• Some users have recently had their accounts hijacked. It seems that the now defunct EVGA forums might have compromised your password there and seems many are using the same PW here. We would suggest you UPDATE YOUR PASSWORD and TURN ON 2FA for your account here to further secure it. None of the compromised accounts had 2FA turned on.
    Once you have enabled 2FA, your account will be updated soon to show a badge, letting other members know that you use 2FA to protect your account. This should be beneficial for everyone that uses FSFT.

Finding the Windows XP serial

R

rea[k]tor

n00b
Joined
Jun 2, 2004
Messages
63
I need to format my computer, but I bought it from HP, and was never sent the windows XP disk. I called them up, and they said they couldn't send it. So, I'm thinking I can find the current Windows XP serial and use my family's XP disk... Is there any way to do this?
 
the site has a program that retreives the cd key for windows and office directly from your computers registry
 
compslckr said:
the site has a program that retreives the cd key for windows and office directly from your computers registry
Click to expand...

Wow, your evil... but I like your plans :D
 
compslckr said:
the site has a program that retreives the cd key for windows and office directly from your computers registry, i just tested it out at school, now i have their cd key :)

anyways, the link is 100% safe for at work viewing. i am going to put that program on my usb drive and goto compusa and harvest a whole pile of cd keys now :)
Click to expand...


Good idea!
 
That link I posted is perfectly safe. It's not some weird porn-link infested site where they spread warez and stuff. It's just a small program that extracts the windows product key from the registry like Compslack said.
 
rea[k]tor said:
I need to format my computer, but I bought it from HP, and was never sent the windows XP disk. I called them up, and they said they couldn't send it. So, I'm thinking I can find the current Windows XP serial and use my family's XP disk... Is there any way to do this?
Click to expand...


Who told you that? It should have come with the disk, and it's also stuck on the side of your case if you bought it right from us. ALL of our machines are required to have the OS license sticker on it. If you can't get your license, give me the name of the person you talked to, and I will try to find out what's going on. However, I will say, your request is starting to sound a little less than legal, considering that sticker should be on there.
 
^ ^ ^ Ditto that. Looks like too much info was spilt, though, and too early.
 
Nope, no sticker. I called in and they said they would send a recovery disk... the person I talked to was "Johnathan" at 1-800-474-6836... The OS sticker on the front says "Designed for Windows XP"...
 
If you bought it from us, it has a sticker, unless you peeled it off. Look along the sides and the top towards the back, and maybe even on the back.
 
Ok, I found it... It was on the inside of the computer. I also called HP again and they said that doing this would not work, because they installed an OEM version, and my full version of XP Home wouldn't be compatible with it... Is this true?
 
The inside of the computer? I've never known an OEM to place the sticker inside the computer. djnes, does HP do that?
 
rea[k]tor said:
Ok, I found it... It was on the inside of the computer. I also called HP again and they said that doing this would not work, because they installed an OEM version, and my full version of XP Home wouldn't be compatible with it... Is this true?
Click to expand...

No, that is not correct. You will have to do the activation again, but the number on the case is yours....meaning you can activate your copy of XP Home using that key. Even the OEM versions I've seen need activation. Only the corporate versions do not, and no OEM Builder would install a corporate edition on retail machines...only internal business machines.
 
Thanks, one more question... If the AOL files aren't embedded in my motherboard, the only other place I would imagine it would be would be in the registry... Is there some program to get rid of them? Because If I format my computer without using their recovery partition, I lose the warranty from HP...
 
All OEM computer manufacturers must affix that Windows key sticker on the OUTSIDE of the case. If they don't, they will get in trouble from Micro$haft. Either that, or the machine is probably not legit.

Where did you get the machine from, anyway?
 
rea[k]tor said:
Thanks, one more question... If the AOL files aren't embedded in my motherboard, the only other place I would imagine it would be would be in the registry... Is there some program to get rid of them? Because If I format my computer without using their recovery partition, I lose the warranty from HP...
Click to expand...

If you reformat your harddrive and installs a retail OS ... you should not loose your warranty ... maybe loose support, but not your warranty ...

And ... do you just wnat to uninstall AOL? Control Panel ... Add/Remove Software ...
 
primea said:
If you reformat your harddrive and installs a retail OS ... you should not loose your warranty ... maybe loose support, but not your warranty ...
Click to expand...

'tis correct.
 
just leave the recovery partition there and format and install to the regular one... that way you can sell the comptuer one day or somethig and just format it back to "stock" or whatever word you want to use.. with the recovery partition..
 
scottatwittenberg said:
just leave the recovery partition there and format and install to the regular one... that way you can sell the comptuer one day or somethig and just format it back to "stock" or whatever word you want to use.. with the recovery partition..
Click to expand...

Agreed. I would leave the partition there just in case, at least for the remainder of your warranty.
 
This is a good time to learn about the components in your PC ... install a retail version of the OS ... then install the drivers one by one ... HP's website should give you a run-down of the components or you can take a look at what they are ...

