SP2 Advice

[catz]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

I bought my laptop second hand on eBay about two years ago with Win XP
Pro preinstalled. I now find, having downloaded SP2 it wont install as
it reports my Windows may not be legal.

What is the best course of action?

Would it just be advisable to purchase and install a new legal copy of
Windows, will this be a problem?

I have of course no warranty or recourse to the seller of this machine
now.

Thanks

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

catz <deni1@tiscali.fr> wrote in news:MPG.1bacfb4153279cd7989686
@news.individual.net:

> I bought my laptop second hand on eBay about two years ago with Win XP
> Pro preinstalled. I now find, having downloaded SP2 it wont install as
> it reports my Windows may not be legal.
>
> What is the best course of action?
>
> Would it just be advisable to purchase and install a new legal copy of
> Windows, will this be a problem?
>
> I have of course no warranty or recourse to the seller of this machine
> now.
>
> Thanks

If you purchase a legit copy of Windows XP, you can use the following URL
to obtain a utility that will let you use your newly purchased valid
installation key within your current Windows XP installation (no new
install will be necessary).

http://www.magicaljellybean.com/keyfinder.shtml

--
Tom McCune
My PGP Page & FAQ: http://www.McCune.cc/PGP.htm

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

catz <deni1@tiscali.fr> wrote:
>I bought my laptop second hand on eBay about two years ago with Win XP
>Pro preinstalled. I now find, having downloaded SP2 it wont install as
>it reports my Windows may not be legal.

Do the antipiracy thing at MicroSoft, and see if you can determine if
this is a legal copy or not. I'd imagine there's a link you can click
on in the "we're not sure this copy is legal" window, yes?

>Would it just be advisable to purchase and install a new legal copy of
>Windows, will this be a problem?

That would certainly work, though you'd be better off buying a new
laptop, XP Pro new licence is about $300, IIRC. Dumping that kind of
money into a 2+YO second-hand laptop might not be worthwhile.

>I have of course no warranty or recourse to the seller of this machine
>now.

Yeah you do, report them to MicroSoft. Worst case you'll get a price
break on a valid licence.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

William, P.N., Smith wrote:
>
> catz <deni1@tiscali.fr> wrote:
> >I bought my laptop second hand on eBay about two years ago with Win XP
> >Pro preinstalled. I now find, having downloaded SP2 it wont install as
> >it reports my Windows may not be legal.
>
> Do the antipiracy thing at MicroSoft, and see if you can determine if
> this is a legal copy or not. I'd imagine there's a link you can click
> on in the "we're not sure this copy is legal" window, yes?
>
> >Would it just be advisable to purchase and install a new legal copy of
> >Windows, will this be a problem?
>
> That would certainly work, though you'd be better off buying a new
> laptop, XP Pro new licence is about $300, IIRC. Dumping that kind of
> money into a 2+YO second-hand laptop might not be worthwhile.
>
> >I have of course no warranty or recourse to the seller of this machine
> >now.
>
> Yeah you do, report them to MicroSoft. Worst case you'll get a price
> break on a valid licence.

I've reported Pirates to MS before. Gave them the name, address and
phone number of someone selling "site licensed" warez as retail. They
did nothing. I don't think MS really cares about individual pirates.

Lisa

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

From your description, you have a volume license version of XP with one
of the banned product keys.

The legal way to resolve this would be to buy a legal copy of Windows XP
and install it. If you buy a "PRO" copy, you should be able to do a
"repair" installation that would retain your settings and installed
software. If you go this route, wait until you can get a copy that
already has SP2 integrated (probably 30 to 60 days -- in the US; don't
know about France).

[I guess that it goes without saying that there are illegal ways to
resolve this as well.]


catz wrote:

> I bought my laptop second hand on eBay about two years ago with Win XP
> Pro preinstalled. I now find, having downloaded SP2 it wont install as
> it reports my Windows may not be legal.
>
> What is the best course of action?
>
> Would it just be advisable to purchase and install a new legal copy of
> Windows, will this be a problem?
>
> I have of course no warranty or recourse to the seller of this machine
> now.
>
> Thanks

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

A legitimate OEM copy of XP Pro can be bought for about $135.

