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Windows XP: Help, I need to make my Windows XP system legit again
- 2/20/09 2:27 PM
Re: Legitimize XP
by GamerJ5 - 2/13/09 6:26 PM In reply to: Help, I need to make my Windows XP system legit again by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
There are a few different ways to do this but it all depends on how good you are with computers. If you know how to safely edit your registry then I would suggest purchasing another copy of XP Pro and simply replacing the illegal key with the new one. However, if you feel more comfortable with formatting (and hopefully have windows on a separate partition than the rest of your data) then it might be easier to simply buy a new copy of windows (whatever version you desire) and start fresh.
I did some research for you and found these instructions for changing the key without formatting: http://www.petri.co.il/change_the_serial_in_windows_xp.htm
Secret option C: Start fresh with Linux! Long live the open-source community!
Legitimate Copy of Windows XP
by cousinkix1953 - 2/13/09 6:28 PM In reply to: Help, I need to make my Windows XP system legit again by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Make copies of the files you want to keep.
Erase your hard drive and get rid of the bootleg copy of Windows XP. Then you can install Home Ediition or Professional on your machine from scratch. Make sure to get a bootable disk that runs from your CD/DVD rom drive
You can buy legitimate copies of Windows XP from retailers like Tiger Direct or New Egg. A lot of places sell the OS software so look around. Look for service pack 2 or 3 to save time installing more updates.
Avoid EBAY. Some of that software has been activated too many times by one person and will no longer work. There is lots of pirated stuff there too...
make XP legal
by bakgeo - 2/13/09 6:29 PM In reply to: Help, I need to make my Windows XP system legit again by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
You sure can. There is a quick little program called xppid.exe that will change the product code on your pc.Google search for it, easy to obtain. You should buy XP Pro as the product codes are tied to the version of XP. I do a lot of service work and have come across this issue many times, and this program has worked well.
Run the program and enter the code that came with your purchase and you should be set.
Once you have changed the the code WGA should report a valid license and you should get your updates from then on.
best bet
by ctkpe - 2/13/09 6:29 PM In reply to: Help, I need to make my Windows XP system legit again by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
The best bet is to get a CD of XP Pro or Vista w/ a serial key and do a full install that over your existing system. Note dont buy an upgrade, as you will need a legit copy of XP to allow install.
Or try Ubuntu 8.10 Desktop... with dosemu and wine installed to run the stray windows app.
http://www.ubuntu.com/products/GetUbuntu/download
A Couple of options.
by ACRScout - 2/13/09 6:33 PM In reply to: Help, I need to make my Windows XP system legit again by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Microsoft does have a Get-Legit program you can find it at http://www.microsoft.com/genuine/
That being said, Windows XP has some "issues".
I bought a copy of Windows XP Pro (the second solution to an illegal copy of Windows is to buy the retail version) at Newegg.com, I installed WinXP, everything went great...for about a year. Then I got a popup telling me that I had made too many changes to the hardware (in fact I have made NO CHANGES to my system) and needed to Re-Activate Windows. I went through the phone call drill to reactivate the install. Now every few months I get the same popup and have to do the phone drill to re-activate Windows.
The third option (and the cheapest) that I tried and it worked pretty good, was to go to http://fedoraproject.org/ and down load, burn to disk and install Linux.
I have several computers which I have built and I am slowly weaning myself from Microsoft altogether, except for my Flight sim machine since Windows is an absolute for FSX.
Geniune Windows Program.
by tsemk - 2/13/09 6:34 PM In reply to: Help, I need to make my Windows XP system legit again by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Yes, you can opt to make your copy of windowsXP geniune through microsoft's program. For a fee of $100USD microsoft will email you a key, and send you a copy of windowsXP via mail.
Same thing happened to me, and now I'm all set.
hope this helps!
Is my windows XP legitimate?
by sky381213 - 2/13/09 6:48 PM In reply to: Help, I need to make my Windows XP system legit again by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I would have thought the easiest approach is to ring up Microsoft's support desk to pirate software and ask how you can buy a licence code to make your XP legit.
Try starting here: -
http://www.microsoft.com/resources/howtotell/windows/
Good luck, Martin UK.
Welcome to the wonderful world of piracy ....
by Watzman - 2/13/09 7:24 PM In reply to: Help, I need to make my Windows XP system legit again by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Sure, you can buy a legitimate copy and have it installed. One problem is that XP is "partially discontinued", but it is still possible to find copies of it, and any good computer technician could install it.
More interestingly, the truth is (very likely, more than 99%) that your copy of XP (the actual software code) is just fine, but a once legitimate product key (the 25-character string that you enter when you install the software) was illegally installed on multiple machines (anywhere from 2 or 3 to millions of computers), and that is the real reason that Microsoft is declaring your copy to be illegal.
It's actually possible to change the product key without reinstalling the software itself, and if you had a suitably proper product key, doing so would be another option. In fact, in some cases, Microsoft will sell you a legitimate product key and tell you how to get the product key changed (it's easier with some products than with others).
