Problem with Windows XP activation

Question

Here's my dilemma - my sister and I both have Dell computers that were purchased about 3-4 years ago with Windows XP. My sister's hard disk had fatal errors, so she bought a new one and I installed/formatted it etc. Unfortunately she lost her original XP O/S discs in a divorce so I used mine. You guessed it, now it's telling her that her XP is "not activated." I understand MS preventing people from copying their O/S onto other systems, but obviously she is licensed for XP since she bought it from Dell with the PC. Is there any way around this problem? Dell can check their records and verify that she is licensed to use XP on this system (since Dell sold it to her). It seems extreme to imagine that she'll have to purchase a new license for XP in this situation, especially since she already had to purchase a new hard disc. She has been trying to get the original XP discs from her ex but he either doesn't have them or won't give them to her. Any help or tips on this problem are appreciated. Bill "Schickman"

schickman · Answer

Thanks Mary G, she'll check the cabinet for a sticker with the 44-digit installation ID, then call Microsoft to authorize it over the phone. Unfortunately the paperwork is the same place as the original XP discs - with the ex. Regards, Bill

Mary G · Answer

What she really needs is her own Activation Key. Check the computer case and see if the key is on a small sticker there. Dell usually puts the key on all its computers. It's also on the paperwork that came with the computer, if she has any of that. Try activating the XP that's on her computer using her key and if there's a problem, call Microsoft Activation and explain. Dell will not be able to help you with lost disks.

Denny Denham · Answer

schickman, If you are able to locate the 25-character COA on your sister's computer case, change the installed COA to that using the procedure here then activate the installation.

Mary G · Answer

One thing--it's a 25 character alpha-numeric key, not 44. And she will have a problem if the ex has installed XP on another computer.

schickman · Answer

Thanks Mary G and Denny, my sister tried to follow your instructions but had some problems so she gave the unit to me and I got it licensed last night. The procedure Denny pointed to didn't work exactly as documented (I couldn't find the OOBEtimer in the path given) but I searched and found it. After that, when I first tried to authenticate I forgot to change the product code so MS would say that it was not authorized (since it was using my old code). When I finally changed the product code to match the one on the case, it created a new set of numbers (~50 digits) which authorized fine. Thanks again for all your help!

Bill Schickman

schickman · Answer

OK, after running for three days, the same (or similar?) problem has appeared? She's getting an error message that says "A Problem is preventing WIndows from accurately checking the license for this computer." She is getting around it now by booting from "last known good" but that won't work forever. I followed Denny's procedure to license the system, so why would she have this problem after getting a good license key? What the heck is going on here? This is really getting ridiculous! FYI, she is going to try to re-run the activation over the internet (since her internet connection is working) instead of over the phone, like I did.

Any help is greatly appreciated.

Schickman

schickman · Answer

I tried to repair the XP system but it still seemed to have problems, so I reloaded XP from scratch (reformatted hard disk etc.). Now it seems to have a problem loading the video driver from the floppy disc. When I click on wizard to try to change the driver in the control panel, if I allow windows to search the floppy for the driver, it complains that there are no drivers on the disk. Same thing happens if I select the floppy drive manually using the "Have disk" option. The files on the floppy are Monitors.inf and PV755a.inf. How can I get it to update the video driver? The display is very large, I can't change the screen resolution, etc., because it's using the vanilla, default driver. I also cannot load some programs due to this. I found information under the knowledge base to check the registry but frankly it doesn't really help. It appears that the registry HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\hardware\devicemap\video\Device\video0 IS pointing to a registry but it's not clear where that path IS or how to check or correct it! I certainly don't want to muck around with the registry unless I'm sure about what I'm doing, and the instruction are not clear at all.
Thanks,
Bill

schickman · Answer

I think I'm almost finished with this, but have one more question. I re-loaded XP, re-loaded the video driver/DSL/etc., and now it seems to be up and running. I was leery of using the procedure that Denny pointed to since the regedit wasn't exactly like the instructions said. For example, the oobetimer is not in the directory specified, and when it says to "change one digit of this value" - the value listed is a long, hexadecimal number, so do I just select any digit anywhere in the value and change it (e.g. change a 9 to an A)? As of now, I just ran the "activate" part without changing anything in the registry, and when I do, it says that the system is already activated. Will the activation time-out in 30 days again unless I follow this procedure fully?

Thanks,
Bill "Schickman"

Windows General

Problem with Windows XP activation

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