Windows Xp Pro Product Key

[PattayaParent]

My computer has just about died so I have bought a new one.

The old one has a genuine XP Pro installed and I have the CD for it and want to install it on the new computer which has come with no OS.

Unfortunately I don't have the product key for the CD, or rather I do but as it's a sticker on the bottom of the computer it's a bit mangled and partly unreadable.

Is there a way I can get a new product key to install my XP Pro on my new machine?

I think i've read on these pages before that it's possible but the forum search function doesn't work on my machine.

Thanks

[flying]

PM sent

[Daffy D]

Windows Key Location

*****************************

You will find Windows CD key in one of the following locations:-

1) I386 Folder/ WINNT.SFI (Open this file with notepad and you will see all the unattended information with CD Key in it)

2) Find any Last Session.ini file and open it with notepad and you will find the CD product Key.

3) I386 Folder/ UNATTENDED.txt

Note: Not all setup contain these files

[FritsSikkink]

Windows Key Location

*****************************

You will find Windows CD key in one of the following locations:-

1) I386 Folder/ WINNT.SFI (Open this file with notepad and you will see all the unattended information with CD Key in it)

2) Find any Last Session.ini file and open it with notepad and you will find the CD product Key.

3) I386 Folder/ UNATTENDED.txt

Note: Not all setup contain these files

Not on a new computer without OS

[harrry]

If that is an OEM version and came with the machine the number and disk is tied to that machine and cannot be transferred to another machine.

[PattayaParent]

If that is an OEM version and came with the machine the number and disk is tied to that machine and cannot be transferred to another machine.

Could that be why I am getting the BSOD on installation and not even getting as far as entering the key?

[Sayonarax]

OR you could download a free serial code ripper and rip every programs serial code to a text file in one swing.

[Sayonarax]

If that is an OEM version and came with the machine the number and disk is tied to that machine and cannot be transferred to another machine.

Could that be why I am getting the BSOD on installation and not even getting as far as entering the key?

Are you getting this on your new computer? Are you doing a fresh install? Try download an burning a copy of windows xp pro full retail then you should have no issues. OEM and upgrade CDs may cause you dramas, but i have transfered an OEM copy of windows home edition from my laptop to my desktop no problems.

My professional advice is to just buy windows 7 64bit edition if you've taken the effort to buy a new machine.

Windows 7 is by far the best OS on the market for general users. While your pc can run an operate Windows XP Pro (32bit) you really limiting yourself. (Research whats the difference between 32bit and 64bit OS)

Hope this helps.

[flying]

If that is an OEM version and came with the machine the number and disk is tied to that machine and cannot be transferred to another machine.

Could that be why I am getting the BSOD on installation and not even getting as far as entering the key?

No you are experiencing a different problem.

As someone else suggested perhaps Windows 7 at this point.

Since your starting from scratch anyway.

There are many shops in LOS that would pop a fresh install for you.

[NotEinstein]

If you don't install and play games, download and install Ubuntu.

No need for anti-virus software, no licences, no installing drivers..........

[jmac]

I suspect you are using an older version of win xp which does not have sata drivers. Easiest to get a newer version or go win 7.

[PattayaParent]

If that is an OEM version and came with the machine the number and disk is tied to that machine and cannot be transferred to another machine.

Could that be why I am getting the BSOD on installation and not even getting as far as entering the key?

Are you getting this on your new computer? Are you doing a fresh install? Try download an burning a copy of windows xp pro full retail then you should have no issues. OEM and upgrade CDs may cause you dramas, but i have transfered an OEM copy of windows home edition from my laptop to my desktop no problems.

My professional advice is to just buy windows 7 64bit edition if you've taken the effort to buy a new machine.

Windows 7 is by far the best OS on the market for general users. While your pc can run an operate Windows XP Pro (32bit) you really limiting yourself. (Research whats the difference between 32bit and 64bit OS)

Hope this helps.

Yes, the problem is on the new computer.

it came with Linux installed and I want to overwrite it with XP. It is an OEM version but it's not that old, although the disc says 2002 Version SP3.

Any advice before I take it to a computer shop that I don't really trust to get it right anyway based on past experiences?

Edit: I've tried it a few ways, including pressing F6 to tell it I want to install a SCSI drive (for which I have no drivers anyway b ut i was just seeing what would happen) and that fails because Windows cannot detect a floppy drive on the machine!!!

