically entered??
I put a brand new hard drive into a Dell laptop I'm fixing, threw in the old
Dell Reinstallation CD Microsoft Windows XP Home, made a note of the Product Key on the bottom label of the laptop and started setup. After some yes and no's and all that and creating some partitions on a brand new hard drive (old one died) the installation process started and stepped away to grab breakfast. I came back and answered the few setup questions for XP to start running (time zone, etc.) and it started up. I realized I hadn't entered a product key along the way. I hadn't installed XP for a while on anything so I thought for a minute and it seems you need to enter a key at the beginning. I got the Jellybean Keyfinder program and checked and a key had been used but not the one from the Windows sticker on the bottom of the laptop. I looked for an Activate button, but there isn't one on the programs list as usual. How did this happen???? |
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#2
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XP key automatically entered??
Dell Windows XP Reinstallation CDs are BIOS-locked to
the Dell computer. It does not require entering a Product Key since the Reinstallation CD only works with a Dell computer. The COA is not a software license. The Certificate of Authenticity is only a visual identifier that helps assist in determining whether Microsoft software is genuine. See: http://www.microsoft.com/resources/h...ll/en/coa.mspx -- Carey Frisch Microsoft MVP Windows Shell/User --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "02befree" wrote: | I put a brand new hard drive into a Dell laptop I'm fixing, threw in the old | Dell Reinstallation CD Microsoft Windows XP Home, made a note of the Product | Key on the bottom label of the laptop and started setup. After some yes and | no's and all that and creating some partitions on a brand new hard drive | (old one died) the installation process started and stepped away to grab | breakfast. I came back and answered the few setup questions for XP to start | running (time zone, etc.) and it started up. I realized I hadn't entered a | product key along the way. I hadn't installed XP for a while on anything so | I thought for a minute and it seems you need to enter a key at the | beginning. I got the Jellybean Keyfinder program and checked and a key had | been used but not the one from the Windows sticker on the bottom of the | laptop. I looked for an Activate button, but there isn't one on the | programs list as usual. How did this happen???? |
#3
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XP key automatically entered??
Thanks. Later I was prompted to Activate. I tried through the Internet,
but it said invalid key (the one that was automatically entered). I changed the key to the one on the label, as instructed and it wouldn't work either. I telephoned, and then after going through the sequence with the rep, it activated fine. Whew! "Carey Frisch [MVP]" wrote in message ... Dell Windows XP Reinstallation CDs are BIOS-locked to the Dell computer. It does not require entering a Product Key since the Reinstallation CD only works with a Dell computer. The COA is not a software license. The Certificate of Authenticity is only a visual identifier that helps assist in determining whether Microsoft software is genuine. See: http://www.microsoft.com/resources/h...ll/en/coa.mspx -- Carey Frisch Microsoft MVP Windows Shell/User -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------- "02befree" wrote: | I put a brand new hard drive into a Dell laptop I'm fixing, threw in the old | Dell Reinstallation CD Microsoft Windows XP Home, made a note of the Product | Key on the bottom label of the laptop and started setup. After some yes and | no's and all that and creating some partitions on a brand new hard drive | (old one died) the installation process started and stepped away to grab | breakfast. I came back and answered the few setup questions for XP to start | running (time zone, etc.) and it started up. I realized I hadn't entered a | product key along the way. I hadn't installed XP for a while on anything so | I thought for a minute and it seems you need to enter a key at the | beginning. I got the Jellybean Keyfinder program and checked and a key had | been used but not the one from the Windows sticker on the bottom of the | laptop. I looked for an Activate button, but there isn't one on the | programs list as usual. How did this happen???? |
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