COA Sticker Question
Daave
purchase it with the XP Pro downgrade (it also comes with a regular
license and installation DVD for Windows Vista Business).
I could locate the COA sticker for Vista (in the battery compartment).
But where is the sticker for XP? Shouldn't there be one?
I told him he shouldn't be too concerned since if he ever wants to
perform a Clean Install of XP, the Product Key doesn't even enter the
equation. Then again, if he lost his Dell XP Pro Reinstallation CD, he
should be able to use a generic OEM XP Pro CD, right? (As long as he has
a COA sticker with a unique [*not* the Golden Master one] Product ID!)
Ben Myers
Apparently with the XP downgrade, there is no XP sticker.
I do not think that a generic XP Pro CD would work to reinstall XP,
because it would ask for a product key, which your friend does not have.
Make sure sure friend does not lose the Dell XP Pro Reinstallation CD,
which contains secret codes (someone could hack the CD and figure out
what the secret codes are, but I am not motivated to do so) identifying
itself as Dell and bypassing the need to enter a product key... Ben Myers
William R. Walsh
> I do not think that a generic XP Pro CD would work to
> reinstall XP, because it would ask for a product key,
> which your friend does not have.
Use the Vista key #, as it is dual purpose.
> (someone could hack the CD and figure out
> what the secret codes are
No hacking required. It's right there for anyone to see in a so-called
Setup Answer File. Or you can always run a keyfinder tool on Windows
XP as installed from a Dell install disc.
The OEMBIOS.BIN file also plays into this and provides the "pre-
activated" state if the BIOS matches it.
William
Daave
> Hi!
>
>> I do not think that a generic XP Pro CD would work to
>> reinstall XP, because it would ask for a product key,
>> which your friend does not have.
Right, Ben. That is why I asked the question.
If this were an older laptop with a plain old XP license (i.e., not a
downgrade) and an XP COA sticker and Product Key, then theoretically he
should be able to use a generic OEM installation CD (using the Product
Key from the COA sticker; I'm not sure the Dell Golden Master key from
the .sif file would work with a gerneric CD).
Then again, the Dell CD is superior since it works with the SLP. That's
why I stressed to him not to lose it! (And making a backup copy would be
advised, too, IMO.)
> Use the Vista key #, as it is dual purpose.
Ah, William. I didn't know this was possible. If so, that's good to
know. Thanks!
Gary Baldi
>
> Make sure sure friend does not lose the Dell XP Pro Reinstallation CD,
> which contains secret codes (someone could hack the CD and figure out
> what the secret codes are, but I am not motivated to do so) identifying
> itself as Dell and bypassing the need to enter a product key... Ben Myers
I remember one file from the setup routine from a Dell Win2K
Professional CD getting hacked with the result that you could
incorporate the modified file into any Win2K CD and it would install
on any machine without the need to enter a product key.
If memory serves me correctly, it was a single byte that was either 1
if a Dell BIOS was found, 0 otherwise. The modified file bypassed the
check and hardcoded the byte to 1; result = the setup routine sees a
1, thinks "ah, a Dell BIOS, I'm at home here" and cheerfully installed.
Mike S.
In article <65365553-d31a-498e...@g19g2000yqo.googlegroups.com>,
It's a little more complicated than that. The install CD also renames some
critical files to scary-sounding names like "formathd.exe"
Ben Myers
OEMBIOS.BIN is the real difference between Dell-branded, Lenovo-branded,
HPaq-branded and other-name-brand-branded Windows reinstall CDs and your
typical OEM Windows install CD. The product key is incidental to all
this... Ben Myers
JayB
on the stickers on all computers are different,
when you run a program like belarc, they all show the same windows xp key?
Ben Myers
Yes, if you install Windows XP or Vista on Dells using a Dell
reinstallation CD, the resulting product key is the same on all.
I have also heard that you can install XP on another brand name computer
using a Dell reinstallation CD, change the product key to match the one
on the computer with KEYFINDER, and it activates just fine, as long as
the version of the CD matches the version of the product key (Home, Pro,
Media Center).
Windows Vista actually has its own built-in product key changer, so a
Dell Vista reinstall CD should work the same way on another name brand
box, i.e. HPaq, Lenovo, Acer-eGateMachines, Toshiba, Sony.
