Installing XP Pro Corporate edition

[Dunne_Computing]

hi guys,

i had a rummage around and didn't quite find the answer i m looking for.

so if im at a clients place and i need to reinstall xp pro.

is it possible/legal to install xp corp edition and then use jelly bean to change the product key to the one the users has on his COA on the case.
would this work even if the user has home/pro or any other version of COA key.

my guess would be that it would not work due to a different version of windows been installed.

im more looking for clarification more than anything else.

any help/info on this would be great fully appreciated.

Regards

 

[jhoppe]

Without giving away a clear answer as I doubt MS would say "Yes, that is OK. Go ahead.", I believe the PID needs to reflect that the serial is no longer a VLK, but rather an OEM or retail.

With that being said, why not use the regular OEM CD just to ensure that you are sticking closer to what MS would want done for their customers? Not to mention, but it would also be easier to go that route!

I have come across a few other forums that deal with stuff like this pretty heavily, but I cannot remember them off the top of my head.

 

[usacvlr]

If the key works then you're golden. if it doesn't then you'll have to use a normal CD. I realized something yesterday which I did not know which was you can apparently use a media center 2005 key to active professional since media center is built on top of professional.

 

[Dunne_Computing]

Cheers for the replies, guys.

I was just wondering because i don't have any OEM discs and im trying to figure out if i will have to go out and buy them.
Im not a huge fan of torrents because gawd knows what "extra" little programs have been added in.

looks like i will just have to break the bank and buy a every version of XP and vista i can think of.

 

[joe3k]

If the user has home/pro and you pop on vlk and try to use his key, it flat out won't work, so don't even bother wasting your time. If the user has oem and you use your oem cd not his to install it and then activate it with his key... no worries. HTH

 

[Jm Boyd]

Yeah....it's been know for years these keys don't interchange.

 

[nonchalant]

Yeah....it's been know for years these keys don't interchange.

Anyone that fixes PC's for a living wouldnt even ask this question..

 

[Jm Boyd]

Anyone that fixes PC's for a living wouldnt even ask this question..

Very Ture...

I think we need a bouncer around here......

 

[iptech]

looks like i will just have to break the bank and buy a every version of XP and vista i can think of.

Why? It's quite legitimate to carry copies of the media, it's the licence to use the software that's the legal entitiy.

 

[Dunne_Computing]

Thanks IPTECH good clarification there cheers.

some of the replies have been a little harsh i thought but that's ok.
now i see the standard of some of the people here.
I know this is not a forum for those that have no clue. but i have yet to come across a computer that i haven't been able to fix so i must have some idea of what im doing.

nice to see at least some people are welcoming new comers to the business.
i have been fixing computers (part-time) for a few years and have rarely needed to do a complete reinstall from my cd as most have had there cd or had a backup partition. and system restore has helped me out a bit.

cheers guys

 

[tartis]

Thanks IPTECH good clarification there cheers.

some of the replies have been a little harsh i thought but that's ok.
now i see the standard of some of the people here.
I know this is not a forum for those that have no clue. but i have yet to come across a computer that i haven't been able to fix so i must have some idea of what im doing.

nice to see at least some people are welcoming new comers to the business.
i have been fixing computers (part-time) for a few years and have rarely needed to do a complete reinstall from my cd as most have had there cd or had a backup partition. and system restore has helped me out a bit.

cheers guys

You can make copies of your customer OEM CD's to get a complete set. For XP you need a home, pro, media center, and enterprise CD's. It does not matter which OEM (Dell, HP etc...) that you use, they will all work as long as you have a legal license. And like others said, you cannot interchange Enterprise CD's with OEM CD's.