Windows 2000 Professional and old Dell

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BecauseScience

[H]ard|Gawd
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I have an old Dell Dimension 4100 server that I'm trying to get up and running again. It has a Windows 2000 Professional COA on the case. My problem is that I don't have the original Dell branded install disks.

My goal is to get Windows 2000 Pro installed using the serial from the machine's COA. I want a fully legal, license compliant, OS install. it must pass WGA and function for the long haul without licencing issues. i am not asking for (and will not do) anything that violates the original license terms.

I know that serial on the COA is good and that it hasn't been abused. This machine was bought by a business and has lived an uneventful life running billing software in the back room of a medical office. The machine was running Windows 2000 Pro (with SP's) until some time about 1.5 years ago when the disk died.

I have at my disposal a legal retail Windows 2000 Professional CD (no service packs). I tried to install with that but the setup refused the serial from the COA. This was without an internet connection and long before the OS was up and running.

Just to get this out of the way I do not want to use my retail license on this machine. This machine isn't going to be mine.

I did some research and found that there is a PID number that restricts the type of serial number that setup will accept. I made a copy of my retail disk with the PID and volume label changed to match that of an OEM Windows 2000 Professional CD. I installed with it but setup didn't accept the serial from the COA.

I couldn't find PID's and volume labels for Dell Royalty copies of Windows 2000 Professional so I could not try that.

I thought I'd go to Dell and see what they wanted for a set of restore disks. I entered both the "service tag" and "express service code" and neither was recognized. Could it be that this machine is too old? It's a PIII class machine but it was bought through the business channel. I would think that Dell should still have record of it.

The Dell's parts website has an automated system where some activex stuff identifies your machine and tells you what parts you can buy. I installed my retail copy of Windows 2000 on the machine with my retail key just so that I could run the Dell parts tool. That failed too. I wiped Windows from the machine. As I said I'm not going to give away my Windows 2000 license.

I have one last idea but I have my doubts about it producing a 100% kosher install. I could install from my Retail Windows 2000 Professional CD and use my own valid serial. Then before I connect the machine to the internet I could use a key changing program to switch the key to the one on the machine's COA. Somehow, I think that this would run into problems. I have read that WGA checks for certain files that are present on Dell licensed media and their resulting OS installs. Also, I don't want to put my own retail license at jeopardy just to get this machine running.

Does anyone have any suggestions for getting this done with a minimum of fuss? I've already put more time into this than the machine deserves. These things go for $50 on ebay.
 
Get a Windows 2000 CD, copy the contents to the hard drive, go inside the i386 folder, find the setupp.ini file, change the last 3 digits of the PID to 270, use nLite to take the files on the hard drive and create a new installation CD, install it, you'll never be asked for the key.

Simple.

From a purely legal standpoint, the CD you have (the retail Windows 2000 CD) won't work with the OEM key on the COA sticker; it would violate the EULA.

Use the method above and you'll be fine. Last 3 digits of the PID in the setupp.ini to 270 and save it, create a new ISO using nLite, burn it, install, done.

Oh, and the most important part (DOH!!!): use nLite to integrate Service Pack 4 into the files before you make the CD, that way the installation will be Windows 2000 Professional Service Pack 4 and then hit Windows Update for whatever it offers.
 
Joe Average said:
Get a Windows 2000 CD, copy the contents to the hard drive, go inside the i386 folder, find the setupp.ini file, change the last 3 digits of the PID to 270, use nLite to take the files on the hard drive and create a new installation CD, install it, you'll never be asked for the key.

Simple.

From a purely legal standpoint, the CD you have (the retail Windows 2000 CD) won't work with the OEM key on the COA sticker; it would violate the EULA.

Use the method above and you'll be fine. Last 3 digits of the PID in the setupp.ini to 270 and save it, create a new ISO using nLite, burn it, install, done.

Oh, and the most important part (DOH!!!): use nLite to integrate Service Pack 4 into the files before you make the CD, that way the installation will be Windows 2000 Professional Service Pack 4 and then hit Windows Update for whatever it offers.
Click to expand...

Thanks for taking the time to help. I realize that those steps would result in a working Windows 2000 install. Unfortunately, that procedure would result in a "Volume License" install. I need a "Dell Royalty OEM" install complete with all of the right OEMBIOS files and whatnot.
 
I decided to chat with a Dell support rep on the website just for kicks. What a mistake! The guy said that I'd have to buy the disks from Dell Spare Parts because the machine is long out of warranty. Ok, I say. He gave me an 800 number and a seven digit extension.

I called the number. The person there said that they don't do that and forwarded me to Out of Warranty Support. I'm pretty sure this is where I was whisked from India to China. CHINA! When the hell did Dell move support to China?

The woman at Out of Warranty Support said that they don't send out disks but that there was "a red mark on her database." She needed to forward me somewhere else. Never told me where.

Another woman answered. I'm pretty sure I was back in India. She told me that the machine in question has "lifetime phone support" even though the regular warranty is long over. Normally, this would allow her to send me some disks. Unfortunately, she cannot. Windows 2000 is end of life so they are no longer allowed to send out disks. She wouldn't send me XP disks either...no surprise there.

