Just Released! Windows Product Key Update Tool!

[Carey Frisch [MVP]]

Change your Product Key without a Reinstall to match your
genuine Product Key or COA:

First, please verify if your COA sticker or product key: http://www.microsoft.com/resources/howtotell/en/coa.mspx
matches your Product Key being used on your system. You can
view your product key with the Genuine Advantage diagnostics tool
(at least the last 15 digits) located here:
http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=52012

The Genuine Advantage Product Key Update Tool is only valid for
users attempting to change their current non-genuine Product Key
to a genuine COA sticker or genuine Product Key - all without a reinstall! http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=50346&clcid=0x409

--
Carey Frisch
Microsoft MVP
Windows - Shell/User
Microsoft Community Newsgroups
news://msnews.microsoft.com/

[Hargreaves@discussions.microsoft.com Jim Hargreaves]

How can I change my product key with XP media center?

[Shenan Stanley]

Carey wrote:
> The Genuine Advantage Product Key Update Tool is only valid for
> users attempting to change their current non-genuine Product Key
> to a genuine COA sticker or genuine Product Key - all without a
> reinstall!
> http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=50346&clcid=0x409

Jim Hargreaves wrote:
> How can I change my product key with XP media center?

Did you try the tool you quoted in your response/post?
Although - to be honest - I am unsure how one would manage to get an invalid
product key for Windows XP Media Center Edition...
It's pretty much OEM only.

--
Shenan Stanley
MS-MVP
--
How To Ask Questions The Smart Way
http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html

[Jim Hargreaves]

yes I tried it and it said my product wasn't valid for the tool. I think my
son may have downloaded a newer release of media center than the one that
came with my Sony Vaio. I can't get updates etc. I have tried sevral key
changer tools but so far none work for xp media center.

[Shenan Stanley]

Carey wrote:
> The Genuine Advantage Product Key Update Tool is only valid for
> users attempting to change their current non-genuine Product Key
> to a genuine COA sticker or genuine Product Key - all without a
> reinstall!
> http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=50346&clcid=0x409

Jim Hargreaves wrote:
> How can I change my product key with XP media center?

Shenan Stanley wrote:
> Did you try the tool you quoted in your response/post?
> Although - to be honest - I am unsure how one would manage to get
> an invalid product key for Windows XP Media Center Edition...
> It's pretty much OEM only.

Jim Hargreaves wrote:
> yes I tried it and it said my product wasn't valid for the tool. I
> think my son may have downloaded a newer release of media center
> than the one that came with my Sony Vaio. I can't get updates etc.
> I have tried sevral key changer tools but so far none work for xp
> media center.

You think your son may have 'downloaded' a newer version of Windows XP Media
Center Edition than the one that came with your Sony Vaio? What exactly
does that mean? Your system surely came with a way of restoring it to the
'shipped' state. Hopefully it came with the actual Windows XP Media Center
Edition installation CD? If so - use it to perform a Repair Installation.
This should leave everything intact, but allow you to change your product
key to that stuck on your computer.

How to Perform a Windows XP Repair Install
http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/XPrepairinstall.htm

How to perform an in-place upgrade (reinstallation) of Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/315341

[PA Bear]

Have your son fix the problem, then.
--
~PA Bear

[Shenan Stanley]

Jim Hargreaves wrote:
> yes I tried it and it said my product wasn't valid for the tool. I
> think my son may have downloaded a newer release of media center
> than the one that came with my Sony Vaio. I can't get updates etc.
> I have tried sevral key changer tools but so far none work for xp
> media center.

As an alternative to my other response...
MVP Carey Frisch has this set of instructions:

1. Download and install the WGA Diagnostic Tool -
http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=56062

2. After running the WGA Diagnostic Tool, click on the "Windows" tab and
then click on "Copy to Clipboard".

3. Next, visit the following website and create a post in the "WGA
Validation Problems" forum and paste the results of the WGA Diagnostic Data
in a detailed post -
http://forums.microsoft.com/Genuine/default.aspx?SiteID=25

4. A WGA troubleshooting specialist will analyze the data and recommend an
appropriate solution.

[Jim Hargreaves]

thanks for nothing PA.

[Jim Hargreaves]

I belive he upgraded to xp MC 2005 from 2004 and used a bogus key to
activate. the only way I know to restore is from a partition on the hard
drive. I don't know if there is a repair option. How would I go back to the
previous version without a total restore?
Thanks

[Shenan Stanley]

Jim Hargreaves wrote:
> I belive he upgraded to xp MC 2005 from 2004 and used a bogus key
> to activate. the only way I know to restore is from a partition on
> the hard drive. I don't know if there is a repair option. How would
> I go back to the previous version without a total restore?

There is no going back without a total format, unfortunately.
This type of upgrade doesn't have a roll-back.

The restore from the partition may/may not be destructive - I do not know
the particulars in your case.
It is always a raw deal when the only way to restore is a partition on the
same hard drive as the working system... Think about the problems you might
have if the hard disk drive actually dies...

