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XP Reinstallation and validation


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#1
Rhionin

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I want to reinstall windows XP on my laptop, but I don't know where the XP CD is. However, I do have the 25-character product key.

Is it somehow possible to reinstall XP and validate my own key without the disk? For example using another installation disk?
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#2
LoMaX327

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Yeah, you can use another CD to reinstall XP, as long as you have the product key.

The key thing to keep in mind is that your product key corresponds to a specific version of XP.... whether it be XP home, XP Pro, XP media center, or what have you. Make sure that the disk you use to reinstall contains that same specific version as your product key.

Also note, that there is a difference between OEM (manufacturer installed) XP versions and the retail versions.

Edited by LoMaX327, 03 May 2010 - 04:07 PM.

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#3
Alzeimer

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All cd versions are the same, it is the product key that are different.

Borrow the same CD version of your XP (home, pro) and use your product key, you should have no problem.

If it was an oem version (dell, HP, acer) that xp came preinstalled, the only difference will be the drivers you will need, an oem cd is splitstream with your specific PC hardware drivers.

Just takes a little bit longer to finish installing (drivers) everything.

Visit the website of your motherboard manufacturer for specific drivers.
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#4
LoMaX327

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All cd versions are the same, it is the product key that are different.

Borrow the same CD version of your XP (home, pro) and use your product key, you should have no problem.

If it was an oem version (dell, HP, acer) that xp came preinstalled, the only difference will be the drivers you will need, an oem cd is splitstream with your specific PC hardware drivers.

Just takes a little bit longer to finish installing (drivers) everything.

Visit the website of your motherboard manufacturer for specific drivers.


Just a small clarification, retail product keys will not work with OEM media and vice versa.
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#5
Rhionin

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Alright, so I have a Gateway desktop (with OEM CD) and my HP laptop, both of which run with XP Media Center 2005. If I were to install windows using the CD that came with my Gateway desktop, how can I use the activation code from my laptop?
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#6
Alzeimer

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All cd versions are the same, it is the product key that are different.

Borrow the same CD version of your XP (home, pro) and use your product key, you should have no problem.

If it was an oem version (dell, HP, acer) that xp came preinstalled, the only difference will be the drivers you will need, an oem cd is splitstream with your specific PC hardware drivers.

Just takes a little bit longer to finish installing (drivers) everything.

Visit the website of your motherboard manufacturer for specific drivers.


Just a small clarification, retail product keys will not work with OEM media and vice versa.



Your right, brain freeze on my part.
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#7
Rhionin

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So that should work, right? Both windows installations are OEM.
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#8
LoMaX327

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I believe so, yes.

I recall Gateway doing something different with their Media Center '05 discs, but that may have just been the repair functionality (I dont believe you can perform a proper repair install using a gateway media center 05 CD), but as you are doing a clean install, it should work, yes.

As Alzeimer stated, drivers will be an issue once the install is complete, but activating windows should work fine.

Try it, at this point it sounds like your best bet. If it doesnt work, post back here with more info and we can try and work our way through it for ya :)

Edited by LoMaX327, 03 May 2010 - 05:36 PM.

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#9
Rhionin

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Aha! I got it working.. turns out I read one of the letters wrong on the key.. haha!

Alright, so this might sound funny, but now that my XP is reactivated, I want to upgrade it to Windows 7 because my college offers it for cheap. Is the best place to get my laptop's drivers from the HP website? IF so, the highest level of OS is Vista. Vista drivers work for W7, right?
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#10
LoMaX327

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Aha! I got it working.. turns out I read one of the letters wrong on the key.. haha!

Alright, so this might sound funny, but now that my XP is reactivated, I want to upgrade it to Windows 7 because my college offers it for cheap. Is the best place to get my laptop's drivers from the HP website? IF so, the highest level of OS is Vista. Vista drivers work for W7, right?



hehe, you got all the tricky questions dontcha? lol

I myself was considering for a long time doing an upgrade from XP to 7, but my challenge was tricking 7 into letting me keep my installed programs and whatnot... which cant be done with a direct upgrade from XP to 7 (if i want to do it, i have to upgrade from XP to Vista,and then from Vista to 7, which is messy.... very messy).

Since you are working with a clean install, you will want the *proper* drivers for windows XP (if you try to put Vista drivers in, expect XP to bark and whine at you a lot, hehe, meaning dont do it). You can then do an upgrade from XP to win7, and at *that* point yes, you can grab vista drivers for devices that XP and 7 were not able to properly autodetect.
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#11
Rhionin

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Yeah, the XP->Vista->W7 process sounds icky. I'd rather just install windows 7 straight and I've been told that if you try to install the upgrade version, it checks your HDD for a previous installation of windows (like my XP) and if it's there then it will do a clean install, which is what I want. Would the best option then be to just jump straight to Vista drivers once I get 7 set up?
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#12
LoMaX327

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Yeah, the XP->Vista->W7 process sounds icky. I'd rather just install windows 7 straight and I've been told that if you try to install the upgrade version, it checks your HDD for a previous installation of windows (like my XP) and if it's there then it will do a clean install, which is what I want. Would the best option then be to just jump straight to Vista drivers once I get 7 set up?



Correct. Jump straight from XP to 7 using the clean install option. Once 7 is running, *then* worry about drivers and if need be, you should be able to use Vista drivers from your manufacturer to fill in any gaps in 7's autodetection.
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#13
Rhionin

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Ooooh.. Windows 7 has driver autodetection? Very nice! I'll be sure to figure that one out once I get it all loaded. And what about my BIOS? The current version is dated to sometime in 2007. Are those the kinds of things to keep updated or to leave alone?

Thanks you all for your help!
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#14
LoMaX327

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Ooooh.. Windows 7 has driver autodetection? Very nice! I'll be sure to figure that one out once I get it all loaded. And what about my BIOS? The current version is dated to sometime in 2007. Are those the kinds of things to keep updated or to leave alone?

Thanks you all for your help!


Win7 will perform autodetection of needed drivers during the upgrade process. It shouldnt take any action on your part once you get the upgrade going. Anything that autodetection fails to identify will be up to you to get the correct drivers. 7 is still pretty helpful even in that regard, you'll see :)

As for BIOS. Thats dangerous ground. A problem, any problem, during a BIOS flash can turn your motherboard into a glorified paperweight (meaning it wont boot anymore). There are ways to fix it in many cases, but trust me, you dont want to be in that position. Most of the solutions involve praying that your board manufacturer will do a factory reflash.

Unless you are having an issue that is clearly related to an out of date BIOS, you are best to leave it alone.

You're most welcome. Happy computing!
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