windows xp media center edition question

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357mag

n00b
Joined
Mar 15, 2006
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im trying to reformat a gateway machine with mce 2005 ihave a instillation disk with 2004 will the cd key on the back of he gateway give anyproblems if i install the wxp mce 2004 on a 05 mce and use that key for activation

2 problems with the machine it was hit by a virus that attacks the drivers and such and want to do a fresh install of xp (i dont trust the backup partition plus the bloatware) but thats the only mce cd i have also the disk drive is not formated in ntfs

also how can i find the cd key inside xp if i dont have the sticker on the side ( it is a valid windows copy i can recieve the updates but again this machine i need the original cd keys )
is there any programs that reviel the cd key inside windows incase i need to do a reformat on that machine ??? i dont want to get any windows isnt valid errors


thanks
 
If the MCE2004 and MCE 2005 are both actual Gateway OEM versions (they say Gateway somewhere on the pressed CD) and you're installing the OS on a real Gateway, it should never ask for the key. The key you'll get with the Magical Jellybean Keyfinder won't match what the COA sticker key says, nor will it actually let you install with it (at least it's never in the several hundred attempts that I've tried over the years).

The BIOS locked MCE uses a "royalty" key that's embedded in the OEMBIOS data files, and it won't be the same as the one that shows on the COA sticker. That's the one you should use to reinstall the OS, but again if this is being done on a Gateway piece of hardware using Gateway branded MCE media, it shouldn't ask for the key at all.
 
Joe Average said:
If the MCE2004 and MCE 2005 are both actual Gateway OEM versions (they say Gateway somewhere on the pressed CD) and you're installing the OS on a real Gateway, it should never ask for the key. The key you'll get with the Magical Jellybean Keyfinder won't match what the COA sticker key says, nor will it actually let you install with it (at least it's never in the several hundred attempts that I've tried over the years).

The BIOS locked MCE uses a "royalty" key that's embedded in the OEMBIOS data files, and it won't be the same as the one that shows on the COA sticker. That's the one you should use to reinstall the OS, but again if this is being done on a Gateway piece of hardware using Gateway branded MCE media, it shouldn't ask for the key at all.
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no its not a mce pressed cd its a oem mce 2004 cd i ask because the hdd isnt formated in ntfs and also the system has a bunch of viruses if i put the coa code on a 2004 mce (non gateway) will it accept the coa ? the version on the computer is 2005
 
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