The Copy of XP Media Center we have kicking around the shop is a dell OEM disk, it has been used to reload hundreds of machines.
an OEM windows disk and a restore CD are not the same thing. Lately everything is “burn your own” restore disk sets and no CD’s come with the machine.
Activation after motherboard replacement that may require 10 min call to microsoft
A discussion of differnt windows versions and sales channels, nothing to do with your claim
http://www.sevenforums.com/windows-updates-activation/214176-activating-using-oem-key.html
Buddy installed pirated 7 ultimate and wonders why it wont activate with Win7 home premium key
Activation after motherboard replacement that may require 10 min call to microsoft
Your own cites either contradict you or have nothing to do with the issue
OEM disks contain a basic simple windows driver set but it is not all encompassing. For example a standard XP home SP3 disk does not have network drivers for most dell machines, XP era dell machines tended to be packed with 2 disks, a windows disk and a drivers and applications disk.
An OEM XP home disk can activate with any XP home OEM key, not retail, not VLK
I can’t tell if I’m missing something or if you just haven’t had the bad luck of running into issues like the ones above. Yes, sometimes (often) a phone activation will work, but not always. This is the case with those three threads, including the piracy one (read till the end), and part of the issue with this is precisely because of the different sales channels in the ZDnet thread – Microsoft uses different authentication methods for different Windows licenses, and sometimes a reinstallation will work without a hitch, sometimes it will require a phone activation, and sometimes, at least in my experience, it just won’t work at all without annoyingly extravagant workarounds (like finding a properly-branded disc image from a pirate site).
“OEM disks” and OEM keys are two different beasts; the OEM for system builders discs that you can buy online as an individual are different from the OEM installations and CD keys that major manufacturers ship with their pre-built laptops. Attempting to transfer the latter is sometimes more problematic than the former.
If you already know all this and maybe I’m misunderstanding something, please explain.
I have had it not work exactly once (I have owned a computer shop for 7 years now) and MS provides free support for that which I used and they walked me through a registry fix in about 30 min.
OEM disks and OEM keys are one and the same, the bulk installers manufacturers use do use a specific OEM key that will not work for reinstalls. The only way you get that key is with a keyfinder tool, if you use the key on the windows sticker, it will activate just fine. They do not conflict, I can use an old OEM dell disk and a OEM system builder disk key or vice versa, the vast majority of the bitching on forums is people playing with pirated OS’s or keys/restore disks shared with friends. They will go to great lengths describing their problem and begging for help, and may not even realize that the problem they are encountering is by design.
This is not a failure of microsoft
Many of the disks that ship with the actual machines (and I think this is the disconnect) are not OEM Windows disks, they are a “restore disk” a backup of the drive as shipped with a utility to put it back in the event of a major failure. Using one isn’t reinstalling windows, its more like reloading a backup of windows.
They do however have an OEM key and a “system builder pack” disk can be used to reload the machine, it just may require manually reloading some drivers. We do this several times a day at my shop.
As you reccomended magic jelly bean above, this could be why you are running into problems. Those bulk keys ARE different, but if you use the key on the sticker, it works fine.
Bizarre. Just bizarre. I believe you, but my experience has been almost the exact opposite of yours. I’ve used both the sticker key and the keyfinder keys with various clean images (not restore discs), but maybe I didn’t get the right “system builder pack” disc.
At the OP: Sorry for the confusion, then. I hope drachillix is right.
with Vista and 7, you also have to have the correct bit version, 32bit keys do not work with 64 bit disks and 32 bit disks will not activate with 64 bit keys. unfortunately there is no simple way to tell the difference sitting in front of a machine that will not boot which one you have.
According to one of the posts in the above links (specifically this one), you can download the ISO from Digital River and install using the Certificate of Authority key on the bottom of the laptop. You might need to do phone activation.
drachillix, do you think that would work?
Well, this is still confusing! I’m leaning toward just buying a new laptop (I want two working laptops so my daughter can have one). I don’t know if I should risk wasting money to buy a HD and cables if it might not work. I do have a Windows 7 product key though, it came with this refurbished laptop.
I’d like to buy a new one mostly just because it would be lighter weight and because I want to play Sims 3 on it. But I installed Sims 2 on this one and it’s actually running it better than I thought it would, and in some ways I like Sims 2 better. Anyway, Sims 2 and 3 are really the only programs I use that are at all demanding. Does anyone know what kind of specs I should look for in a laptop that would play Sims 3 WELL? My broken laptop played it but it was pretty slow even with the settings fairly low. I would like to get an idea how much money I would need to spend. If it’s between $400 for a brand new laptop or about $100 for parts to try to make my heavy, broken one work maybe I should just get a new one. Windows 8 is coming out soon anyway and I like new things. But I’m also poor, so you see the dilemma.
Yes, you download the ISO and then use it to burn a DVD to make a standard windows7 disk.
Make sure you have the correct version home, pro, and proper bit type, 64bit (x64) or 32bit (x86)
Make sure you have another online working PC or locate the drivers for at least your networking so you can reconnect to the internet after and get anything else you might need. Win7 has drivers for most common network devices, but it will suck to not have them if you need them.
This is what you would need for a clean load of windows.
One little side note since its a laptop, I highly reccomend getting some clear packing tape and putting a strip of it over the windows key on your laptop (we take an xacto knife and trim it to the size of the sticker). I see about 1 a month come through with the sticker so scraped up we dont have a usable key.
There’s a 64 bit WinXP too, but it seems even Microsoft doesn’t like it, as evidenced by their driver support.
drivers for hardware generally come from the manufacturer, not microsoft. Nobody wantedto touch XP-64 with a 10 foot cattle prod. Working in XP 64 was like building dragsters, they rock when everything plays nice…but one little thing goes wrong…
BOOM!!