Need new product key for Office XP - Small Business

I reformatted my hard drive after finding someone getting into my computer,
but I found that I canNOT find the product key for my copy of Office XP -
Small Business. (It was sold to me with my Dell Computer and is NOT OEM.)
How can I regain my product key without spending money (as I am broke right
now)?

Unfortunately, unless you have a backup of the drive you formatted, or you
can find the packaging for the copy of XP Small Business, you are likely
SOL. There is a faint hope that Dell has a record of the purchase, and if
you can wade through Dell's customer service, be able to get a replacement
key.

Next time think a bit before you jump off the deep end and reformat.
(Backup, Backup,Backup - Writedown keys, Writedown keys, Writedown keys)

"ketira" <ketira@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news992E371-4D4B-4A5B-8994-59BA70C8BDDC@microsoft.com...
>I reformatted my hard drive after finding someone getting into my computer,
> but I found that I canNOT find the product key for my copy of Office XP -
> Small Business. (It was sold to me with my Dell Computer and is NOT OEM.)
> How can I regain my product key without spending money (as I am broke
> right
> now)?

If the key is not on the cd case, then its an OEM edition.
If you have also lost the case & you are sure its not OEM, then MS supplies
keys providing you can prove purchase

"ketira" <ketira@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news992E371-4D4B-4A5B-8994-59BA70C8BDDC@microsoft.com...
>I reformatted my hard drive after finding someone getting into my computer,
> but I found that I canNOT find the product key for my copy of Office XP -
> Small Business. (It was sold to me with my Dell Computer and is NOT OEM.)
> How can I regain my product key without spending money (as I am broke
> right
> now)?

Office XP SBE was only sold in OEM versions, never retail.

--
Milly Staples [MVP - Outlook]

Post all replies to the group to keep the discussion intact.

How to ask a question
http://support.microsoft.com/KB/555375


After furious head scratching, ketira wrote:

| I reformatted my hard drive after finding someone getting into my
| computer, but I found that I canNOT find the product key for my copy
| of Office XP - Small Business. (It was sold to me with my Dell
| Computer and is NOT OEM.) How can I regain my product key without
| spending money (as I am broke right now)?

The only way you can get another product key is by spending money.
There are lots of people out there who claims to have lost the product
key and if MS starts dishing out new keys willy nilly then clearly it
won't be in business for too long! It is unfortunate that you have
formatted your HD because there are tools that can retrieve your product
key from the system but you have now deleted it by your act of
formatting the HD. Why did you not ask for advice about your specific
problem of stopping "someone getting into your computer"?

Have you tried contacting DELL if they can help you out?

hth


ketira wrote:

>I reformatted my hard drive after finding someone getting into my computer,
>but I found that I canNOT find the product key for my copy of Office XP -
>Small Business. (It was sold to me with my Dell Computer and is NOT OEM.)
>How can I regain my product key without spending money (as I am broke right
>now)?
>
>