You'll learn a lot more than just using the recovery CD ... this will also eliminate all the useless softwares that manufacturers like to bundle ...
 
I'm not that computer stupid... I know what all the components are, and I individually reinstalled almost all of the drivers, including Catalyst, because HP installed older ones. Another question... Can I use Coolbits registry hack to overclock my Radeon 9800, or does it work only with Nvidia based cards?
 
primea said:
If you reformat your harddrive and installs a retail OS ... you should not loose your warranty ... maybe loose support, but not your warranty ...

And ... do you just wnat to uninstall AOL? Control Panel ... Add/Remove Software ...
Click to expand...

Oh, and It's more complicated than that. I uninstalled it from add/remove programs, but I still have to remove it from the registry... In another board, I asked if there was some program that would do it, because I don't have an hour to search for AOL's "secondary" registry names...
 
In the last week i had to turn about 5 customers away because the machines they bought from the local best buy contained NO windows cd or media of any kind.

Best buy said they recieve the pcs sealed and in the box. So, someone was sleeping somewhere along the chain.
 
djnes said:
No, that is not correct. You will have to do the activation again, but the number on the case is yours....meaning you can activate your copy of XP Home using that key. Even the OEM versions I've seen need activation. Only the corporate versions do not, and no OEM Builder would install a corporate edition on retail machines...only internal business machines.
Click to expand...

Not true. OEM's can bios lock the image to the machine, so that it doesn't require activation. However if the bios code changes, or the image is applied to a different machine, the bios check will fail, and then it requires activation.
 
When you buy an OEM machine you get a restore disk. Rarely are actual installable OS'es included on thier own. In which case you must use your product key on the outside of the machine or that came with the CD, and then you HAVE to activate it again. Unless it's a corporate copy. Which as some stated before is for businesses with the appropriate licenses.

And actually the corporate copy isn't any different, it's just the XP OEM key that makes the difference. The OS installer recognizes codes that are intended for corporate use. So if you've got a retail CD it will recognize your corporate code and work as a corporate copy.

However activation isn't required to run the OS for 30 days. Some manufacturers configure the Windows XP installation on the machines to not need activation. So if you restore the machine you don't have to reactivate. But if you re-install Windows you WILL need to activate it again.
 
Wixard said:
In the last week i had to turn about 5 customers away because the machines they bought from the local best buy contained NO windows cd or media of any kind.

Best buy said they recieve the pcs sealed and in the box. So, someone was sleeping somewhere along the chain.
Click to expand...

Actually most oem pcs I have seen now days do not come with any windows cd or media of any kind. They stick a windows serial number on the case somewhere and provide a back up of the computer from the hard drive. If that gets screwed then you have to call and pay to have them send you a cd.

A really shitty way to do things imho.
 
Sir-Fragalot said:
When you buy an OEM machine you get a restore disk. Rarely are actual installable OS'es included on thier own. In which case you must use your product key on the outside of the machine or that came with the CD, and then you HAVE to activate it again. Unless it's a corporate copy. Which as some stated before is for businesses with the appropriate licenses.

And actually the corporate copy isn't any different, it's just the XP OEM key that makes the difference. The OS installer recognizes codes that are intended for corporate use. So if you've got a retail CD it will recognize your corporate code and work as a corporate copy.

However activation isn't required to run the OS for 30 days. Some manufacturers configure the Windows XP installation on the machines to not need activation. So if you restore the machine you don't have to reactivate. But if you re-install Windows you WILL need to activate it again.
Click to expand...

Yes thats the idea. You're suppossed to get windows xp (whether on a restore disk, recovery disk or whatever they call it)

However, i have seen computers lately with neither.The machines also contained no partition.
 
djnes said:
No, that is not correct. You will have to do the activation again, but the number on the case is yours....meaning you can activate your copy of XP Home using that key. Even the OEM versions I've seen need activation. Only the corporate versions do not, and no OEM Builder would install a corporate edition on retail machines...only internal business machines.
Click to expand...

Not if he installs a retail version of XP. OEM and retail keys are not interchangable, I believe.
 
alfador said:
Not if he installs a retail version of XP. OEM and retail keys are not interchangable, I believe.
Click to expand...

You cannot install Windoes XP with an OEM CD key (sticker on the PC) using a retail CD. I know, I've tried.

I've not tried the other way around.

I have a corp *ahem* copy, but I've never tried it's key with a retail or OEM CD. There isn't much point to using the corp CD when GA Tech gave me 3 legit XP licenses (via different colleges) and I only have 2 PCs :->

I'm still a student, so it's still legal ;->
 
You can only use corporate keys with corporate copies, home with home, pro with pro and oem with oem... however...

You can change the last 3 digits of the PID in the setupp.ini file on the cd (making a new cd of course) and change what cd keys your copy will use... not exactly very useful but interesting still :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top