[dlw]

My Acer Aspire 5000 went down.
Don't know why.

Using a recover disk to do a restore.
When the install process gets to where you enter the COA;
it will not accept the COA that is on the bottom of the unit.

Any ideas on how to solve this problem.

dlw

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Where has this recover disk come from?
COA keys are only accepted by OEM CDs. You cannot use that key on the bottom of the laptop (I presume it's a laptop due to you stating the key is on the bottom of the unit) with any other CD but an OEM one.

[Neil Jones]

Where has this recover disk come from?
COA keys are only accepted by OEM CDs. You cannot use that key on the bottom of the laptop (I presume it's a laptop due to you stating the key is on the bottom of the unit) with any other CD but an OEM one.

[dlw]

I got this laptop used.
Used a software program (do not remember name) to create a restore disk just in case this did happen. This restore disk is supposed to open the hidden partition and reinstall XP.

[Neil Jones]

Doesn't sound right. You either have a recovery partition or you have the disks that contain what was the recovery partition. Either way you don't normally need to enter a COA key for this type of recovery and you often have one or the other, usually never both.

It sounds a lot like you're using the wrong disk for the licence you have. Bear in mind XP Home CDs only work for XP Home licences, likewise for XP Professional, and OEM licences only work on OEM disks. You'll have an OEM licence (most likely XP Home) so the only way the key will be taken is by using an XP Home OEM CD.

What does it say on your XP CD?

Edited by Neil Jones, 09 August 2009 - 04:20 PM.

[dlw]

I gave up and installed Ubuntu 9.04.
Thanks for the help.

dlw