XP to Vista.. A little Advice Please

FreddieM

I guess I've got swayed with some comments here to put my old XP professional on the system. So since 5pm Ive been trying to set it up. Plonked in my XP disk and it asks for a 25 digit product key. Now I have the original disk and a little piece of paper with a 42 digit code on it that my PC won't accept........... Can anyone help me here please

davb

The XP licence is 25 digits, you input that when requested, and if it is correct, the install completes. If it is not accepted, then it's either the wrong number, entered wrong, or from a different version of XP to the CD you are installing from.

When the install is complete, then you need to activate with MS within 30 days or it will stop. You normally do this automatically online, but you can do it over the phone which will generate an installation ID, which then needs a response code from MS - this could be the 42 digit code you have, but you would probably need a new one.

FreddieM

I have found the original Product key on the disk, it's on one of the files, but it won't allow activation. Im guessing it may be because the product key was registered to my original PC Oh well Vista here we go

1984ReturnsForReal_2

FreddieM wrote: »

I have found the original Product key on the disk, it's on one of the files, but it won't allow activation. Im guessing it may be because the product key was registered to my original PC Oh well Vista here we go

Best of luck with the 10hr installation.

FreddieM

1984ReturnsForReal wrote: »

Best of luck with the 10hr installation.

So encouraging Ha!!!!:beer:

davb

FreddieM wrote: »

I have found the original Product key on the disk, it's on one of the files, but it won't allow activation. Im guessing it may be because the product key was registered to my original PC Oh well Vista here we go

I assume it accepted the licence key during installation, and it is failing activation now the install is complete. Is it actually being rejected or just failing to contact the activation server.

If it can't contact the server, have you got a connection to the net. Try downloading sp2 direct and installing that - then have another go.

If it is being rejected, and you have a legit disk and licence key, and it is no longer installed on any other computers, then phone the 0800 number that MS give onscreen - they will probably ask you a couple of questions, and then give you an activation code.
It really depends on if the XP you have is retail (can be transferred) or OEM (isn't supposed to be transferred).