C.O.A. missing from computer

Question

I am trying to do a system restore from the CD provided with my old Dell PC that's 4 years old and out of warranty, but the Certificate of Authenticity is missing. I just opened the package with the reinstallation CD for the first time and there is no certificate there. On the back of the Dell Windows XP booklet that was packaged with the CD it says, "The Certifice of Authenticity label has been removed by your PC manufacturer and should be attached to your PC". But it isn't. I looked on every surface of the tower and there is nothing there. When I right-click on My Computer and select Properties it gives me a "P.I.D." number with 20 digits, but the Win XP reinstall process asks for a number with 25 digits. I've looked through all the paperwork that came with my PC (I keep it all in a folder, with the disks I received) and there is no 25-digit C.O.A. Where can I find the C.O.A.?????

Karen Stimson

rickmktg · Answer

@karenstimson wrote:
I am trying to do a system restore from the CD provided with my old Dell PC that's 4 years old and out of warranty, but the Certificate of Authenticity is missing. I just opened the package with the reinstallation CD for the first time and there is no certificate there. On the back of the Dell Windows XP booklet that was packaged with the CD it says, "The Certifice of Authenticity label has been removed by your PC manufacturer and should be attached to your PC". But it isn't. I looked on every surface of the tower and there is nothing there. When I right-click on My Computer and select Properties it gives me a "P.I.D." number with 20 digits, but the Win XP reinstall process asks for a number with 25 digits. I've looked through all the paperwork that came with my PC (I keep it all in a folder, with the disks I received) and there is no 25-digit C.O.A. Where can I find the C.O.A.?????

Karen Stimson
Dell desktops have the tag on the left side of the tower, notebooks on the bottom. If it isn't there, then it's been removed by someone.

Note - you can't "restore" your system using the CD, it simply allows you to reinstall XP. You'd then need to reinstall all you other programs.

Perhaps you could explain further what you are attempting to do in your system restore.

karenstimson · Answer

Thanks, Rick. It isn't there, and wasn't when I got the machine 4 years ago--I would have noticed it. I can only assume it came off somewhere between the factory and me :(. Sorry I used the wrong terminology, what I want to do is reinstall Win XP because the machine has a virus/trojan/whatever that no one has been able to get rid of (don't blame me, someone in my house had the machine connected to the internet without a firewall). It's the browser hijack that redirects to www.about.blank, and even the tech guru I hired to come over couldn't find a way to get it off, so he advised reinstalling the OS. Unfortunately I can't do that without the C.O.A.

Karen

rickmktg · Answer

@karenstimson wrote:
Thanks, Rick. It isn't there, and wasn't when I got the machine 4 years ago--I would have noticed it. I can only assume it came off somewhere between the factory and me :(. Sorry I used the wrong terminology, what I want to do is reinstall Win XP because the machine has a virus/trojan/whatever that no one has been able to get rid of (don't blame me, someone in my house had the machine connected to the internet without a firewall). It's the browser hijack that redirects to www.about.blank, and even the tech guru I hired to come over couldn't find a way to get it off, so he advised reinstalling the OS. Unfortunately I can't do that without the C.O.A.

Karen

A proper clean install of XP on a Dell that came with XP does NOT require you to enter the product key. Reboot to the XP CD, delete all partitions, make a new one(s), format, and install XP.

Windows General

C.O.A. missing from computer

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