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cynical825 wrote:

So today I had to reinstall Windows XP SP2 on my Dimension 8400 desktop... I've installed all of the required drivers and whatnot, I'm able to get online, and I've gotten a start on installing all of my old software that I had before the wipe.

 

So I go to "activate" windows when prompted, and the 25-digit code that is printed on my certificate of authenticity is not accepted. When I go to install something like Internet Explorer 7, I am then notified that my copy of Windows is "illegal" (which it's not, it came on this computer that I bought from Dell). So now what? I've attempted to contact Microsoft but the number I was given is out of service, and there's no chance in I'm paying $35 to talk to one of their someone on their support team.

 

I don't know what to do. My copy of Windows is legit and legal, but I can't activate it for some reason... and I kinda NEED my copy validated so I can update and download files from Microsoft. Any ideas?

 

Thanks,

--Sean

 

In the future, you would more likely post this on the Windows XP forum. 

 

A properly installed copy of Windows XP on a Dell does not require activation.  Did you boot to the CD, or just stick it in and run it?  If the latter, you'll need to reinstall XP or try to repair Dell PC Restore by Symantec, CTRL F11, see below.

 

Systems shipped after July 15, 2004 came with Symantec PC Restore. This utility restores the computer to an "as-shipped" condition. If you haven't reformatted, repartitioned, or otherwise modified the master boot record, it should work. Click here for instructions about Symantec PC Restore.

If the Symantec PC Restore utility won't work, but still resides on your computer, a Dell customer has figured out some ways to get it to work again. Note - If you removed this partition, it is not recoverable, cannot be downloaded from the internet, and cannot be shipped from Dell. Click here for ways to fix Symantec PC Restore. Users have also reported that the partition can be restored with Ghost 2003, and Ghost 9 using the '03 capabilities of it. If you boot to the Ghost 9 CD, select Advanced Recovery Taks, select Utilities, then Restore Legacy Image it should work - but you want to verify the image before attempting the restore. It's in a folder called IMG.

Systems that shipped beginning in early 2005 ship without Windows XP. You can contact Dell and request a CD and wait for it to ship, see Contact Us at the bottom of the page.