:-(

[Jim Hargreaves]

Is a solution to restore my CPU to original software and then buy vista
upgrade and install?

[panh]

Where can I obtain a tool or how can i change my product key on xp media
center? The product key tool does not work on my system. it says that I
have an invalid copy of XP.

[TaurArian [MS-MVP]]

http://www.microsoft.com/genuine/selfhelp/pkuinstructions.aspx
You must be able to key in a valid product key.

Read Carey's post.
--

====================================
TaurArian [MS-MVP] 2005-2007 - Australia
====================================
How to make a good post: http://www.dts-l.org/goodpost.htm
Backup and data recovery: http://www.acronis.com.sg/
Enhancing file system performance: http://www.diskeeper.com/defrag.asp

"panh" <pa...@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:DE9A011B-8C98-4EDB...@microsoft.com...

[Unknown]

[AJR]

Hi,

OEM or COA Original Key Update Tool " KeyUpdateTool_enu" for XP from
http://www.microsoft.com/genuine/selfhelp/pkuinstructions.aspx
is not running on XP Pro SP2 64Bit

Please let me know if any other sol for 64Bit XP Pro SP2 OEM Or COA Key
UPdate on XP Pro SP2 64Bit Trail version.

I am able to UPdate OEM or COA Key thru the above Tool on XP Pro SP2 32 Bit
Trail Version.

[Cynthia]

I had tried to used the following mentioned website to change my Product Key
but it keep showing 'Internet Explorer cannot display the webpage. Pls advise
what happen?

[gman127]

"Carey Frisch [MVP]" wrote:

Mr Frisch,

I have a unique question/problem. I have 7 home-built pc's all running
different hardware with Win XP Home (OEM) installed. The kids are always
messing something up, so fresh installs are common here. During a reinstall
on 1 pc, I inadvertantly used the wrong product key (COA), yet it was
activated over the net without a problem. I discovered the mistake after
reinstalling XP using the same product key on the correct pc. I have not
attempted to activate it on the correct pc. Now I have 2 pc's with fresh
installs using the same product key and one product key without a home. It
takes about two days per machine to install and setup all the software and
drivers. I can't believe I did that!

Is there a way to change the product keys on both machines to ensure the
right keys are again associated with the correct pc's, without doing new
installs? Given that the product key was activated on the wrong pc, will it
even work on the correct pc now?

[Shenan Stanley]

<snipped>

Carey Frisch [MVP] wrote:
> Change your Product Key without a Reinstall to match your
> genuine Product Key or COA:
>
> First, please verify if your COA sticker or product key:
> http://www.microsoft.com/resources/howtotell/en/coa.mspx
> matches your Product Key being used on your system. You can
> view your product key with the Genuine Advantage diagnostics tool
> (at least the last 15 digits) located here:
> http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=52012
>
> The Genuine Advantage Product Key Update Tool is only valid for
> users attempting to change their current non-genuine Product Key
> to a genuine COA sticker or genuine Product Key - all without a
> reinstall!
> http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=50346&clcid=0x409

Cynthia wrote:
> I had tried to used the following mentioned website to change my
> Product Key but it keep showing 'Internet Explorer cannot display
> the webpage. Pls advise what happen?

gman127 wrote:
> I have a unique question/problem. I have 7 home-built pc's all
> running different hardware with Win XP Home (OEM) installed. The
> kids are always messing something up, so fresh installs are common
> here. During a reinstall on 1 pc, I inadvertantly used the wrong
> product key (COA), yet it was activated over the net without a
> problem. I discovered the mistake after reinstalling XP using the
> same product key on the correct pc. I have not attempted to
> activate it on the correct pc. Now I have 2 pc's with fresh
> installs using the same product key and one product key without a
> home. It takes about two days per machine to install and setup all
> the software and drivers. I can't believe I did that!
>
> Is there a way to change the product keys on both machines to
> ensure the right keys are again associated with the correct pc's,
> without doing new installs? Given that the product key was
> activated on the wrong pc, will it even work on the correct pc now?

First - a suggestion: Invest in a large (1TB?) external hard disk drive and
some imaging software. When you do a clean install on a machine - make an
image of that clean install so that if you have to rebuild it - it will take
minutes to get it back to that state. Then you merely have to update
changes (like new patches, etc) instead of a clean rebuild every time.

And the answer to your query was in the article you replied to... (well, a
couple of posts back.)

The Genuine Advantage Product Key Update Tool is only valid for
users attempting to change their current non-genuine Product Key

to a genuine COA sticker or genuine Product Key.
All without a reinstall!
http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=50346&clcid=0x409

--

[Harry Johnston [MVP]]

gman127 wrote:

> Is there a way to change the product keys on both machines to ensure the
> right keys are again associated with the correct pc's, without doing new
> installs? Given that the product key was activated on the wrong pc, will it
> even work on the correct pc now?

I suggest you activate the yet-to-be-activated PC with the unused product key.
The fact that the product keys have been exchanged shouldn't have any real
impact. Note that the activation wizard allows you to change the product key
while the machine remains unactivated, so you don't need to reinstall to do this.

