Windows XP and Types of Licenses

This post is probably for my benefit more than anyone actually reading this, but for years I've been cursed with having a Windows key, a Windows disc, but once I got to the place in the installation to input the key, the install would fail, siting "Wrong Product Key". In the years to follow, I familiarized myself with the types of licenses Micsrosoft uses for its products, namely that it has a few: Retail, OEM, and VLK. So I've found myself in positions where I have a client who needs a system rebuilt (format the hard drive/reinstall the OS), the key is right there, on a sticker, on the box, and the client can't find his or her CD/DVDs that contain the OS and other stuff. Being the naive chump, I thought, "Hey, here's the key, I have a copy of the version of Windows they (be it Home or Professional) use, I can just use my disc and their key and it should install and be legit."

Oh, how wrong I was.

You see, if you bought the machine from an OEM (Dell, HP, Acer, Gateway, etc.) that sticker right there is for OEM media. I probably had a retail version of the disc or a VLK or something, but it obviously wasn't the correct media for the key. I never found out how to check the disk to see what version it actually was until today. Now this is old news, but it's news to me:

http://www.mydigitallife.info/2009/08/16/how-to-change-windows-xp-version-between-retail-oem-and-volume-license-channel/

The best part of this article, is the the theory of changing the few numbers to change the disc from being a retail disc to an oem or a vlk to a retail and so on.

This article just saved me a lot searching for the correct windows disc to help out some folks. I needed to reinstall Windows XP Tablet Edition on a clients laptop. I have the key, and I had a disc image of the OS, but it was the wrong version. Never fear, I opened the disc image, modified the text in the \i386\setup.ini and BAM! now it's an OEM disc and I was able to use the key and rock on. Now I haven't activated windows yet (doing all of this in VirtualBox, until I get home and get a hold of the tablet pc) but I'm highly confident all will work out and I am stoked on this.

www.mydigitallife.info is a great source for windows hacks and fixes. I couldn't recommend it more.

Late