Product key issue

[John Farley]

When I bought my previous computer from Dell I purchased an Office XP pro disk as well.

When I try to install this disk in my new computer (old one blew up) it says Invalid Product Key.

Needless to say I have treble checked the key I have typed in from the original disk package.

Any suggestions?

[BOAC]

I think you are snooked, John, as SF says. Maybe call Dell support and see if they will help? PM me if you still have a problem.

Edited to give JF a capital letter before RB bites me.....

[batninth]

An additional note of caution - an "OEM Licence" can be licenced against a CPU serial number & a disc drive serial number.

In the past when I've used an OEM licence, I have been able to ring MS & get the product key revalidated against a new CPU (the old one fried), but not against a new CPU & new disc - ie PC upgrade.

John - I'm afraid I agree with BOAC, I think you need to be looking for a new OEM licence.

[mixture]

I think you need to be looking for a new OEM licence.

NO !

He needs to be looking for a full product license.

It is a requirement of the license that the original system builder does pre-installation of the software.

It is not permissible for Microsoft OEM licenses to be advertised or distributed without a fully assembled computer system. Resellers/System builders are not allowed to advertise OEM software seperatley from the fully assembled computer system that it should be sold with.

Therefore if he did not buy his new computer with a bundled license, he must obtain a FPP or Volume license, as appropriate for his circumstances.

[green granite]

John at what point does it tell you this, when you first type it in or when you try to validate the software?

If it's the first case then there used to be a problem that if the "sans serif" font file is missing then it cant read the key correctly and will give you an error.

If it's the second case then ring the Microsoft help line, tell them the problem and see if they will reset the validation for that product key.

[The late XV105]

If it's the second case then ring the Microsoft help line, tell them the problem and see if they will reset the validation for that product key.


Well worth a punt. My MESH (so not Dell) home PC came with XP MCE 2005 already loaded and a backup "For use only with the PC that it came supplied with" copy on CD. I wanted to add some additional HDD capacity however and take advantage of this to perform some other upgrades and disk partitioning. Having wiped the existing HDDs and reinstalled XP on one of them I found that it wouldn't validate because it was no longer recognised as installed on the same machine that my copy was supplied with.

I called the Microsoft help line expecting a battle, but after I had answered about a dozen perfectly reasonable questions I was told that my key had been reactivated and that I should try again.

Sure enough, it worked :-)

[mixture]

XV105,

Yours sounds like a completely different situation, correct me if wrong.

You kept the same PC, but just upgraded the HDDs.

That's fine.
(cf. Q11 in this document http://download.microsoft.com/download/4/e/3/4e3eace0-4c6d-4123-9d0c-c80436181742/OSLicQA.doc)

If you read the original poster's message, you'll see he's bought himself a whole new computer and expects to be able to use his OEM software on that.

No can do. :=
(cf. Q10 in the aforementioned document)


There is a reason OEM software is bundled with new systems at such a high discount .... you get what you pay for in restricted license terms. It's really not worth your time trying to pull the wool over Microsoft's eyes .... just license a new copy legally and be done with it ! :rolleyes:

[The late XV105]

Yours sounds like a completely different situation, correct me if wrong.
You kept the same PC, but just upgraded the HDDs.
That's fine.
(cf. Q11 in this document http://download.microsoft.com/downlo...42/OSLicQA.doc (http://download.microsoft.com/download/4/e/3/4e3eace0-4c6d-4123-9d0c-c80436181742/OSLicQA.doc))
If you read the original poster's message, you'll see he's bought himself a whole new computer and expects to be able to use his OEM software on that.

I upgraded rather more than just the HDDs but did keep the same MoBo, so in that case, yes, it's a different situation, thanks. Thanks too for the link, which I have bookmarked for future reference. It does therefore seem that a new full product licence is needed as you say because it appears unlikely from what is posted that the new PC can be deemed a defect replacement for the one that went phut.

