dell + windows product key

[scottatwittenberg]

i just got a dell laptop off ebay.. the HDD was wiped.. it has the xp pro product key sticker on the bottom.. if i use an xp pro cd and install it and put in the product key, will it work?

or should i call dell, sit on hold for a while, tell them my service tag or service code and convince them to send me a cd?

i would like to use option 1 because it gets my computer up and running sooner..

[YARDofSTUF]

Should work, I think it would have to be an oem cd. Not all cds except all cd keys.

[dbwillis]

OEM CD will let you install, but youll have to call MS to get it activated since they stopped internet activations for certain OEM Keys a while back.
If you need a CD, lemme know

[bbz_Ghost]

The key under the laptop is an OEM key and will not work on a retail edition of XP Pro - if that's what you have. It's tied to Dell hardware in several ways, so you're pretty much dead in the water there if that CD you currently has is a retail XP Pro CD.

Can't hurt to give it a shot, I suppose. Yes there are some issues with absolute legality here, so maybe a call to Dell might be in order after all. Or even Microsoft, ya just never know what they might help with.

If you have an XP Pro CD, you should have that key, shouldn't you? If so, there's your answer. You don't necessarily have to use the Dell OEM key if you have a purchased copy of XP Pro with a legit Product Key.

[scottatwittenberg]

oh, just and update.. i e-mailed our dell rep and asked him about it, he gave me a tech support number to call.. so i called it.. it was definitely a business #.. so i changed all the info they had to my information...

i called them at 4 pm.. and my cd was there before 9am the next day..

[Spidey329]

With the Dell OEM disk and key, you may not even need to activate. I know I didn't when I wiped my Inspiron 700m laptop a few weeks back. I never input a key or activated. Have no problems getting WGA software (patches off of WU and downloads like IE7/WM11).

[scottatwittenberg]

yeah.. it didn't ask for a key or anything.. it just installed.. and worked fine.. the only wierd thing was the cd only had sp1 on it... it wasn't sp2.. but i have that saved on my network anyways.. so i just pulled it and installed it right away, then installed all the other stuff..