XP Pro Product Key

DouginUtah · June 15, 2009, 12:04:38 AM

I have a situation which I haven't encountered before. My question is NOT about Windows Product Activation which is done through Microsoft. That is not a concern at this time.

My question is about the Product Key--the 25 character key which you enter when installing XP.

I have a valid key which came with an XP disk. If I have a newer, different XP disk will the original key allow me to install the new XP operating system?

Warbird · June 15, 2009, 12:41:26 AM

Yes, it should.

blame · June 15, 2009, 01:06:48 AM

depands on how many times its been used to activate an installation also you cant xp home numbers for xp pro or media

PC-Urban-Sawyer · June 15, 2009, 08:10:12 AM

What BLAME said plus:

Additionally, retail keys (those one boxed copies of xp sold in stores), oem keys (those on computers bought from mfgs who purchased xp to install on their hardware) and supported maintenance plan keys (those bought by businesses for installation on systems they own) all work differently and are not interchangeable. OEM keys are different from mfg to mfg and thus a DELL oem key would not work on a HP disk...

The "newer" version of xp should not have any capabilities that you can't get by first installing your original version and then updating it, including service pack 3...

Herb, who's worked professionally in computer support for eighteen years...