Those Dell reinstallation CDs are mighty handy to have around!
... Ben Myers
JayB
of course I installed Windows fresh from the Dell CD,
and recently the client ran Belarc on them to inventory everything,
and we all were surprised to see that all the Windows keys were the same.
Also, when selling Vista with the downgrade license,
the sticker on the box only shows Vista Business, and nowhere on the box
does it say you have a genuine XP license.
Needless to say, the client was quite upset with seeing all this,
and thought that all the Windows XP versions were illegal.
I assured him everything was legit, but
To this day, i was never able to get an "official" written statement
from Microsoft or Dell as to the explanation for this and that
everything is OK. They verbally told me it was Ok on the phone, but
would not put anything in writing other than to refer me to the
Microsoft EULA for Windows.
Jay
RnR
>I once sold a client numerous Dell computers over the last 5 years, and
>of course I installed Windows fresh from the Dell CD,
>and recently the client ran Belarc on them to inventory everything,
>and we all were surprised to see that all the Windows keys were the same.
>
>Also, when selling Vista with the downgrade license,
>the sticker on the box only shows Vista Business, and nowhere on the box
>does it say you have a genuine XP license.
>
>Needless to say, the client was quite upset with seeing all this,
>and thought that all the Windows XP versions were illegal.
>I assured him everything was legit, but
>
>To this day, i was never able to get an "official" written statement
>from Microsoft or Dell as to the explanation for this and that
>everything is OK. They verbally told me it was Ok on the phone, but
>would not put anything in writing other than to refer me to the
>Microsoft EULA for Windows.
>Jay
>
>
Passing the buck so you can't pin it on them. Cute <g>.
Having read some of the EULA once I recall thinking... written by
lawyers for lawyers.
Ben Myers
Jay,
Dell has clearly advertised the Windows XP downgrade time after time
after time, on the web, in its mailers, and in the mainstream media.
Tell your customer this, and that Dell stands behind it. End of story.
If, for some bizarro reason, Microsoft finds out and takes your client
to court, Dell would surely be a co-defendant. IMHO, odds of this
happening are almost nil... Ben Myers
William R. Walsh
> is that why i noticed that even though the product keys
> on the stickers on all computers are different,
> when you run a program like belarc, they all show the same windows
> xp key?
The key you see is a "volume" license key. I don't doubt for a moment that
Dell has hundreds of thousands (if not several million) Windows licenses
available for distribution with new computers. By having the installation
produce a result that is 100% ready to use, Dell saves themselves time and
the customer will see it as convenient. Then they slap a valid key # on the
computer for the end user to use, in case they're ever asked to supply
one--as they might be if their hardware changes a lot, Windows activation
suspects a move to another computer with vastly different hardware has taken
place or something like Windows Genuine "Advantage" gets in there.
You can also see the key that is used in the Windows XP setup answer file.
It's in there, along with some other minor customizations that Dell put in,
such as turning off the automatic reboot on STOP error "feature".
William
William R. Walsh
> Also, when selling Vista with the downgrade license,
> the sticker on the box only shows Vista Business, and nowhere on the box
> does it say you have a genuine XP license.
You use the Vista key if you're ever asked.
> Needless to say, the client was quite upset with seeing all this,
> and thought that all the Windows XP versions were illegal.
> I assured him everything was legit, but
Microsoft has an official statement for you (or them). It's known as
"downgrade rights". You really end up buying the new product, but at the
same time, you acquire rights to use the old one. It used to be that this
was something only businesses would do, and I suppose that technically it
still is. But it's not at all hard to buy from the Dell business store(s)
and I definitely recommend that people do so if they want a Dell system. I
don't know where it's documented, but it is.
On older systems, Microsoft actually supplied a COA with *two* product keys
and a notation stating that you could only use one of them after making a
choice--and that was the choice you made forever after first booting the PC.
The OEM was supposed to ensure that the "rejected" OS was removed completely
if both were installed. I've got a number of Compaq Deskpro EN SFF systems
that have labels with Win2000 Pro and NT4 Workstation keys present. (And
then there are others that have a Windows 98 only product key.)
William