[P.Pilcher]

I'm just wondering chaps, because I shall soon need to replace my machine and am contemplating a self build as I have no wish to use Vista and thus will be able to install my own copy of XP, however I am considering the possibility of Linux. I know that there are plenty of Linux fans out there and I have played with a computer running it, but is it now mature enough to replace XP? As we know, it is of course free.

P.P.

[mixture]

Thanks too for the link, which I have bookmarked for future reference

There are some handy little gems tucked away on the Microsoft website, but they certainly are not easy to find !

Glad the doc was of interest. :ok:

One other little gem before I go, not many people know that if your computer came with Vista Business or Vista Ultimate, and you don't like it ... you can legally downgrade to XP Pro at no additional cost.

http://download.microsoft.com/download/5/f/4/5f4c83d3-833e-4f11-8cbd-699b0c164182/royaltyoemreferencesheet.pdf

[mixture]

PP,

I know that there are plenty of Linux fans out there and I have played with a computer running it, but is it now mature enough to replace XP?

Depends on your background / level of IT literacy.

It's a different experience, not as bad as it was but might be worth your while getting a second hard drive (cheap, shouldn't cost you more than £30), switch with the existing one in your PC and try out Linux. Then if you don't like it, you can quickly and easily go back to Windows.

My personal opinion is that you're probably unlikely to find Linux as polished and functional as Apple's Mac OS X (which is a highly polished Unix variant). Mac OS X is a very nice alternative to Windows.... but it won't work in your circumstance where you want to install it on an old PC.

(N.B. If trying the above drive swap, make sure you take anti-static precautions before fiddling around inside).

[Gertrude the Wombat]

but is it now mature enough to replace XP?
Depends what you want it for.

Email and surfing - yes.

Games, support of interesting hardware, and, and this is the big one, the ability to interchange documents with Windows users without hassle - no.

Other stuff - check it out.

[The late XV105]

Depends what you want it for.



In my case I want to dip my toe in the water and when I replace my wife's Compaq Armada E500 laptop (10GB 256MB 900Mhz) rebuild it as a single User FTP server with a new HDD, 512MB or 1024MB upgrade, and a Linux flavour o/s. I will then stick it in a DMZ on my home network and allow family abroad to download .jpg and .mpg files from it.

Sensible, or not?

It's a low cost fun project with a practical use at the end if it works, that's all. I've wanted to do it for ages, but hope to start this Autumn.

[BOAC]

John - if I don't hear from you, may I suggest 'Open Office'?

[PPRuNe Pop]

John, just seen this. As BOAC might recall I had a similar problem and I contacted MS helpline and they were very accommodating. They gave me a validation key that worked OK.

[shack]

Mr. Mixture

I recently purchased an OEM XP from a reputable dealer who told me that the ruling had changed and that one had to buy a component, of which there was a choice, with the the OS so I combined it with a SATA hard drive. Installed both into an old computer I was repairing with no problem on the validation.

[mixture]

Shack,

I think you'll find this thread relates to Microsoft Office.

The rules about Microsoft Office still apply as far as I know, those rules being :

(1) Must not be advertised or sold seperatley
(2) First installation must be done as a pre-installation by the computer manufacturer or system builder.

Will have a quick look into the Windows situation ....

[mixture]

Shack,

You are wrong.

Unopened OEM system builder packs can be redistributed to other system builders without any additional hardware. They are not intended to be distributed to end-users.

Microsoft retail software licenses are the appropriate licenses for the do-it-yourself market. OEM System Builder software is not intended for this use, unless the PC that is assembled is being resold to another party.


I believe this is otherwise known as clause 5, part a, subsection i in the system builder agreement :

For each unit of Software in the Pack, you must pre-install one copy of the Software on a Customer System prior to distribution. If the Software includes more than one language version, you must install only one language version.

As you can see in this blog posting, Microsoft are closing loopholes wherever they find them ....

