Win XP key on sticker not recognized as valid

[Bill-kun]

Secondhand Sony Vaio PCV-7762 tower.

There is a Win XP Home edition product key sticker on the back panel that clearly is the one that was put on by the factory. I boot it up and it is apparently a new installation because Windows asks for the product key. I type it in and checked the spelling, but the OS then says the product key is invalid.

I think it’s very unlikely that this is not the original motherboard with the original BIOS chip, assuming that that is what the OS is comparing.

Totally legitimate yet it won’t work. How do I fix this? It’s certainly not the first unit I’ve encountered this problem in. And it certainly won’t be the last.

Update: The OS is Win98, not WinXP. I’ll install WinXP Home and try again.

 

[Makefile]

I believe there was separate Retail vs. OEM install media back then with difference license key requirements.

 

[3lectr1c]

Volume License too.

 

[Chuck(G)]

Wasn't the deal with XP that the CD key was hardly unique, but that it tied your installation to a specific vendor, when it came to activation? Is MS still providing activation for XP installs?

 

[NeXT]

You can still do phone-in but Windows still gets weird when you try and activate Retail windows with an OEM key.

 

[jafir]

You can do online activations if you install most of the patches and root cert updates. “Legacy update” will automate all of those updates, etc.

 

[Chuck(G)]

Do the MSDN keys qualify as OEM? I've never tried to activate using one--just patched the activation-related code out of my installs, then went to POSready distros.

 

[Plasma]

If the motherboard has changed, the key on the sticker is probably not going to work unless you mod the BIOS due to SLP.

 

[Bill-kun]

Well, my original conundrum sparked conversation, so I might as well ask the basic questions to get my bearings.

1. When did MS start using product keys? Win 3.11 certainly didn't have them, based on lots of installations of that that I've done recently.
2. What did MS use before product keys?
3. Why did MS start using product keys?
4. When product keys started being a thing, were they linked to the BIOS of the motherboard, or did you just have to have any valid product key?
5. Were they linked at all to the hard drive? For example, if I acquire a used unit with a valid sticker and the HDD is corrupt, can I install a new HDD and install Windows on to it using that sticker?
6. Are product keys transferable between versions of Windows (98, XP Home, XP Pro, Vista Home, 7, 8, 10, etc.)? For example, can I have a unit that has a Vista sticker and Vista installed, but use a disc and install XP or 7 over Vista?
7. Can I scavenge product key stickers from units that are being trashed so I can hopefully re-use the product key on another unit whose sticker was scratched off before I acquired it?
8. How do the product keys work? Is there an algorithm in Windows that can independently generate (and thus validate) any given product key? Is there some gigantic master list that they started with at MS HQ and sprinkled the product keys out to all the units they produced, only one key per unit?
9. Does MS seriously still honor registration by telephone? In which case, what information do they make to tell them, and what information do they tell you? Is there some particular number of registration calls before you get red flagged by their records and they won't play with you anymore?
10. What is a volume license?

 

[Agent Orange]

The product keys for W10 & W11 are linked to motherboard. MS will know if you upgrade your mobo and will let you do it at least once without a hassle. Vista and W7 are basically the same and require you to validate online. If you are using a W11 OEM key things are slightly different, however, I was able to change a motherboard from an ASRock X570 to an ASRock X670E using the previous OEM key and it was good. My XP is an *Enterprise* edition and never needs to be validated, so I can't help much with key issues, however I do believe that once installed and the key number is entered into the MS data bank, that's it. You may be able to move to a new mobo with a call to MS. If they agree, they will ask to allow remote access and give the new install a fresh key. As to W3.1 and NT just a honor thing.

 

[Chuck(G)]

Win95 I think was where I first ran into product keys. 2K may have used them--I'd have to check.

 

[3lectr1c]

95 was the first version of windows to use them I believe. Some version of office may have done so first though.
Windows 7 keys will still activate 10/11 for now though.

 

[Svenska]

Okay, I will jump through the hoop... this time.

When did MS start using product keys? Win 3.11 certainly didn't have them, based on lots of installations of that that I've done recently.

Windows 95 had it, but Office may have had it earlier. Xenix uses serial numbers, but I don't know whether that came with the SCO involvement or not. There were probably other products as well. Windows for Workgroups 3.11 does ask for a serial number, but doesn't require or validate it; Windows 3.1 does not ask.

What did MS use before product keys?

Microsoft Works (and likely many others) "brand" their installation disk during first installation. Reinstallation does not allow you to use a different name or company. Microsoft also used various forms of copy protection (such as in Microsoft Adventure).

Why did MS start using product keys?

To combat software piracy, forcing people to buy more copies instead of copying.

When product keys started being a thing, were they linked to the BIOS of the motherboard, or did you just have to have any valid product key?

