With a Dell, you must have a Dell XP disk . . .

Post #272,602 by Andrew Grygus 11/8/06 1:29:31 PM Reply	With a Dell, you must have a Dell XP disk . . . . . or you're screwed. The license number on the computer is phony and it won't work (you need to enter the license number on a repair install) - you'll be told you have to activate but activation will be refused. Dell sells the disk for about $98 if you don't have one. Even if the machine were bootable and you were able to recover the real license number with a program that can do that, you still have to do the repair from a Dell XP disk or it won't work. [link\|http://www.aaxnet.com\|AAx]
Post #272,603 by Another Scott 11/8/06 1:30:21 PM Reply	Nice. :-/
Post #272,605 by tonytib 11/8/06 1:42:40 PM Reply	I'm pretty sure she's got a Dell disk and I'm glad I made my bro-in-law pay the extra $10 for one for his Dell. I'm going to do screen caps of the recovery process and see if that helps. Ultimate possibility is to take out HDD and pull all the data off, but I'd rather not get too involved. --Tony
Post #272,662 by static 11/8/06 8:38:26 PM Reply	That number's phony? Care to post a cite? I used the one on my (work) Dell laptop to successfully register and activate a Windows install inside a QEMU virtual machine (the laptop runs Linux for normal work). So it's legit for some value of 'legit'. Wade. "Don't give up!"
Post #272,664 by Andrew Grygus 11/8/06 8:56:59 PM 11/8/06 9:02:36 PM Reply	Re: That number's phony? Did you use a Dell CD? Do you have a corp license? They're different. Was it XP Pro? Also often different. I can tell you for certain that number will work fine with a non-Dell XP Home CD for the install but you won't be able to authenticate. If you install from a Dell CD it doesn't even ask for the license number. Take a Dell with XP Home and run a program that recoveres the license number. It won't match the one on the case - but that number won't work either with a non-Dell disk. Since my clients never have the disk I tell them, here it is, it runs, you have 30 days go get a CD from Dell or is stops working. [link\|http://www.aaxnet.com\|AAx] Edited by Andrew Grygus Nov. 8, 2006, 09:02:36 PM EST Expand All History
Post #272,688 by static 11/8/06 11:02:54 PM Reply	My scenario doesn't fit your list. But then you're talking about XP Home and I'm talking about XP Pro. :-) It was a Dell disc. It asked for the number. The one off the bottom of the laptop worked and authenticated. And survived WGA. I made sure my sister got XP Pro; I'll check tonight that she got the CD. Wade. "Don't give up!"
Post #272,699 by Andrew Grygus 11/8/06 11:38:31 PM Reply	Yup, XP Pro is a different story . . . . . and it was on my little list of exceptions. XP Pro they're supposed to be able to give you the disk under the same conditions as Microsoft forbids them to give you the disk for XP Home. None of this is Dell's fault, nor HP's nor anyone else's, it's Microsoft's contract conditions to keep OEM CDs from being separated from computers - as happened in Germany. No real Windows disk, no separation. [link\|http://www.aaxnet.com\|AAx]
Post #272,700 by pwhysall 11/8/06 11:38:55 PM 11/8/06 11:39:54 PM Reply	Concur (oh, Pro/Home dichotomy. Ignore) Peter [link\|http://www.no2id.net/\|Don't Let The Terrorists Win] [link\|http://www.kuro5hin.org\|There is no K5 Cabal] [link\|http://guildenstern.dyndns.org\|Home] Use P2P for legitimate purposes! [link\|http://kevan.org/brain.cgi?pwhysall\|A better terminal emulator] Edited by pwhysall Nov. 8, 2006, 11:39:54 PM EST Expand All History

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