I can find several related issues posted here but none exactly matching my
question so here goes.
My question is in short:
Can I use the license key on the side of my PC and reinstall a clean XP OEM
on the same PC without using the rescuediscs? I do not own a XP OEM CD, only
rescue discs!
The long version is below:
I have a Compaq/HP preinstalled OEM win XP that came with 6 rescue discs.
After approx 4 years the system is so slow and also virus attacked and
needed a clean install.
I used the rescuediscs and after several upgrades and reboots all security
updates etc was updated. Appart from that the resue discs comes with old SW
and outdated demos the system is not as stable as before. I boroughed a XP
home CD from a buddy and thought I could use that together with the licence
key on the side of my PC but that did not work. Since I do not own a OEM
windows XP CD I can only use rescue discs that comes with instability and
useless SW.
What windows XP CD can I use together with my license key on the side of my
PC?
> Hello,
>
> I can find several related issues posted here but none exactly matching my
> question so here goes.
>
> My question is in short:
> Can I use the license key on the side of my PC and reinstall a clean XP
> OEM
> on the same PC without using the rescuediscs? I do not own a XP OEM CD,
> only rescue discs!
>
> The long version is below:
> I have a Compaq/HP preinstalled OEM win XP that came with 6 rescue discs.
> After approx 4 years the system is so slow and also virus attacked and
> needed a clean install.
> I used the rescuediscs and after several upgrades and reboots all
> security updates etc was updated. Appart from that the resue discs comes
> with old SW and outdated demos the system is not as stable as before. I
> boroughed a XP home CD from a buddy and thought I could use that together
> with the licence key on the side of my PC but that did not work. Since I
> do not own a OEM windows XP CD I can only use rescue discs that comes with
> instability and useless SW.
> What windows XP CD can I use together with my license key on the side of
> my PC?
>
You can use a generic OEM disk that matches the same version of Windows that
came with the machine - XP Home/Pro/Media Center. You will use the Product
Key that is on the side of your computer. You may need to activate over the
phone afterwards but this is no big deal. Make sure you go to HP's website
first and get all the drivers/software available for your specific model
computer and have them burned to CD-R or on a flash drive before you start.
If you don't own a generic OEM disk, then you will either need to buy one or
have a local computer professional install Windows this way for you. The
computer professional will probably also have a branded XP install disk for
HP/Compaq. Obviously this will not be free.
> Can I use the license key on the side of my PC and reinstall a clean
> XP OEM on the same PC without using the rescuediscs? I do not own a
> XP OEM CD, only rescue discs!
If you can obtain a generic OEM XP installation disk, you should be able
to use it along with your product key on that COA sticker. If you are
unable to obtain one of these disks, you may be able to create your own:
Assuming I gat a hold of an OEM CD I have some additional questions.
1. If I replace the HDD and do a OEM clean installation with the OEM CD.
Will/might that mess up my other HDD working key somehow or is this possible?
I will of course only be able to use one HDD at a time!
2. If I check/validate my key will it say invalid/incorrect key before I
activate it or can I tell that the OEM version I used did not work with my
key? I guess it should say key OK even thou I haven't activated the licence
yet? Even better, how can I tell if the OEM I have will actually work with my
key? Can I install it and verify somehow? The only way I know of is to
install and upgrade all patches and download until it tries to upgrade to
latest explorer etc when it might say invalid key/version - as it evetually
did when using the incorrect home edition.
3. If the OEM version is working with my key on the 2d HDD. After activating
etc on phone or via webb. Will the 1st installed version on HDD not be valid
any more? My intention is not to swap HDDs. I only want to make sure I get a
stable working system before erasing the "other" HDD.
Thanks for the help. Malke and Daave
-----------------------------
"Malke" wrote:
> You can use a generic OEM disk that matches the same version of Windows that
> came with the machine - XP Home/Pro/Media Center. You will use the Product
> Key that is on the side of your computer. You may need to activate over the
> phone afterwards but this is no big deal. Make sure you go to HP's website
> first and get all the drivers/software available for your specific model
> computer and have them burned to CD-R or on a flash drive before you start.
>
> If you don't own a generic OEM disk, then you will either need to buy one or
> have a local computer professional install Windows this way for you. The
> computer professional will probably also have a branded XP install disk for
> HP/Compaq. Obviously this will not be free.
>
> Malke
> --
> MS-MVP
> Elephant Boy Computers
> www.elephantboycomputers.com
> Don't Panic!
>
On Feb 28, 3:30*pm, Gustav W <Gust...@discussions.microsoft.com>
wrote:
> OK That is good that it is possible.
>
> Assuming I gat a hold of an OEM CD I have some additional questions.
>
> 1. If I replace the HDD and do a OEM clean installation with the OEM CD.
> Will/might that mess up my other HDD working key somehow or is this possible?
> I will of course only be able to use one HDD at a time!
>
> 2. If I check/validate my key will it say invalid/incorrect key before I
> activate it or can I tell that the OEM version I used did not work with my
> key? I guess it should say key OK *even thou I haven't activated the licence
> yet? Even better, how can I tell if the OEM I have will actually work with my
> key? Can I install it and verify somehow? The only way I know of is to
> install and upgrade all patches and download until it tries to upgrade to
> latest explorer etc when it might say invalid key/version - as it evetually
> did when using the incorrect home edition.
>
> 3. If the OEM version is working with my key on the 2d HDD. After activating
> etc on phone or via webb. Will the 1st installed version on HDD not be valid
> any more? My intention is not to swap HDDs. I only want to make sure I get a
> stable working system before erasing the "other" HDD.
>
> Thanks for the help. Malke and Daave
>
> -----------------------------
>
>
>
> "Malke" wrote:
> > You can use a generic OEM disk that matches the same version of Windows that
> > came with the machine - XP Home/Pro/Media Center. You will use the Product
> > Key that is on the side of your computer. You may need to activate over the
> > phone afterwards but this is no big deal. Make sure you go to HP's website
> > first and get all the drivers/software available for your specific model
> > computer and have them burned to CD-R or on a flash drive before you start.
>
> > If you don't own a generic OEM disk, then you will either need to buy one or
> > have a local computer professional install Windows this way for you. The
> > computer professional will probably also have a branded XP install disk for
> > HP/Compaq. Obviously this will not be free.
>
> > Malke
> > --
> > MS-MVP
> > Elephant Boy Computers
> >www.elephantboycomputers.com
> > Don't Panic!- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -
You should know that the OEM XP License on your PC might be a HP/
Compaq branded license that may require a Recovery CD version of XP.
You should not have any problems installing the generic OEM install CD
but you will need to phone the Activation Desk for the activation
key. Be prepared to do the "twenty questions" answers.
Reinstalling XP OEM on same HW 
Linear Mode