William P.N. Smith wrote:

> That would certainly work, though you'd be better off buying a new
> laptop, XP Pro new licence is about $300, IIRC. Dumping that kind of
> money into a 2+YO second-hand laptop might not be worthwhile.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

A legitimate OEM copy of XP Pro can be bought for about $135.

William P.N. Smith wrote:

> That would certainly work, though you'd be better off buying a new
> laptop, XP Pro new licence is about $300, IIRC. Dumping that kind of
> money into a 2+YO second-hand laptop might not be worthwhile.

 

[catz]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

In article <0nq5k0dr82ak7js3hg8pc52rvq54rtm4ii@4ax.com>, William P.N.
Smith says...
> catz <deni1@tiscali.fr> wrote:
> >I bought my laptop second hand on eBay about two years ago with Win XP
> >Pro preinstalled. I now find, having downloaded SP2 it wont install as
> >it reports my Windows may not be legal.
>
> Do the antipiracy thing at MicroSoft, and see if you can determine if
> this is a legal copy or not. I'd imagine there's a link you can click
> on in the "we're not sure this copy is legal" window, yes?
>
> >Would it just be advisable to purchase and install a new legal copy of
> >Windows, will this be a problem?
>
> That would certainly work, though you'd be better off buying a new
> laptop, XP Pro new licence is about $300, IIRC. Dumping that kind of
> money into a 2+YO second-hand laptop might not be worthwhile.
>
> >I have of course no warranty or recourse to the seller of this machine
> >now.
>
> Yeah you do, report them to MicroSoft. Worst case you'll get a price
> break on a valid licence.
>
>
Thanks, I may just not bother with SP2, what I don't understand is, my
WinXP system has performed all updates without any problem *until* I
tried to install SP2. Is this normal? I wouldn't have known I had an
illegal op system otherwise.

Cheers

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

If this laptop came with WinXP installed when first purchased, you may be
able to purchase the system restore cds from the manufactor at a nominal
fee, something like 20-30 bucks. The cds will come with the OS.

"catz" <deni1@tiscali.fr> wrote in message
news:MPG.1bacfb4153279cd7989686@news.individual.net...
>I bought my laptop second hand on eBay about two years ago with Win XP
> Pro preinstalled. I now find, having downloaded SP2 it wont install as
> it reports my Windows may not be legal.
>
> What is the best course of action?
>
> Would it just be advisable to purchase and install a new legal copy of
> Windows, will this be a problem?
>
> I have of course no warranty or recourse to the seller of this machine
> now.
>
> Thanks

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

Barry Watzman <WatzmanNOSPAM@neo.rr.com> wrote:
>A legitimate OEM copy of XP Pro can be bought for about $135.

By an end-user? Where?

Thanks!

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

<William P.N. Smith> wrote in message
newsqn9k0pmie88n7f78p9265lqh95pclosko@4ax.com...
| Barry Watzman <WatzmanNOSPAM@neo.rr.com> wrote:
| >A legitimate OEM copy of XP Pro can be bought for about $135.
|
| By an end-user? Where?
|
| Thanks!

If you have a copy of the CD, you can buy a legitimate OEM CD-Key (COA -
Certificate of Authenticity) for legally activating for less than that. The
last few I bought I paid $88 for.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

"Jason Cothran" <reply@board.nomail> wrote in message
news:TR51d.135089$_h.79105@bignews3.bellsouth.net...
|
| <William P.N. Smith> wrote in message
| newsqn9k0pmie88n7f78p9265lqh95pclosko@4ax.com...
|| Barry Watzman <WatzmanNOSPAM@neo.rr.com> wrote:
|| >A legitimate OEM copy of XP Pro can be bought for about $135.
||
|| By an end-user? Where?
||
|| Thanks!
|
| If you have a copy of the CD, you can buy a legitimate OEM CD-Key (COA -
| Certificate of Authenticity) for legally activating for less than that.
The
| last few I bought I paid $88 for.
|

Oh, and FWIW, you can get a home OEM COA for less than $50.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

Yes. Lots of places. Try Newegg or ZipZoomFly, or do a search in
Pricewatch, or try E-Bay (you have to be careful, as both legitimate and
counterfeit copies are sold on E-Bay -- deal only with established
sellers who have a long history of favorable recs.)