Another 45 minutes of my life wasted on this debacle.
 
I don't see the issue with using the PID 270 "trick" - there was even a Microsoft KB article at one time that suggested this course of action if the original OEM sticker/COA was missing or the key itself was scratched out or rubbed off.

To Microsoft, and in a legal sense, the Product Key is not what determines legal ownership or the legal license to run the software on the given hardware - the COA sticker is. As long as that COA sticker, for the given software, is attached, Microsoft could care less if you modded the installation so it didn't ask for the key which is all this little "trick" does. It's simply a PID that Microsoft created that allows a system builder to do the installs on multiple machines (Volume License, if you will, before they really put that into serious use with XP) without the hassles of standing there inputting a Product Key into each machine.

The sticker on the box/case implies ownership, that's all that matters. As long as that sticker is there, you're welcome to install the software any way you see fit, even if it means using the "trick." This isn't a hack of any kind; it's in there for a reason, and your situation would most definitely be one of those reasons.

Nobody is going to come kicking your door in just because you chose to use the 270 PID - everything works, everything is legit, there's actually no legal ramifications of doing this as long as the COA sticker remains attached to the hardware the software is installed upon.

That's the one requirement for keeping it "legit."

Good luck...
 
Joe Average said:
I don't see the issue with using the PID 270 "trick" - there was even a Microsoft KB article at one time that suggested this course of action if the original OEM sticker/COA was missing or the key itself was scratched out or rubbed off.

To Microsoft, and in a legal sense, the Product Key is not what determines legal ownership or the legal license to run the software on the given hardware - the COA sticker is. As long as that COA sticker, for the given software, is attached, Microsoft could care less if you modded the installation so it didn't ask for the key which is all this little "trick" does. It's simply a PID that Microsoft created that allows a system builder to do the installs on multiple machines (Volume License, if you will, before they really put that into serious use with XP) without the hassles of standing there inputting a Product Key into each machine.

The sticker on the box/case implies ownership, that's all that matters. As long as that sticker is there, you're welcome to install the software any way you see fit, even if it means using the "trick." This isn't a hack of any kind; it's in there for a reason, and your situation would most definitely be one of those reasons.

Nobody is going to come kicking your door in just because you chose to use the 270 PID - everything works, everything is legit, there's actually no legal ramifications of doing this as long as the COA sticker remains attached to the hardware the software is installed upon.

That's the one requirement for keeping it "legit."

Good luck...
Click to expand...

I wasn't aware that the 270 trick was a Microsoft sponsored thing. I agree that MS doesn't particularly care how you get the OS on the machine so long as the installed OS matches what is on the COA. I was concerned that WGA would eventually bug out because the PID was altered. I guess I should give it a try.
 
Well, considering the 270 code was put in there by Microsoft - it's not some third party hack, as I said before that code is in there for a reason and Microsoft designed it that way - that pretty much covers it. WGA isn't really something that affects Windows 2000 much, if at all. It was designed for XP and later OSes, and only once in a blue moon would it even be relevant with respect to Windows 2000.

The 270 code basically tells the installer "It's cool, there's no need to ask for a Product Key duing setup, skip that step..." and that's it. Nothing else is altered in the installation, nor the final installed OS.

Simple.
 
Also, it should be stated that win2k doesn't support WGA. WGA wasn't added to windows until long into winXP (sp2, I believe? or around there). There are no WGA checks in win2k at all and there are no "conditions" your install has to meet to access windows update. So......even if the win2k installation isn't exactly legitimate.....it's not like there are any ramifications......
 
I knew someone would bring that up, and...

Is my product covered under Windows Genuine Advantage?

Products that are covered under WGA include all versions of Windows XP and Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional. WGA does not cover Windows Server 2003, Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition, or Microsoft Windows 98.
Click to expand...

Taken from Description of Windows Genuine Advantage (WGA) - while it doesn't affect Windows 2000 in terms of the installation (no activation like XP and later product), WGA most certainly does affect Windows 2000 with respect to product updates through Windows Update, other patches, addons, utilities, etc. Basically anything that you can download from Microsoft's website or Knowledge Base can and typically will require that WGA be installed (if it isn't already) and the authentication be covered and the download/installation verified.

So... it is a concern and rightly so.
 
Joe Average's solution worked. I changed the PID to end in 270. I slip-streamed SP4 and the latest Security Roll-up. The resulting disc installed without asking for a serial. After installing IE6 I was able to use Windows Update to grab everything else. Update began by installing and running the latest WGA just like with XP and Vista. The install validated as genuine. There were no activation or WGA issues.

I wish I would have listened to you last night, Joe Average!

Dell Support was good for a few laughs though. I had the support person repeat the million digit long express service code twice. She kept slipping in and out of her fake American accent so I just couldn't resist.
 
No worries. After about 200,000 installations of Windows OSes since 1983 or so, believe me, I've seen, done, and heard it all about 500x over. :)

Have fun, always...
 
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