OEM or Actual XP...totally confused

[stinger608]

Originally Posted by PrOLifIC_onE

Why not just use a program to get the xp key that is currently on the system and use that during the reinstall?

Screwball, I think what Pr0LifIC_onE is saying, is that you can use a program like Keyfinder 1.5 to find out what the cd key is on any copy of windows that is loaded on a machine.

[Gig-O-Ram]

Originally Posted by Dread

An OEM disc that you can purcahse from Newegg (with a purchase of a certain type of hardware) is a legitimate MS Windows package, not a 'copy' or from another source. EOM Branded discs like those from Gateway, Dell, Toshiba and the like can not be legally sold as a seperate item. They must be included with the purchased system pre-installed, and used exclusively as backup / emergency copies only for that machine only.

We are allowed to purchase these OEM disc's with hardware under the rule that by building your own computer, you are in fact an "OEM". You
can even sell or give away that computer, but legally will need to include that OS disc and certificate/label of authenticity with it.

I kind of got the impression from your original post that you have either a legitimate OEM disc, or a bootlegged (illegal) copy from some other source.

Hope this clarifies a bit for you.

Well, sort of...in the last month and a half or so, I have purchased a hdd, a cpu and a mobo from newegg, so I guess that satisfies their disclaimer policy for OEM discs.

As for the discs that I have: There is the one I just purchased off newegg that I used to install XP on her computer; and I also have a copied disc from the builder of a system I don't have anymore. This disc is just a regular, blank disc on which he wrote the key for reference, which is how my computer came to have XP. I have another even older disc similar to this one, but I don't have the key code for it.

Originally Posted by screwballl

Non-legal speak:
if it has been more than a few months since installed/activated on the wife's or another PC then you shouldn't have anything to worry about, just don't tell anyone that may have legal connections (including a forum like this).

I guess I'm trying to determine if the OS on the disc I just bought, which has been installed on her computer for a week or so, will work for me without worrying about validation. Otherwise, I may just buy another OEM disc for myself.

Originally Posted by PrOLifIC onE

Why not just use a program to get the xp key that is currently on the system and use that during the reinstall?

Um...I didn't know you could do that. I don't suppose it's safe to ask what program that is?...
And it just occurred to me that my OS was upgraded to SP2 with a download, not from my "sharpie disc". The key I used to install my OS was for a SP1 version of XP. So, would that matter, assuming the code worked for installing the new disc?

[screwballl]

I got one called "viewkeyXP", it is a simple exe file that I keep on my thumb drive for troubleshooting and in the case of customers' windows installs