No license number during XP install?

Hi,

I have a question I am sure the experts won't have a problem answering.

I am planning on buying a new computer and have dual XP/vista on it. Since I want to be ready when the laptop arrives I am experimenting with new concepts such as slipstreaming. I produced an .iso and installed it on virtual PC.

Here is my question: in the past when I formatted my laptop and reinstall XP at some point it would ask me for the license number but nothing this time . How is it even possible?

 

Do you have a branded laptop (Dell, HP, etc) with an included OEM disc? I know that the Dell installation discs, when used on a Dell machine, do not require a key (it checks for a BIOS flag).

 

What did you create the .iso from? Also, when you installed the .iso copy on a virtual machine, if the source for the .iso was the same OS that had been running on the computer on which the virtual environment was installed, was the guest OS (i.e., the virtualized installation) able to "look through" the virtual environment and see the underlying hardware? If the answer to the second question is "yes," then you probably didn't trigger a validation point because the virtualized OS would have "seen" that it was still on substantially the same hardware it was originally installed on, and would not have tried to re-validate itself.

 

I lost my OS CD during my recent move. However I still have the license number at the bottom of the laptop I was able to get a copy from a friend but I was going to use my own license number. I will have to ask my friend what type of CD she copied it from.

Also, now on my virtual machine I was asked about some online activation process. Is it the same thing? do I have to go online and enter the number I have on the bottom of my computer?

 

yes as long as you use your lic key you can use her disc as long as its the same version with xp. vista doesnt matter because the vista 32 bit disc has ALL VERSIONS of vista on it so you simply pick the one you have and type the key in.

her disc though must be a oem version of xp to accept the lic key from your machine. if its a retail version it will not accept oem keys though that can be changed by modding the disc but we dont discuss that here.

 

If you don't input a key on install, when you go to activate it you will have to use your machine's key. You have sometime before you need to activate it, which is recommended to wait incase you have to reinstall within a few days.

 

but if he is using xp he will have to imput a key unless its a oem version. vista he can choose not to

 

Oh, I thought he was talking about Vista too.

 

In addition to various OEM CDs that check the bios, that do not require online activation, XP can also be setup using any number of tools to integrate the install cd-key into the setup.

It sounds like that is what has been done to your CD. You should not be using this CD or activating this CD--indeed, it may not even allow you to activate it since they key was used on another machine (though, you can usually activate it by phone even then, just not legally)

Since that is the only cd you have access to, you can install with it and then use a third party tool (or do it manually) to change the cd-key to the one on your sticker and then activate.

One such program that is easy to use is RockXP (google it)

Be forewarned, Windows defender will treat RockXP and a virus. It is not.

 

Academic versions of XP don't always require a license code.

 

Thanks for all the answers. I was kind of worried about the whole online activation even if I am using my own license number. Not sure how Windows treat people who got a CD from a 3rd person.

I might just give RockXP a try.

As far as installing XP first, since I am going to receive it with Vista on it I thought it was easier to just install XP 2nd, using the guide I found on this board.

 

just use nlite to integrate the key. imo the best out for that type of thing. and there is more to just adding the key if you dont use a program to do it for you if you do it manually you have to tell xp whether to accept oem or retail key codes

 

XP SP3 does not require a product key on install, just like Vista.

 

How do you integrate the key using nlite? the options to integrate are "service pack", "hotfixes, add-ons and update packs", and "driver". My guess woyuld be add ons, but how do you integrate it as it is not a file?

 

Review the excellent guides at nLite:

http://www.nliteos.com/guide/part3.html

 

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=193872

There is a nice write up done on the forums. It's in the unattended section.

 

Great! Thanks.

 

So long as the CD in question isn't locked to a particular set of hardware (e.g., the factory restore CDs that came with my VAIO won't launch on any hardware other than my VAIO), .Windows (and Microsoft) don't really care where your set of files came from, so long as you have a valid license to use in activating that copyset when you install it. Basically, copies of the actual files themselves are fungible, hence the need for some sort of copyright protection like activation (with all its faults, it does still provide MS with some measure of copyright protection).