Note:

1. An OEM copy will not do an upgrade from, for example, Windows 98 or
even "Home to Pro". It's intended for new installations on a blank hard
drive only. However, there are some exceptions, it will do a "repair"
install, and it will install as a 2nd OS on a separate partition in a
"dual boot" configuration.

2. OEM copies are not transferable to subsequent computers as retail
copies are. It's not clear if this is only a legal detail, or if it's
enforced by product activation.


William P.N. Smith wrote:

> Barry Watzman <WatzmanNOSPAM@neo.rr.com> wrote:
>
>>A legitimate OEM copy of XP Pro can be bought for about $135.
>
>
> By an end-user? Where?
>
> Thanks!
>

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

Yes. Lots of places. Try Newegg or ZipZoomFly, or do a search in
Pricewatch, or try E-Bay (you have to be careful, as both legitimate and
counterfeit copies are sold on E-Bay -- deal only with established
sellers who have a long history of favorable recs.)

Note:

1. An OEM copy will not do an upgrade from, for example, Windows 98 or
even "Home to Pro". It's intended for new installations on a blank hard
drive only. However, there are some exceptions, it will do a "repair"
install, and it will install as a 2nd OS on a separate partition in a
"dual boot" configuration.

2. OEM copies are not transferable to subsequent computers as retail
copies are. It's not clear if this is only a legal detail, or if it's
enforced by product activation.


William P.N. Smith wrote:

> Barry Watzman <WatzmanNOSPAM@neo.rr.com> wrote:
>
>>A legitimate OEM copy of XP Pro can be bought for about $135.
>
>
> By an end-user? Where?
>
> Thanks!
>

 

[catz]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

Thanks all for advice, I will probably leave things as is and forget SP2
this laptop is now getting to 3+ years old and having intermittent
problems with Dark Screen syndrome, cleared by a reboot. Next purchase
I will be more aware, thanks!

Regards...

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

<William P.N. Smith> wrote in message
news:0nq5k0dr82ak7js3hg8pc52rvq54rtm4ii@4ax.com...
|
| That would certainly work, though you'd be better off buying a new
| laptop, XP Pro new licence is about $300, IIRC. Dumping that kind of
| money into a 2+YO second-hand laptop might not be worthwhile.
|

The last set of XP Pro licenses I bought were nowhere near $300. They can
be had for around $90 or less.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

Jason Cothran wrote:

> <William P.N. Smith> wrote in message
> newsqn9k0pmie88n7f78p9265lqh95pclosko@4ax.com...
> | Barry Watzman <WatzmanNOSPAM@neo.rr.com> wrote:
> | >A legitimate OEM copy of XP Pro can be bought for about $135.
> |
> | By an end-user? Where?
> |
> | Thanks!
>
> If you have a copy of the CD, you can buy a legitimate OEM CD-Key (COA -
> Certificate of Authenticity) for legally activating for less than that. The
> last few I bought I paid $88 for.
>
>
er, where?

cheers,

-p

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

"plated metal" <ha@yeah.right> wrote in message
news:414bc551$1@duster.adelaide.on.net...
| Jason Cothran wrote:
|
| > <William P.N. Smith> wrote in message
| > newsqn9k0pmie88n7f78p9265lqh95pclosko@4ax.com...
| > | Barry Watzman <WatzmanNOSPAM@neo.rr.com> wrote:
| > | >A legitimate OEM copy of XP Pro can be bought for about $135.
| > |
| > | By an end-user? Where?
| > |
| > | Thanks!
| >
| > If you have a copy of the CD, you can buy a legitimate OEM CD-Key (COA -
| > Certificate of Authenticity) for legally activating for less than that.
The
| > last few I bought I paid $88 for.
| >
| >
| er, where?
|

http://www.computersystems2go.com/

more specifically:
http://tinyurl.com/5y2jp