Edited April 28, 2012 by PattayaParent

[Litlos]

Windows 7 is pretty good and you will find that XP is getting a bit dated and shortly will no longer be supported and there will be problems for drivers for newer devices. If buying a proper version of Windows 7 then go back to whoever supplied the PC and you should be able to get OEM price, which is a bit discounted from full retail. I use XP and Win 7 Home premium. I skipped Vista, but the company I work for got it, Win 7 much better and faster. From Invadeit site Win 7 Home Premium 32 or 64 Bit OEM is 3990 Baht, full price 4250 Baht.

Cheers

[PattayaParent]

Windows 7 is pretty good and you will find that XP is getting a bit dated and shortly will no longer be supported and there will be problems for drivers for newer devices. If buying a proper version of Windows 7 then go back to whoever supplied the PC and you should be able to get OEM price, which is a bit discounted from full retail. I use XP and Win 7 Home premium. I skipped Vista, but the company I work for got it, Win 7 much better and faster. From Invadeit site Win 7 Home Premium 32 or 64 Bit OEM is 3990 Baht, full price 4250 Baht.

Cheers

I'm just worried that I'll have the same problem installing that!

[TwentyBaht]

PattayaParent,

Please consider;

The new Linux OS drive will have been formatted for a Linux file system (i.e., ext3). To install XP, the drive will need to be formatted to NTFS or FAT.

And, newer computers will have components that the older XP CD will not have drivers for. Not impossible to find them on the internet, but time consuming.

Cheers

[PattayaParent]

PattayaParent,

Please consider;

The new Linux OS drive will have been formatted for a Linux file system (i.e., ext3). To install XP, the drive will need to be formatted to NTFS or FAT.

And, newer computers will have components that the older XP CD will not have drivers for. Not impossible to find them on the internet, but time consuming.

Cheers

I know about the formatting, but I just can't get to the stage where I can format the HDD for Windows, it seems to install a load of files and drivers and then goes to the BSOD.

I also have a disc of drivers that came with the new computer, but they just might be linux drivers, I haven't got that far yet!

Edited April 28, 2012 by PattayaParent

[Litlos]

Are you booting directly from the CD/DVD or are you going in through Linux? If going through Linux that could be the problem and try setting the Bios to boot from the CD/DVD first assuming it is a bootable disk. That should then give you an option to reformat the HDD.

The other suggestion above that the version of Windows you have does not support SATA hard drives is also valid. I have an old machine that had this problem so I ended up putting a IDE disk in for booting off.

I have done the going round in circles with mismatched hardware and software before, very frustrating and even when working never 100%. So now I just get both new at the same time, and get the shop to load it so if it does not work it is their problem. It is amazing watching the guys in the shops do it and they seem to have all the answers and software available as they are doing it every day. Plus they may slip a couple of freebies on.

Cheers

[PattayaParent]

^yes I've changed the BIOS to boot from the Windows CD, I'm dumb with computer but not that dumb!!

I'd guess the windows version does support SATA HDD becuase that's what's on the old one it was originally installed on.

[Jiu-Jitsu]

Does this new machine have a brand name and model number?

[Sayonarax]

Don't have much time to reply right now. If your still messing about, download Hi-Rens tools and load it on USB. Once loaded, you can easily reformat your system to NTFS, dont format in FAT32.

[Litlos]

^yes I've changed the BIOS to boot from the Windows CD, I'm dumb with computer but not that dumb!!

I'd guess the windows version does support SATA HDD becuase that's what's on the old one it was originally installed on.

Not having a go, just trying to work out where you are. Used to do some specialist software support a long time ago and learnt to never assume.

So at this stage it looks like there are two potential sources of the problem.

A/ The CD is corrupted, a few years old so a possibility, maybe a visual inspection, also can you put into another machine and see if you can open folders and view file details with explorer?

B/ Windows setup does not like your HDD format. Maybe boot from the disk and see if you can escape into command line, then see if you can view the HDD. Somebody else mentioned some specialist tools which may be the way to go if you need to reformat the HDD.

Cheers

[PattayaParent]

^yes I've changed the BIOS to boot from the Windows CD, I'm dumb with computer but not that dumb!!

I'd guess the windows version does support SATA HDD becuase that's what's on the old one it was originally installed on.

Not having a go, just trying to work out where you are. Used to do some specialist software support a long time ago and learnt to never assume.

So at this stage it looks like there are two potential sources of the problem.

A/ The CD is corrupted, a few years old so a possibility, maybe a visual inspection, also can you put into another machine and see if you can open folders and view file details with explorer?

B/ Windows setup does not like your HDD format. Maybe boot from the disk and see if you can escape into command line, then see if you can view the HDD. Somebody else mentioned some specialist tools which may be the way to go if you need to reformat the HDD.

