Used Windows XP, MS says product key is for disc with different service pack

[DblClipTite]

I bought a used copy of retail Windows XP Pro. I got the "experience" folder with the product key label affixed to it and and what looks like a genuine XP Pro retail hologram disc. The disc says "Includes Service Pack 1", then "Version 2002".

In an effort to verify that this is all legit, I called Microsoft's product activation center, then got transferred to some other department, where I asked if they could confirm what version of Windows the product key is for. They told me it's for retail Windows XP Pro *with service pack 2*. I asked if they were sure about that and explained that I got it with an XP disc with service pack 1, and they insisted that the key is for XP with service pack 2. They told me it may or may not activate.

People who have more experience with this, do you think MS is right and the person who sold me this gave me a mismatched product key and disc, or is it possible that MS is mistaken or doesn't know what they're talking about? Do they really know which service pack was included on the disc that a product key was sold with, or do they do something like automatically just say SP2 for some reason?

If this isn't a legit pair of disc and product key, then I need to have a word with the person who sold it to me. But if it is legit and MS just doesn't know what they're talking about, I don't want to accuse the seller of ripping me off.

If it is a mismatch, and the disc that goes with this product key is supposed to be SP2, does anyone know what the likelihood of it succeeding / failing to activate is? What about if I created a slipstreamed disc with SP2?

 

[jeremyshaw]

for windows XP, yes. SP1, dicsc are different from vanilla.

 

[W.Feather]

the seller mis/matched ....


just go and install it , if you have issues , just "find" a SP2 .iso and use that, since you have a legit key you should be fine....that or create an .iso off of what you have with SP2 ...

 

[jeremyshaw]

the seller mis/matched ....


just go and install it , if you have issues , just "find" a SP2 .iso and use that, since you have a legit key you should be fine....that or create an .iso off of what you have with SP2 ...

yup. Slipstream it or something.

 

[Javelin3o4]

If you bought it off the internet it could be a bootleg version you are installing. Ive personally delt with this where a machine had that same issue when trying to upgrade the service pack, and after looking and online I then compared his COA certificate with the ones on MS's site and it was obvious at that point the customer was sold a pirated version.

He brought us a new copy which was fine, but he had bought the version that didnt work off of Ebay.

http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/howtotell/default.aspx

 

[DblClipTite]

for windows XP, yes. SP1, dicsc are different from vanilla.

I'm not sure what you mean by vanilla, but my understanding is that there are retail Windows XP discs in circulation with no service pack, with SP1, with SP2, and maybe others. This disc is SP1, but MS says the product key is for a disc with SP2.

the seller mis/matched ....

Damn. You're confident of that?

just go and install it

You think it'll activate?

if you have issues , just "find" a SP2 .iso and use that, since you have a legit key you should be fine

Ugh, what a PITA (thanks to the seller). Assuming I could figure out where to find that, are there any known legit hash values that I could compare it against to make sure I'm not installing anything insidious? Ideally on MS's website, but somehow I don't think they'd be that helpful.

that or create an .iso off of what you have with SP2

Would doing that by slipstreaming work? If so, would I be better off slipstreaming SP2 or SP3?

I was thinking about that, don't people slipstream XP discs all the time? What happens then? E.g. if someone slipstreams an SP1 disc with SP2, or an SP2 disc with SP3, do they have any problem activating due to the product key not matching the SP version on their original disc? Is it possible that there's no problem if the disc is a newer SP than the product key, but not vice versa? The person at MS didn't say it wouldn't activate, they said it could go either way (WTF, don't they know this?).

yup. Slipstream it or something.

Is there actually an or something -- an alternative to slipstreaming?

If you bought it off the internet it could be a bootleg version you are installing.

I'm confident that it's a genuine disc, and MS said it's a genuine product key. The issue is that the disc is "with Service Pack 1", and MS says it's for a disc with SP2.

and after looking and online I then compared his COA certificate with the ones on MS's site and it was obvious at that point the customer was sold a pirated version.

Yeah, I know what you're talking about. This is a retail version, so it doesn't even have a COA. It has an orange product key sticker with the key and a barcode, affixed to the "experience" folder that would have come in the retail box.

 

[bigdogchris]

I slipstreamed SP2 and SP3 into my SP1 disc, and the key would not take in the installer. Thankfully you can press no and just enter the key when you activate it. At that point it worked. So, I believe it.

 

[DblClipTite]

I slipstreamed SP2 and SP3 into my SP1 disc

Thanks for your feedback. I've read that MS recommends that you apply SP2 before SP3, but that it's not necessary. Why it's recommended if it's not necessary, I don't know. Do you think it's important to slipstream SP2 and SP3, instead of just SP3?

The main thing I'm concerned about is just activating it ok with my product key, I don't care if I have to manually apply SP2 and / or SP3 after. So if anything, that makes me wonder if I should just do SP2. If I slipstream SP2 into an SP1 disc, would that make it identical to an original disc with SP2?

Thankfully you can press no and just enter the key when you activate it. At that point it worked.

That would be fine by me. Thanks for posting. If it's likely that this disc + product key will work, then I definitely want to hang on to it.

You had a retail disc?

 

[/usr/home]

Why don't you just try it and see? Call to activate if need be.

 

[DblClipTite]

Why don't you just try it and see? Call to activate if need be.

I don't have the new computer yet that I'm planning to install it on, but I expect that to be fairly soon. The whole point of my going and finding a retail copy is so that I can install it on different computers in the future, but I'm concerned that if I activate it on my current computer just to see if it works, then try to activate it on a different computer in a week or two, MS will be suspicious and it could F' up my license.

On the other hand, I don't want to wait until I have the new computer only to find out that it won't activate and face a delay because of that and have a harder time getting my money back from the seller.

 

[munkle]

Id get your money back from the seller since it seems like he messed something up.

 

[/usr/home]

Install it in a VM. If any issues with activation a second time just call in.

 

[DblClipTite]

Install it in a VM. If any issues with activation a second time just call in.

I'm worried that if I activate it on one computer, and then shortly thereafter try to activate it on another, they'll take issue with that and it could screw up the license.


I ended up making a disc with SP2 slipstreamed. I installed that and it activated over the internet. (I took it for granted I'd have to call.) Apparently it also passes WGA validation. After activating I installed SP3.