XP PRO disk

[BigDadday]

Work went out and purchased about 25 new DELL computers and they came with xp Pro installed on them. They had the bright idea to uninstall XP Pro and install win 2000 Pro instead.

I had told a m8 to keep his eyes open for any cd's they might be tossing as I wanted a book and a 98se as well and they throw the stuff away anyway. Nope he comes back later with a brand new in the wrapper XP pro and the book as well.

Question is as I have not tried it will it be okay as the disk does say DELL on it but it reads reinstallatio CD Microsoft Windows XP Professional??

If not I figure it will be good for a cheap upgrade maybe on Longhorn in the future??

 

[Kruz]

it should be ok to use. sounds like a regular cd and not a restore disc.

 

[Gonzo]

If the disc is labeled XP & not Dell restore, you're in luck.

 

[BigDadday]

It does not say restore anywhere but I am having trouble getting it to work.It has one thing tho and it does say to "Only use this disk to reinstall the operating system on a DELL computer. This CD is not for reinstallation of programs or drivers."

 

[Gonzo]

Restore discs suck. We pay for Windows, why don't we get windows?

 

[PostCode]

You get WIndows. It's just not packaged in the same manner.

 

[Gonzo]

If you can't "throw away" your pre-packaged computer & still use winders in a new build, it isn't the same.

 

[PostCode]

Technically speaking, this is actually the proper way to distribute the Windows OS. That is, according to the OEM Builders Agreement.

 

[BigDadday]

Technically speaking, this is actually the proper way to distribute the Windows OS. That is, according to the OEM Builders Agreement.

Maybe so but when I first bought a DELL it came with windows 98 included in the package so maybe they started the way things we are used to?

OK I have tried installing it and have come away with no luck and am wondering if it is because I am trying to put it over my win 98se? The only cpmmand it gives when you start it up is NEW Installation (ADVANCED) and then it asks for the numbers after you go past that. Do I havt to try this on a formatted drive maybe and then the number might work?

 

[PostCode]

Can you read the contents of the CD?

 

[BigDadday]

I went to work this morning and went around and got the XP Pro numbers that were on the machines on the tops and wrote them down and the first ine worked fine.NOW I was told that on this DELL version it might only last 30 days and if I try to upgrade it to the SP1 it will mess up anyone know about that?

I can read the content and in the oem there is alot of DELL so I was thinking of copying to my spare hard drive, deleting the DELL stuff in the OEM and try that any ideas m8's?

 

[Professur]

Most new OEM versions read the bios to get the machine type. You could spend the time digging through it all to remove all the encoding, if you know the sequence all the fiels are run in, but you'd be faster just tracking down a corporate version.

 

[BigDadday]

Thne this one is worthless?

 

[Professur]

If you've got a spare drive and some free time, give it a twirl. But I wouldn't go to the effort of trying to bust the protections. Unless you've access to the developer's lists, trying to trace the boot sequence is a lost cause. Then you have to track down generic versions of the files to replace the OEM ones. Then you have to deal with the activation because you used generic ones.

But I think you've pretty much got a coaster on your hands.

But. If you've a chance, you could try to copy the cabs off of an installed machine. They probably would let you install.

 

[BigDadday]

I looked at one that is a uhm also mine from another place. It is the same exact except for the DELL added addition and I now have the correct keys yes I said keys as work lost a few. It will start now when it is entered and have yet to follow all the way thru as I want to use a spare hard drive I have for it just to see if it works etc.