All of the workstations are XP Pro oem from Dell. I need to reinstall XP and all I have access to are the MSDN copies of XP. I found a page on Dell’s website where they would send you a free copy of a reinstall disk for what ever system. I tried to do that but I just got an email saying the system is too old (~5 years). Money isn’t an issue its time… I just need a way to get XP back onto these systems. The key is right there on the system taunting me.
Windows XP has three kinds of product keys:
- OEM product keys, which will activate once, and are tied to specific hardware,
- Retail product keys, which come from discs bought in stores or purchased online,
- and Volume License product keys, which large businesses use to activate their machines.
Since Dell preinstalled Windows for you, those workstations have OEM product keys. Unfortunately, you need an OEM Windows XP Professional disc in order to activate using your product keys. There are a number of routes that you can take in order to get an OEM disc.
- Buy a “System Builder” kit for Windows XP Professional. Made for people using barebones systems to build their own computers, it will include an OEM disc. Since Windows XP is long in the tooth, this might be difficult to find. This would be the easiest solution though, as the disc included should “just work” with your product keys.
- Modify an existing Windows XP CD to accept your OEM product keys. You would need to modify the file
setupp.iniand then re-burn the disc, as explained athttp://www.petri.co.il/use_oem_version_to_upgrade_xp.htm. If you do a clean install as opposed to an upgrade, you should not run into the issues described there. - Contact Microsoft and try to get an OEM disc from them. There is a long KB article that includes information about getting replacement OEM media in cases where your computer’s manufacturer has gone out of business or refuses to provide discs.
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