[bluegang6]

yes i do. thanks for all the help

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Okay.. first of all, what they "may" have installed would have been licensed via volume licensing which means they bought three or 5 or whatever licenses to go with that single install cd. Once used up, they are done.

Secondly, only system builders are allowed to use something like you described and only companies like Acer, HP, Compaq can put a Certificate of Authencity sticker on a system and supply a recovery cd or means to recover the operating system on the harddrive. Now, does your father work for someone like that?

If the answer is no, then the install would be OEM and only available for use once.

Murray

[Murray S.]

Okay.. first of all, what they "may" have installed would have been licensed via volume licensing which means they bought three or 5 or whatever licenses to go with that single install cd. Once used up, they are done.

Secondly, only system builders are allowed to use something like you described and only companies like Acer, HP, Compaq can put a Certificate of Authencity sticker on a system and supply a recovery cd or means to recover the operating system on the harddrive. Now, does your father work for someone like that?

If the answer is no, then the install would be OEM and only available for use once.

Murray

[bluegang6]

no, J&J, but like they put it on, i dont see how they got ahold of the sticker?
an example of what i once did:
my laptop got wiped clean, and i dont know how, so i got an xp HOME install disk from a freind
so i installed it, and i used the sticker (on this laptop, but i have another sticker, i was just wandering, but again, how did my dad's company (IT dep.) get a hold of it?

Edited by bluegang6, 05 September 2009 - 10:50 AM.

[Murray S.]

Is it an authentic Microsoft Certificate of Authenticity sticker or just a sticker showing the keycode?

BTW, when they sold the system, they were legally required to either give you the install cd or a means to make one or recover the os via a hidden partition.

Suggest your dad contact the IT Dept. and get it.

Murray

Edited by Murray S., 05 September 2009 - 10:53 AM.

[bluegang6]

certificate of authenticity:
it says microsoft XP professional 1-2 CPU
DELL
Product key XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
barcode
blah blah blah
no cd was given, and it has been like about 5-6 years ever since he got it, and we moved to a whole new country. tho i will look if we have a cd, cuz i think i saw one (but my dad says he is sure no cd was given to him)

[alphonzo]

what if your kids ripped the sticker off your computer so you have no CD key, but you still have the cd and its still installed?

[bluegang6]

@ alph, i dont think u r llowed to ask a question in someone eles's topic, but ill help...
there are programs that help u find all installed key codes, you ca either google, or download: http://www.magicalje....com/keyfinder/ it has helped me before
sincerely, blue

[Murray S.]

Okay bluegang6.. can you give me the make and model of the busted laptop and I will see what I can find in order for us to help but, based on the info thus far, it is an illegal install from the get go.

Murray

Edited by Murray S., 05 September 2009 - 02:27 PM.

[bluegang6]

hey,
it is a Dell Latitude D600
the company did the same thing with my dad recently, he was running XP, they took the sticker off, and put a new vista one, his is still working, and is the companies, so we cant use anything from that, but he bought one from ocmpany with the XP
thanks, ur help is VERY much appreciated.
oh, i also found an old xp disk, a freind gave it to me, to use for now, it looks like it is burned, i dont think we can talk about it here, but once i play the disk, it doesn't say if it is home or pro, or do they come both in the same disk oO?

[Murray S.]

No they don't and that's illegal. You are going to have to find another Dell cd and use that. You will also have to use the "phone home" option (call Microsoft by landline) to get it activated.

Microsoft may say you are using an illegal VLK and refuse to activate or they may activate it with no problems.

That is about all we can advise you to do now.

Murray

Edited by Murray S., 05 September 2009 - 02:40 PM.

[bluegang6]

kk thanks, so if i can still use the xp key, i would be happy, but from what i am understanding so far, it is illegal, but i dont think my dad's company would do somehtign that is illegal in that way either.
also, what i know so far
is that my dad can get special deal through Microsoft's partnership with his company.
so might that be the reason, his company is somewhat partnered with Microsoft?

[Murray S.]

is that my dad can get special deal through Microsoft's partnership with his company.
so might that be the reason, his company is somewhat partnered with Microsoft?

It is possible they have a Volume Licensing Key (see my above post). In that case, the phone Microsoft option to activate will tell the tale.

Murray

[bluegang6]

hmm, well ok, i will try, when i get the system, to get a new copy of xp, if i cant do that, i wilkl use the xp for a few days, i think that is the best bet, i will try to remove it as soon as possible
and do u have any idea on when vista 7 will be released?

[Murray S.]

No such thing as Vista 7 but Windows 7 has been out for a couple weeks now.

But, are you just trying to get the info off the old harddrive once you have your new system? If that is the case, you need nothing more than an external enclosure to go from a laptop hdd to the usb port on your new system.

Murray

[Murray S.]

what if your kids ripped the sticker off your computer so you have no CD key, but you still have the cd and its still installed?

If you registered your install when you activated it, no problems as Microsoft will have that information. If you didn't, then you may be SOL.

Then newest MJB may do the trick as mentioned.

Murray

Edited by Murray S., 05 September 2009 - 02:58 PM.