[bading]

ok fist i tried repairing XP like i would on a normal computer with a regular XP CD that did not come with the computer, by loading the disk and hitting install then repair. it went through fine, however when i went to enter the XP Product key, found on the sticker on the side of the computer, it said it was invalid. so after 3 hours on the phone with dell in India, they told me they have a softwear on the motherboard that prevents me from using that CD. So i now have the XP CD that came with the computer but now i cant figure out how to repair windows without deleting all the files on my computer.

Questions:
1. Is what dell told me possible, could they have a softwear on their motherboard preventing me from using a regular XP CD?
2. If not why won't the product key work?
3. If the other questions cant be answered what are my options now?

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Hello bading & Welcome to GTG!

I'm not a staff member , just a member like you...

quote: ok fist i tried repairing XP like i would on a normal computer with a regular XP CD that did not come with the computer, by loading the disk and hitting install then repair

so did you install or repair ?

Quest1

Don't know anough about dell , i don't think so though...

The correct OS Disk Should be used while attempting to format / clean install / repair windows

for example, If you are running win Xp Home , you wouldn't use a win xp pro disk

Quest 2

Incorrect OS Product key (along the lines of question 1's answere )

Quest 3

If you clean installed with other disk you would use the disk you have to install a good partion on the hard drive ( that your product key will work with )

If however , you only repaired... try repair with your disk you have now

Best of luck !

Ez2c

[Ez2c]

Hello bading & Welcome to GTG!

I'm not a staff member , just a member like you...

quote: ok fist i tried repairing XP like i would on a normal computer with a regular XP CD that did not come with the computer, by loading the disk and hitting install then repair

so did you install or repair ?

Quest1

Don't know anough about dell , i don't think so though...

The correct OS Disk Should be used while attempting to format / clean install / repair windows

for example, If you are running win Xp Home , you wouldn't use a win xp pro disk

Quest 2

Incorrect OS Product key (along the lines of question 1's answere )

Quest 3

If you clean installed with other disk you would use the disk you have to install a good partion on the hard drive ( that your product key will work with )

If however , you only repaired... try repair with your disk you have now

Best of luck !

Ez2c

[rshaffer61]

Questions:
1. Is what dell told me possible, could they have a softwear on their motherboard preventing me from using a regular XP CD?
2. If not why won't the product key work?
3. If the other questions cant be answered what are my options now?

Before this goes to far let me clarify somethings.

What they told you is partially true. Because the system came preloaded with the OS it is considered a OEM version and a Retail version will not work correctly.
Answer two is answered by the above also.
OEM Versions Registration numbers will not work on Retail versions
Question 3 is the kicker problem.
Did you recieve a Recovery disk with your system when you bought it?
If not then there should be what is called a Recovery Partition on your hard drive.
When you bought the system the first thing the user manual tells you to do is to make a backup of this partition.
If you did not do this and during the re-installation you accidentally or intentionally deleted this partition that creates another problem.
At this point you would have to contact Dell and purchase the recovery cd from them for a minimal amount.
I would suggest doing this anyway so you have it for future reference.
This will setup the system like it was brand new from the factory.

[lorettabz]

Just wondering if this would apply to me as well. My computer is continually rebooting with the lsass.exe message popping up. I followed the instructions for repairing Windows XP and everything seemed to go well but the message still keeps popping up and it is still continually rebooting. The only CD I have is the XP Reinstallation. Do I also need the recovery disk?

[rshaffer61]

Direct to: lorettabz

Please start your own topic
Although your issue may seem similar there can be other factors that may need to be resolved.
Not knowing what caused your issue and any steps you may have can't say for sure what instructions here you are referring to.
By bumping on someone's topic it makes it confusing for the tech to understand who they are helping. This can in turn cause the wrong support to be given and can cause instability or worse to happen to your system. Thank you for your cooperation.