Cheers

No offense taken Litlos, if I hadn't have done some preliminary research I probably wouldn't have thought about changing the boot sequence in the BIOS to be honest!!

The offered solutions are all getting a bit above my understanding so I've actually taken the machine to a guy that has been recommended by a friend and he reckons he can install it and get it working except for the Bluetooth which will do for now until I get a W7 to install.

Thanks for all the help guys, and any of you that are gals.

[bendejo]

I had trouble installing Windows from the DVD, got around it by making a pen drive with the bootable Win installation. Saved a lot of grief. My guess is that is your problem. If it were a matter of keys you'd get a message to that effect. If it was not recognizing your drive types it would say "couldn't find hard disk" or something like that (happened to me installing XP on a later model machine). Even with Linux installed Windows would just scrap whatever is on there.

But I agree with the others who say move on to Win7, it'll be around a few more years.

[PattayaParent]

^I wasn't even getting as far as it recognising drives or giving error messages, it was just giving the BSOD.

[astral]

Surely installing from the cd should give the option to reformat the disk?

Alternately ask a friend to download the Ulltimate Boot CD and burn it to a disk for you.

Then you can use that format the disk on your new PC

I do agree with the idea of Win 7 as opposed to XP

you have a much better chance of getting all the drivers you need.

[jamesbrock]

A BSOD is a uniquely Windows problem, so getting one on a machine that doesn't already have Windows on it can only mean the XP disc (by most likely any XP install) has serious issues with one or more of the components in your box. As most everyone has said, you're going to have a hard time finding XP compatible drivers for some of the newer components - which are most likely the ones causing the BSOD in the first place...

As for getting the product key, it seems a fairly moot point since XP doesn't appear to want to play with your new hardware; however, a simple phone call to Microsoft...

While searching for the number for you, I discovered that they no longer take support calls for XP (as it's now in the 'Extended Support Phase' and no longer free outside the US & Canada).

Wish you the best of luck.

[Jiu-Jitsu]

^yes I've changed the BIOS to boot from the Windows CD, I'm dumb with computer but not that dumb!!

I'd guess the windows version does support SATA HDD becuase that's what's on the old one it was originally installed on.

Not having a go, just trying to work out where you are. Used to do some specialist software support a long time ago and learnt to never assume.

So at this stage it looks like there are two potential sources of the problem.

A/ The CD is corrupted, a few years old so a possibility, maybe a visual inspection, also can you put into another machine and see if you can open folders and view file details with explorer?

B/ Windows setup does not like your HDD format. Maybe boot from the disk and see if you can escape into command line, then see if you can view the HDD. Somebody else mentioned some specialist tools which may be the way to go if you need to reformat the HDD.

Cheers

No offense taken Litlos, if I hadn't have done some preliminary research I probably wouldn't have thought about changing the boot sequence in the BIOS to be honest!!

The offered solutions are all getting a bit above my understanding so I've actually taken the machine to a guy that has been recommended by a friend and he reckons he can install it and get it working except for the Bluetooth which will do for now until I get a W7 to install.

Thanks for all the help guys, and any of you that are gals.

Brand name and model number was beyond you??

[PattayaParent]

Surely installing from the cd should give the option to reformat the disk?

Alternately ask a friend to download the Ulltimate Boot CD and burn it to a disk for you.

Then you can use that format the disk on your new PC

I do agree with the idea of Win 7 as opposed to XP

you have a much better chance of getting all the drivers you need.

It wasn't even getting that far to be able to format the disc.

[PattayaParent]

Brand name and model number was beyond you??

Because I didn't think it was a problem with the hardware, but a Windows problem.

Anyway the guy I took it to got XP installed using an original XP disc he had and a product key I was able to give him.

He said the only problems were the bluetooth which he couldn't install drivers for (because XP doesn't have any?) and the dual video system, which isn't supported by XP, only W7.

Volume on the sound wasn't very good but installing drivers myself from the utility disc and clicking buttons sorted that. I might try the bluetooth drivers next when I have a chance just to see if it does anything.

[PattayaParent]

Windows Key Location

*****************************

You will find Windows CD key in one of the following locations:-

1) I386 Folder/ WINNT.SFI (Open this file with notepad and you will see all the unattended information with CD Key in it)

2) Find any Last Session.ini file and open it with notepad and you will find the CD product Key.

3) I386 Folder/ UNATTENDED.txt

Note: Not all setup contain these files

Not on a new computer without OS

I think he obviously meant on my old computer and I looked there but 2) & 3) are not on the computer and in 1) the Product Key = was blank.