Have Original Windows XP Pro CD but No Serial.

[djqcquinn]

I've recently custom built my own computer and have my XP installation CD.
The one thing I forgot to do was remove the serila sticker from my old case
before stripping the system and binning the rest.

Now I have an original XP pro CD with no serial - is there any way of
finding out what the serial is from the actual CD itself??

Any help is greatly appreciated - as I don't see why I should have to buy
another copy.

[John John (MVP)]

The number is not stored on the CD. If you still have the old drive
where your copy of Windows XP was installed, and if the installation is
still on the drive (the drive wasn't formatted or wiped) you can
retrieve the Product ID from the old Windows registry.

John

[David B.]

The product key is not on the cd, if you can't boot up the old system your
out of luck.

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"djqcquinn" <djqc...@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:AA341ADD-3BB1-4EFA...@microsoft.com...

[djqcquinn]

Unfortunately my old machine has been scrapped - the only things I took out
were the DVD drives, graphics card and RAM; the rest went onto a skip.

I just thought there may be a way of installing the CD - but I know that the
key is required quite early into the installation.

[DL]

If the key was on the PC case that means the winxp was an OEM edition
licensed only to the PC it was origonally installed on, and as such is not
transferable to a new system

"djqcquinn" <djqc...@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message

news:42885A6E-19BC-4E42...@microsoft.com...

[djqcquinn]

I built the old computer and then purchased my Win XP disk seperately - but
then I personally put the COA on the side of the machine (silly me!!) - so I
just now have the disk, booklet and box for the software but no COA with the
required serial..

[Shenan Stanley]

Why you should have to buy another copy?...
Well - because you agreed to it - or at least from what I can deduce from
this posting - you did.

"... The one thing I forgot to do was remove the [serial] sticker from my
old case ..."
" ... Now I have an original XP pro CD with no serial ..."

Sounds to me like you had a computer before that was pre-built for you
and/or you purchased an 'inexpensive' version of Windows XP Professional
(called an OEM licensed version) and installed and utilized it on the old
computer. In doing that - you agreed to the End-User License Agreement
(EULA) - and in the OEM EULA, it does point out that the OEM software
(Windows XP Professional) cannot be transferred to anothr machine once it is
installed/activated. This means that if your old machine had cought on fire
and melted to slag - but somehow the sticker and CD survived - you - in
agreement with the EULA - should just destroy those items as well.

This is one of the largest (IMO) disadvantages in getting an OEM licensed
versions of a Windows operating system - and surprisingly (although it gets
posted likely a few times a week somewhere on the Internet for at least the
last 7 years or so) many people seem unaware of this (because who wants to
read up on things like that and/or read the agreement on the computer they
just bought?)

So - no matter what you get told otherwise - according the the agreement
that you supposedly agreed to (just by using the old system) you have lost
that version of Windows XP Professional for good by getting rid of the
machine it was originally installed and activated upon and that you utilized
for however long.

This is *not* a technical (in most cases) limitation.

So - even given it is not a technical limitation and if you don't mind
breaking the agreement - you are at a point where you do not have the old
machine nor access to it (I assume) - which puts you "Out of Luck". You
will be purchasing/obtaining a new operating system (license/product
key/etc.)

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

[Shenan Stanley]

<snip>
See my other response in this conversation...

<Entire Conversation>
http://groups.google.com/group/microsoft.public.windowsxp.setup_deployment/browse_frm/thread/c637329c8503c924/f603112ebe741286#f603112ebe741286
<End Entire Conversation>

djqcquinn wrote:
> I built the old computer and then purchased my Win XP disk
> seperately - but then I personally put the COA on the side of the
> machine (silly me!!) - so I just now have the disk, booklet and box
> for the software but no COA with the required serial..

Still OEM. ;-)

Although as the Original Equipment Manufacturer in this case - I suppose you
could have made a decision about what constitutes a "new computer" in this
case in your own favor... *grin*

[DL]

You can obtain a key from MS if you can prove purchase, if no proof of
purchase then I'm afraid you have a new coaster

"djqcquinn" <djqc...@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message

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