is this true-windows oem serials.

martin57

Hi there,

I used to think that if you bought a computer with windows preinstalled and with the official serial number of windows on sticker on computer then if anything went wrong and say you lost the recovery disk then you just get a windows install disk and reinstall using that windows serial number on sticker.

but

I have read on internet that for a lot of the big system builders like asus etc, then that serial is not the serial number of the installed version of windows atall, that probably they only use one serial for a whole range of machines (with microsofts consent-so called royalty licences or something like that) so in fact the windows that you have installed had totally different serial to the one on the sticker.

anyone else understand this better, and if you can use that serial number on sticker to reinstall windows again?


Martin57

x_Wilco_x

You can re-instal windows on a machine if you have the licence key which is on the sticker on the machine. If you change any componants (ie motherboard) when you try to activate, after re-instal, you will have to do via phone as microsoft will recognise that key being tied to the old mobo and think it is trying to be put on another machine...

http://www.microsoft.com/resources/howtotell/content.aspx?pg=coa&displaylang=en

robnye

different windows xp discs will only accept licence codes supplied with them.

not sure how this works with oem software, have you tried contacting Microsoft?

x_Wilco_x

robnye wrote: »

different windows xp discs will only accept licence codes supplied with them.

The key is not licenced do the disc - the disc is generic, the key is licenced (if OEM) to the machine installed on...

robnye

but there are different releases/versions of the software which dont match codes...... i had windows xp disc, which got damaged, so i borrowed a disc, which wouldnt accept my code, so i had to contact microsoft for a new disc

robnye

x_Wilco_x wrote: »

You can re-instal windows on a machine if you have the licence key which is on the sticker on the machine. If you change any componants (ie motherboard) when you try to activate, after re-instal, you will have to do via phone as microsoft will recognise that key being tied to the old mobo and think it is trying to be put on another machine...

http://www.microsoft.com/resources/howtotell/content.aspx?pg=coa&displaylang=en

i think you are allowed 3 installs/hardware changes and registering before the code becomes locked

Little_John

OEM system builders install versions of windows that don't all require activation so it is possible that the CD key on the sticker hasn't been used.
Should you use a restore disk supplied by the manufacturer you will find it doesn't require activation normally. If you install windows normally booting to the CD with a Dell PC and a dell branded windows CD again activations sometimes isn't required. One of the get arrounds for vista installs without the need for activation is to dupe the software in to thinking it is installed on a dell machine but we we can't talk about piracy.

The use of any CD to install with the key on the sticker does have its problems, there are a few different types of windows CD and the sticker is version specific I have 4 different windows XP cd's home with SP1 and home with SP2 Pro with SP1 and pro with SP2 a key for the original release wont work with one of the SP1/2 disks Microsoft made a few changes with the way the algorithm worked I believe

esuhl

Whether your XP CD "thinks" that its an OEM or a retail version depends on the contents of the setupp.ini file (in the I386 directory).

See here for further details: http://www.petri.co.il/use_oem_version_to_upgrade_xp.htm