However, this gets messy, because there are different "types" of many given software products. For example, taking Windows XP as an example, there is:
-Windows Home Full Product Retail
-Windows Home Full Product "large OEM" (Dell, HP, etc.)
-Windows Home Full Product "small OEM" (as bought at Newegg or Tiger Direct)
-Windows Home Retail Upgrade
-Windows Professional Full Product Retail
-Windows Professional Full Product "large OEM" (Dell, HP, etc.)
-Windows Professional Full Product "small OEM" (as bought at Newegg or Tiger Direct)
-Windows Professional Volume License edition
[Actually, I'm just getting warmed up; next we would move into Windows XP Media Center Edition and Windows XP Tablet Edition]
Anyway, by the time this is done, there are several dozen "types" of "Windows XP". And the product keys are different, and a product key for any one of these different "flavors" will not work on any other "flavor". So if you go the route of trying to get a legitimate product key without actually reinstalling the software, you have to be certain that you get the right kind of key, and there is no way for you to even determine that. So, in the end, a complete reinstallation with a known legitimate copy may be the best way out, but that has a lot of implications in terms of your hardware and it's drivers, as well as your applications software (it may all have to be reinstalled from scratch) and your data (which will likely have to be backed up and restored).
As to recourse, as a practical matter you don't have any. Theoretically, you could sue the guy you bought the machine from, and if he is doing this on a large scale, you could report it to Microsoft and they will go after him (IF he is doing this on a significant scale). But as a practical matter, you don't have many options as far as recourse is concerned.
If you go the "scrap everything & reinstall from scratch" route, you can get XP Home, XP Pro or XP Media Center (or you could even go to Vista, depending on the hardware). Most other options would require you to say with the same version (XP Pro; and perhaps even the same "sub edition", e.g. XP Pro OEM vs. XP Pro Retail).
One other option, if the hardware will support it, is to wait for Windows 7.
[and the last option we have not considered ... a new computer, this time one with a legitimate copy of Windows]
BTW, regarding "I cannot receive ... updates ..."; if you turn on automatic live updates, you will receive CRITICAL updates, even on what Microsoft calls a "pirated" copy. But only CRITICAL updates, and only via automatic live updates. Basically, MS does want to keep your problems confined to you; they don't want you picking up a Virus and then having your machine, even if it's OS is not legal, becoming a source of infection to the rest of the comptuer world.
Automatic Updates by MS
by ehoppe - 2/21/09 3:51 AM In reply to: Welcome to the wonderful world of piracy .... by WatzmanHi there! I am not so sure that the automatic update feature will not come along with a genuine MS virus. I had the same problem with a second hand PC whose MS software alledgedly was illegal. All worked well until I switched to "automatic update", and suddenly my desktop was black, with regular MS pop ups asking for buying a legal MS version.
I was fed up and changed everything to Open Office and Linux - and you ca bet that I am happy again!!!
Great Reply to Welcome to the wonderful world of piracy ....
by alou05 - 2/21/09 11:09 AM In reply to: Welcome to the wonderful world of piracy .... by WatzmanThat was a great reply to "Welcome to the wonderful world of piracy ...." Very informative. And I am sure it helped out the original poster.
There are different versions of OEM keys?
by BigGuns149 - 2/23/09 1:22 PM In reply to: Welcome to the wonderful world of piracy .... by WatzmanI know that the large OEM buyers (ie. the royalty OEMs) aren't required to include media, but I am pretty sure that the keys are the same because I have used standard off the shelf OEM media to reinstall various different machines with OEM versions of Windows.
Technically speaking the right word isn't flavor, but license type. There were at least half dozen different versions of XP (you forgot Starter edition, and XP x64 Pro) and three major license types: OEM, Retail, and VLK.
Help, I need to make my Windows XP system legit again
by travmon69 - 2/13/09 7:27 PM In reply to: Help, I need to make my Windows XP system legit again by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
sure you can buy a new xp and reformat and install it if you can find one. I recommend downloading and installing ubuntu linux until windows 7 is ready.
Stick to Linux
by ACRScout - 2/13/09 8:14 PM In reply to: Help, I need to make my Windows XP system legit again by travmon69I've tried the downloadable Win7 Beta, stick with Linux, it may be a bother to admin, but it's more functional.
Mystery
by Joe M. Winters - 2/13/09 7:30 PM In reply to: Help, I need to make my Windows XP system legit again by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
If you change to a legal XP Pro there should be no problem with installation over the illegal copy. You will enter the new Key code during the installation, and near the end of the process windows will tell you what O/S is currently on your computer, and here is where you need to be careful. If you are asked if you want to do a repair then say yes, and you only select this option, because you will be asked early on if you want to repair(don't do this). The software can assume that you want a dual boot, and you don't. There are other ways to do this, but this pretty sraight forward. Once things a back in proper operation backup the wholesystem.
Confusing
by Hey_888 - 2/20/09 10:24 PM In reply to: Mystery by Joe M. WintersSay no then say yes, to repair? Sorry, I'm confused.
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