reinstalling windows no key

alyssum

My friend needs a windows xp pro disc as his windows needs reinstalling. he has a legit copy but as he bought the laptop second hand and does not have reg key. Would that be saved any where in the PC to get when the new installation is complete? I think there is time it will work for before registration

davo2001

For XP it is written on the license sticker on the PC/laptop, if you don't have this then you need to purchase a key.

invaderzimirl

yes if you install and run Belarc Advisor it will list all keys used on the system, which is handy as there might be office also installed.

you can also download the offical ISO from microsoft Microsoft Download link

alyssum

invaderzimirl wrote: »

yes if you install and run Belarc Advisor it will list all keys used on the system, which is handy as there might be office also installed.

you can also download the offical ISO from microsoft Microsoft Download link

that is sp3 will that install if he did not have sp3? Not sure he updates

Will the installation wipe the key before belarc is run?

invaderzimirl

you need to run Belarc on system prior to installing windown and save webpage to a USB as installing windows will format the system (you can not format if you want but its very messy your best off formatting the drive and starting from scratch) and you will have no data to check.

once the Key is a Valid Windows XP key it allows updating to the latest version of the operation system.

Torqay

alyssum wrote: »

that is sp3 will that install if he did not have sp3? Not sure he updates

Yes, the key is valid for any service pack.

alyssum wrote: »

Will the installation wipe the key before belarc is run?

Yes, you'll need to run any key finder before you reinstall the operating system.

yoyo

invaderzimirl wrote: »

you can also download the offical ISO from microsoft Microsoft Download link

That's just a iso image of the SP3 installation tool. Microsoft do not officially offer XP install images afaik.
A Windows XP OEM reinstall disc should work for you, however in my experience the XP setup routine cd key checks can be a nuisance, and may not pick up a valid key depending on the distribution channel it belongs too. This isn't as bad in later OS's. Try to find the original install media if possible

Nick

alyssum

yoyo wrote: »

That's just a iso image of the SP3 installation tool. Microsoft do not officially offer XP install images afaik.
A Windows XP OEM reinstall disc should work for you, however in my experience the XP setup routine cd key checks can be a nuisance, and may not pick up a valid key depending on the distribution channel it belongs too. This isn't as bad in later OS's. Try to find the original install media if possible

Nick

but a disk can be mounted/burned from it
that is just sp3 alone?

yoyo

alyssum wrote: »

but a disk can be mounted/burned from it
that is just sp3 alone?

Correct, its just the SP3 redistributable installation files. Larger as it's the complete package,

Nick

alyssum

yoyo wrote: »

That's just a iso image of the SP3 installation tool. Microsoft do not officially offer XP install images afaik.

Nick

do you know why? they give win 7, I got one recently for someone who had no restore disks and she had her legit key to activate