Activating Windows

[GrandOldTeam]

There are three PCs in my house. All came with Vista.

Recently reformatted one to XP Pro with an old disk, then when it came to registering it - I looked on the packet the cd was in and it says "The certificate has been removed by yout PC manufacturer and should be attached to your PC" Thing is, the PC the XP was with went to a landfill some time ago.

Is there anyway I can verify without phoning Microsoft?, if thats the only resort I have, how would I provide proof of purchase? Will I need to dig out the dell receipt or something?

Cheers lads. Yes I know I could ask on a PC techie forum - but they all intimidate me.

 

[chicoazul]

Just simply PM me with your bank account number, full name and sort code and I will fix it for you.

 

[uknightbreed]

i had a similar problem myself on 1 of my pc's.
as a last resort i had to use a xpcrack code. it pretends to ring microsoft and gives you a new certificate number.its called xpprocorp-keychanger.

completely illegal and pretty useless if you want to auto update from microsoft as they switch the 'illegal' copy off.

but i switch auto update off and the pc seems to run pretty well.

 

[uknightbreed]

the legal way around it is to ring dell i should imagine.
i dont think the paperwork you have will have the xp code on it.
where as dell should have your details and the code on record.

dont tell them you are installing on another machine , just tell them you had to do a reboot and that the ticket with the code on is scratched and unreadable.

 

[uknightbreed]

also if the xp has already been registered with microsoft on the old pc , you probably wont need proof of purchase as the software code is already registered in your name. just ring them up , say you rebooted and as above that the ticket with the code is damaged and unreadable.

it should be simple for them to bring up your details and see what the code is.

 

[chicoazul]

Get down the tip lad, wash yer hands when you get back before dinner.

 

[Vim Fuego]

That post above me is shamelessly promoting bindippery !