Windows 95 is fine with any valid product key. It validates using a built-in algorithm. There is no external verification, network/internet access wasn't common.

Were they linked at all to the hard drive? For example, if I acquire a used unit with a valid sticker and the HDD is corrupt, can I install a new HDD and install Windows on to it using that sticker?

Product keys in Windows 95 are not tied to the hardware by technical means; reusing is possible.

Are product keys transferable between versions of Windows (98, XP Home, XP Pro, Vista Home, 7, 8, 10, etc.)? For example, can I have a unit that has a Vista sticker and Vista installed, but use a disc and install XP or 7 over Vista?

Legally, depends on your license. Some higher-grade licenses allow you to downgrade. That is a Microsoft policy and therefore liable to change. Product keys are not licenses.

Can I scavenge product key stickers from units that are being trashed so I can hopefully re-use the product key on another unit whose sticker was scratched off before I acquired it?

Legally, no. Product keys are not licenses.

How do the product keys work? Is there an algorithm in Windows that can independently generate (and thus validate) any given product key? Is there some gigantic master list that they started with at MS HQ and sprinkled the product keys out to all the units they produced, only one key per unit?

Different technologies have been used in different eras. Different distribution mechanisms have been used for different products. Different variations have been used for different customers. Not a good question.

Does MS seriously still honor registration by telephone? In which case, what information do they make to tell them, and what information do they tell you? Is there some particular number of registration calls before you get red flagged by their records and they won't play with you anymore?

No idea. Haven't tried. Microsoft is also unlikely to tell you. Not a good question.

What is a volume license?

You might want to look at [Wikipedia]. Again, product keys are not licenses.

It seems that the XP activation key algorithm has leaked recently. Anything newer than that is probably not even close to "vintage" yet.

 

[Timo W.]

Product keys are not licenses.

Reinstallation does not allow you to use a different name or company.

Note that what Microsoft says and what the law says are two different things. In the EU for example, the EULA that comes with Microsoft products is void.

If you legally own a product key, that is your licence to use the software. And it does not matter if that key was owned by someone else in the past.

Having said that, I'm pretty sure Windows XP was the first version of Windows that did not come with a separate COA anyway.

Of course, volume keys are different. But they are not the topic here.

 

[Caluser2000]

You can download XP Pro ISO with the last SP applied and all the security patches with no need to a activate it easy enough.

 

[Caluser2000]

As one poster mention what MS says and what your countries laws state are two different things.

 

[Caluser2000]

Oops. Sorry for breaking the internet again chaps and chappesses.

You see FACTS don't care about feelings at all. And that is a fact.

 

[Lutiana]

I believe there was separate Retail vs. OEM install media back then with difference license key requirements.

Correct, OEM keys won't work on retail media or upgrade media. You have to match the key to the media. In OP's case they would need an OEM install media to use the key on the sticker on the machine.

Do the MSDN keys qualify as OEM? I've never tried to activate using one--just patched the activation-related code out of my installs, then went to POSready distros.

Not unless they shipped with OEM media, which is likely as I doubt they would have shipped with a retail version of the media.

Thankfully MS went with a single media for later version of Windows, you boot it and it asks what edition you want to install, and any key for that edition would work (OEM, retail, upgrade etc).

Having said that, I'm pretty sure Windows XP was the first version of Windows that did not come with a separate COA anyway.

The retail copies came with a COA in the box, for OEM copies the sticker *is* the COA.

 

[Chuck(G)]

Not unless they shipped with OEM media, which is likely as I doubt they would have shipped with a retail version of the media.

I checked an old MSDN license agreement. It says that I'm authorized for 10 installations. Maybe not retail or OEM, but a special category?

 

[Robbbert]

Most likely a volume license for a small business.

The company I worked for had an unlimited volume license, and hard drives could be swapped between HP, Dell and IBM computers with impunity. Attempting to move your drive with your single-machine home license will cause deactivation.

Real example with Win10: I found an old Dell machine, and it worked - but only for 2 weeks. Then the power supply suddenly blew up, and Dell doesn't supply spares. So I moved the drive to an equivalent-era HP 6000 machine. Win10 configured itself for the hardware and then deactivated. Doing the online thing it wanted the number on the sticker of the Dell, I entered this and it became activated. This is how things should be - a legitimate hardware failure meant that new hardware had to be found, even though it's different.

Real example with Vista: Another find - everything had been stripped from this chassis, except the hard drive, oddly enough. Putting the hard drive into another chassis gave a working machine, with no sign of any issues. Rebooting it however suddenly caused complete lockdown - the only thing you could do was to try to activate it. It couldn't activate online unless I installed IE9, but you can't install anything in this state (it had an older version of IE). So, there was no choice but to reuse the HD for something else. This lockout was not the best way to handle changed hardware.