Harry.

[Ecoman]

Well...you see it is much easier to punish the law abiding citizen then a
total crook. They won't even say a word to them. ;)

[Shenan Stanley]

<snipped>
(A link to the *entire* conversation is included below. It should encompass
the 2 year 5+ month span of the conversation.)

Ecoman wrote:
> Well...you see it is much easier to punish the law abiding citizen
> then a total crook. They won't even say a word to them. ;)

First off - congrats on responding to a posting 21 months later. That takes
skill in-of-itself.

Secondly - I am unsure you understand what happened.

Let's step through it - and for those interested - here is the archived
indefinitely version:

http://groups.google.com/group/microsoft.public.windowsupdate/browse_frm/thread/a0c27cea2afa9f79/0e528cb612c0a3a2#0e528cb612c0a3a2

In May of 2006 - "Carey Frisch" (volunteer helper) posted a conversation
about a newly released tool from Microsoft.

At the end of December 2006 (just over seven months later) "Jim Hargreaves"
responded to that post asking how he could change his product key on Windows
Media Center.

I responded the same day with a query of, "Did you try the tool you quoted
in your response/post?".

"Jim Hargreaves" responded in kind the same day that he believed his son had
'downloaded' an newer version of WIndows XP Media Center than the one his
Sony originally came with. (In other words - his son likely pirated the
Windows Media Center 2005 version to replace the Windows Media Center 2002
that came with it. Notice the word 'pirated'. I do not use that lightly.)

I responded the next day - asking Jim to clarify his meaning - not being
able to utilize the word 'pirated' as freely as I am now - considering the
answer.

Jim responded that he believed his son had, "upgraded to xp MC 2005 from
2004 and used a bogus key to activate." (Thus the free usage of the word
pirated.)

PA Bear responded that he should have his son fix it then - which since his
son obviously did something wrong at this point - wasn't entirely a bad
suggestion. Although the original poster did not take it as a valid
solution and responded as such.

I suggested that he use whatever mechanism Sony had provided to restore the
system to the 'as purchased' state - so he would have the legitimate version
of Windows XP Media Center Edition and thus - a legitimate key/license that
all matched up.

So - as you can see - your response makes little to no sense - given that,
by proxy, the father had allowed a stolen version of the operating system to
end up on their computer. It happened that the one that installed the
illegitimate version of the OS was his son. The son had broken the
agreement - and depending on how you look at agreements - they can be
enfoced by laws in many many places. Enforced or not - the agreement
existed. The one being punished for the issue at hand was the father - who
should have, in my opinion (and may have) - punished the son and
straightened out the mess by restoring the computer to it's "as shipped"
state - as suggested.

Please explain your comment further if you desire to do so.

[Captlucky]

Sorry to bust everyones bubble but the Key Update Program does not work
om WIN XP MCE operating systems. Someone giving out expert tech advice
should know this before giving out wrong info. Now the father blames the
son for upgrading MCE 2004 to MCE 2005 with an illegal copy and all
because of some bad info.

--
Captlucky
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Captlucky's Profile: http://forums.techarena.in/members/captlucky.htm
View this thread: http://forums.techarena.in/windows-update/651766.htm

http://forums.techarena.in

[Shenan Stanley]

Captlucky wrote:
> Sorry to bust everyones bubble but the Key Update Program does not
> work om WIN XP MCE operating systems. Someone giving out expert
> tech advice should know this before giving out wrong info. Now the
> father blames the son for upgrading MCE 2004 to MCE 2005 with an
> illegal copy and all because of some bad info.

The father should blame the son for installing an illegitimate copy of
Windows XP Media Center Edition onto their computer - as they stated they
did.

<snipped>
(A link to the *entire* conversation is included below. It should encompass
the 2 year 5+ month span of the conversation.)

Let's step through it - and for those interested - here is the archived
indefinitely version:

http://groups.google.com/group/microsoft.public.windowsupdate/browse_frm/thread/a0c27cea2afa9f79/0e528cb612c0a3a2#0e528cb612c0a3a2

--

[PA Bear [MS MVP]]

Shenan Stanley wrote:
> Captlucky wrote:
>> Sorry to bust everyones bubble but the Key Update Program does not
>> work om WIN XP MCE operating systems. Someone giving out expert
>> tech advice should know this before giving out wrong info. Now the
>> father blames the son for upgrading MCE 2004 to MCE 2005 with an
>> illegal copy and all because of some bad info.
>
> The father should blame the son for installing an illegitimate copy of
> Windows XP Media Center Edition onto their computer - as they stated they
> did.
<snip>

<applause> Why these techarena.in guys dredging up such old threads is
anybody's guess.

[Harry Johnston [MVP]]

Mary wrote:

> How do i get the full product key? only have the last 15.

If Windows was pre-installed on your computer, the product key should be
attached to the computer. If you purchased Windows from a shop, the product key
should be in the packaging.

Harry.