Bad Windows Key?

I recently reformatted my laptop's hard drive. This is the first time I had done that to this computer, and when I went to enter in my product key located on the bottom of the computer, windows refused to take it. Apparently it is a bad key of some sort. In this situation what do I do? I'm really not fond of calling microsoft, as I'm afraid that would be an all-day venture. What are some options I have in this situation? Thanks for the help.

 

who/where did you buy the laptop from? if it wasn't a major brand company or reputable dealer, it is possible you were given a pirated copy of XP hacked to accept that key.

I know someone that happened too...they bought a great desktop from eBay (for the specs), only to find that it was a fake XP copy. boy oh boy did PayPal (and the seller) pay for that mistake...

 

where did you get your copy of XP? if this is a major brand like dell or hp, you should have an OEM copy that doesn't require a key.

more details are needed...

what computer/model/make
where did you buy it
etc

 

Its an older laptop, one that I was getting ready to upgrade, however I still use it.

HP ze4400
Not sure where it was bought, was given to me as a gift, from a major retailer though I'm sure.
I reformatted and reinstalled using my notebook recovery cd from HP that came with my laptop.

 

sounds weird

i would think a recovery CD wouldn't require a key at all

is this the CD that came with the notebook you're trying to upgrade or from another computer?

 

My friend had that model laptop, and his recovery disc gave him the same problems! I hate that notebook... it was unrealiable, and just felt bad. Anyways, he just went and bought a full copy of Windows XP, without the key. A local computer shop sold him just the disc for $40. He used the key off the bottom, and it worked perfectly.

 

It is very weird. Its not like im new to computers. This is just a new problem for me. And yes it is the EXACT cd that shipped with my laptop.

Is it worth it to look into slipstreaming? I'm fuzzy about it to say the least, but I know that I could get XP Pro from my other computer if it is a possibility. Aside from that, are there any other things i can do?

 

bump. I don't have a whole lot of time to do this, down to 5 days

 

as long as you have a valid windows key (which is probably on a sticker on your computer somewhere), you can use almost any disc with the same OS.

maybe you have another OS disc? or a friend does?

 

So it's the key asked when installing, not for activation?

 

I have this exact model laptop and it came with a regular windowsXP disk, not a recovery disk. I bought it 3 years ago at Wal-Mart. Never had any hardware problems with it at all.