Format & OS reinstallation

I will be getting my Dell inpiron B130 ver soon and I have some questions.
I know the laptop is coming loaded with lotz of junk, so i wanted to do a clean installation.

• Eventhough they are offering XP home with the PC I won't get the reinstallation disk. But one of my friends who has a Dell desktop has a XP home OS cd given by Dell.
• If I use that CD to format my HD and install XP, would that be illigel. Will I be using a pireted copy?
• Since XP home is already inculded in the notebook price I thought it won't matter even if I'm using my friend's CD, since I have paid for the OS originally. Am I correct?
• What about the Drivers? Do they send you driver CDs? Or deose XP Home contains the nessesery drivers? or Do I have to download the drivers?

 

If you use same serial number as your friend's desktop, that would be illegal. However, like you said, since you have XP home already installed, you can use the serial number that came with it. But I am not sure if you need to enter the serial number because on Dell computer, it will proceed to the installation w/o having enter any serial number, at least on my Dell notebook. Dell should send you a CD with the drivers.

Good luck on the installation.

JC

 

God forbid you use a different copy of windows xp home! Im sure it will be fine reinstalling with your friends cd, as long as you have your own cd key, or else the pirate police will get ya.

 

Yes it is perfectly legal, as long as the license on the sticker is OEM and so is the cd. Matching retail to retail and oem to oem, upgrade to upgrade etc. is all thats needed. An example is I could format and install xp pro at work on several PCs with one single cd; by just having the license per station is all you need.

Drivers on the other hand Is a big no. Unless of course they are identicle laptops/PCs...

 

Im actually unsure, because if you are using Dell machine with a Dell OEM XP disk, wouldnt it bypass the serial number entering?

Then you would just be using your Friend's key..
Im sure you can call microsoft up and ask, but be prepared to listen to classical music for 30 minutes..

 

Thats a good point. For instance the recovery cd I have for my Acer formats and reinstalls xp and whatnot; but doesnt ask for a cd key or uses recovery console at all.

Now if the Dell cd uses recovery console then it should ask you for a cd key and will be fine as youll enter your own. Some manufatures have drives install on a xp recovery disc, so be carefull as you wouldnt want to install useless drivers.

 

Thanks everyone for the replies.

So is there anyway that I can find out before hand, whether this CD will prompt me for the serial number or it will install the OS with my friend's serial number?

Also where can I find my serial number?

 

To know what is your serial number, just look at the button of your notebook or just get Magical Jelly Bean.

http://www.magicaljellybean.com/keyfinder.shtml

JC

 

button
U mean bottam, right ???

 

Oops, I mean the bottom

JC

 

He He.....
lol..
Oki... Thanks

 

hehe, np.

JC

 

So is there anyway that I can find out before hand, whether this CD will prompt me for the serial number or it will install the OS with my friend's serial number?

 

Well, I am not sure. But I installed XP SP1 (mine) onto my sister's B130 (XP SP2 before) because I dont like SP2 that much, I remembered I check the serial number, it was different. So I dont believed you have nothing to worry about.

JC

 

Oki..... thanks

 

It takes the number from the computer BIOS not from the particular CD you are using.

I reformatted my new 6400 a couple weeks ago and it did not ask me for a number.

 

So I can install the OS from someone elses CD, but still I would have a leagl copy of windows since it automaticallt retrives my CD from the BIOS, correct??

 

This is why I don't deal with the big OEMs any more. Just bought an HEL80 with no OS installed and purchased my own copy of XP MCE 2005. No fuss, no muss.

One interesting thing, though. My old desktop PC had a copy of MCE 2005 on it, but it was a typical "recovery partition" deal with no install disks of any kind. Naturally, I nuked that partition a long time ago. When it came time to sell the machine, I figured I could install MCE with the disks I purchased, but enter in the CD key from the CoA located on the desktop tower. It installed perfectly fine, but it wouldn't activate...something about an incorrect CD key. I didn't feel like messing around so I just sold the machine with a completely blank hard drive.

Subsequently, installing on my laptop with a blank hard drive, everything couldn't have been smoother. It activated on the first try and has been running great ever since. Oh well.

 

I used this to retrive the windows CD key.
But then only I saw that that key and the key given on the windows license sticker is different from each other.

Can you guys comment on this.
Which on is the correct key?

By the way this is a new Dell Inspiron B130

 

Usually on OEM install a VLK is used. This prevents WPA (activation) woes on the OEM side. Same things happens on reinstall. This is allowed legally since you cant buy a DELL or most OEMS without a license.

 

?????????

Can u pls explain it a little bit more?

 

when you purchase a OEM computer with OS installed, they use a volume license install so it wont require Windows Product Activation. This is the reason your product key using the software is different than the key on the sticker. The Product Key on the sticker is the key your assigned and should use if you reinstall or dont know the volume key But as long as you use the same version of windows and same OEM (Dell, Gateway, HP) disk, there should never be an issue.

 

Oki........... Thanks..

I didn't get a reinstallation disk with my laptop.
So I used a disk that one of my friend sgot from Dell with his PC.
It didn't prompt me for the key.

So anyway now am I all right in this senario?
Do I have a leagl copy of windos?

 

If you run the keyfinder program again, does it give you the same key as before? or a completely different one?

 

I get the same key from keyfinder, with both Dell installed windows and the windows installed by me.

But it's different from the sticker.

 

If it's the same key as before, I wouldn't worry about it.
Enjoy your clean install of windows!

 

Oki... Cool
Thanks