XP activation

[rottar]

Hi

I just bought a computer (off ebay) with XP-pro preinstalled but I didn´t get a disk with the computer and it did not come with a product key. I knew what I was getting into and was basically going to buy a legitamit product key and activate through the internet. I then went on holiday for a couple of weeks and forgot about the whole thing. Now when I turn on the computer I can´t access windows at all. instead I am prompted to activate windows which I of course can´t do without a product key. Fair enough.
My question is can i go out and by windows XP pro and use the product key from that disk to activate my already installed copy of windows XP pro ? Or would I need to uninstall XP and then install again with the newly bought version?

cheers
rottar

 

[riser]

Depends.. if the person used a VLK (Volume License Key) then your Pro key won't work. If they used a regular Windows Pro CD, yes, it will most likely work. If it's Windows Home Ed, you'll have to stick to that.