Microsoft SMB Community Blog : OEM Microsoft Windows (including XP Pro and XP Home) Licensing Changes You Need To Know About! (http://blogs.msdn.com/mssmallbiz/archive/2005/09/07/461950.aspx)


You also should be aware that the OEM license requires System Builders to provide end-user support. Therefore if you incorrectly obtain an OEM license for your DIY use, you are effectively declaring that you will support yourself. As a non-system builder, Microsoft will not provide you with any technical support.

[Hasselhof]

In my case I want to dip my toe in the water and when I replace my wife's Compaq Armada E500 laptop (10GB 256MB 900Mhz) rebuild it as a single User FTP server with a new HDD, 512MB or 1024MB upgrade, and a Linux flavour o/s. I will then stick it in a DMZ on my home network and allow family abroad to download .jpg and .mpg files from it.

Sensible, or not?

It's a low cost fun project with a practical use at the end if it works, that's all. I've wanted to do it for ages, but hope to start this Autumn.

Hell yes :ok: Grab a copy of one of the Ubuntu (http://www.ubuntu.com/) flavours (Xubuntu (http://www.xubuntu.org/) sounds perfect for that spec machine) and go for it. I've started doing similar with an old 450MHz G4 PowerMac (running OS X I'll admit but a *nix is a *nix when it comes to this stuff) and using it as a remote backup server for some important files and have set it up so that I can SSH/SFTP/VNC (consider SFTP rather than FTP, its pretty straightforward to learn and a lot more secure) into it while it sits otherwise behind a firewall. It sounds like a great project

[shack]

Mixture

Wrong I might be but the machine is working perfectly and that is the end objective.

You can tell the retailer that he is wrong 'cos I'm sure that I am not going to!!

[mixture]

You're just lucky the WGA verification process is so simple and doesn't really check much .... :cool:

One might say Microsoft are more interested in perusing this sort of mis-licensing stuff higher up the food chain than the end-user (i.e. at the reseller/distributor level), no doubt Microsoft are happy that you are using a legal-ish copy rather than some dodgy copy you downloaded or picked up when you last flew a far east routing. But I'm in no position to comment, and, as with most things Microsoft, I wouldn't be surprised if their stance changes tomorrow. But in your case I think the reseller is probably partly to blame as it sounds like you genuinely did make some effort to enquire before hand and the sales monkey just didn't know his X from his elbow. :ok:

If any mods are reading this thread, perhaps we can have a Microsoft Licensing Basics sticky thread ?

[John Farley]

Chaps

Thank you all very much indeed especially BOAC and PPPop

I bought the original disk with the Dell machine as an extra. Over £200 as I recall.

The new machine is also a Dell but I did not take up the option of buying another MS Office suite 'cos the old machine was literally binned after the appropriate sledge hammer treatment of drives etc.

I will certainly have a word with Microsoft

Regards

JF

[John Farley]

Exactly - it does not make sense.

The last time I activated office was when I last installed it yonks ago

[BOAC]

As others have said, John, I think there are too many 'new' bits in your new Dell for the OEM to install. I gather these things work on a points system for CPU/drive/etc etc. I would suggest calling Dell first and asking for re-validation (try "your rubbish machine failed and I have now had to spend £XXX to buy another one of them" sort of thing), then MS if that fails.

Open Office will, I'm sure, do all you want and it is free. I have other options (not for this forum...)

[The late XV105]

Hell yes :ok: Grab a copy of one of the Ubuntu (http://www.ubuntu.com/) flavours (Xubuntu (http://www.xubuntu.org/) sounds perfect for that spec machine) and go for it.



Thanks, Hasselhof.
Funnily enough it was Xubuntu I had in mind.
Looking forwards to this midnight oil project! :-)

[John Farley]

BOAC

Thanks again. I rang MS using their free phone validation number and it was sorted on the spot

Yours

John