Re: Valid product key

55274270 so looks like XP Pro VL; ie not legit
TY

"Shenan Stanley" <newshelper@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:%23o42RugIHHA.4112@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
DL wrote:
Is there any way to check whether a winxp product key is valid,
other than by installing from the cd?
FYI I have a cd which is purported to be a backup copy of a damaged
winxp cd (pre sp early edition) I dont want to go near it if its
not genuine.
The PC it was supplied with has a failed hd, so cannot check there.

The CD itself does not matter so much...
The product key must be legitimate and match the CD type (Retail, OEM,
Volume, Upgrade, MSDN, etc) you have.

Matter of fact - I still have my original XP CDs - but would not install
from them because the new copies have most of the patches (SP2 +)
integrated
in them. I also have CDs/DVDs that install much more than just Windows XP
during the install - cutting down on the post-install activities greatly.

As far as if the copy you have is legitimate - it is difficult to tell
these
days - and you are *not* going to do it (despite some if the crud on
Microsoft's 'Am I genuine' web pages) just by the CD.

http://www.microsoft.com/resources/howtotell/en/default.mspx

If the user has provided you with a valid product key and a COA
(Certificate
of Authenticity) - then it is entirely plausible that you are okay to
install that copy of Windows XP...

http://www.microsoft.com/resources/howtotell/en/coa.mspx

You could go as far as looking at the setupp.ini on the CD itself - to see
what type of CD it is. If this is a user who would not be likely to have
a
volume license and the CD they gave you is a volume license (as would be
the
product key you could.would bve using that they give you) -- then it is
highly unlikel;y they have a legitimate license. (\i386\setupp.ini)

Here's a list of Product Codes.
-------------------------------------
55274 : XP Pro generic OEM or Volume License (VL is a special case of OEM)
55276 : XP Pro (upgrade)
55276 : XP Home (?) ?
55277 : XP Home generic OEM
55285 : XP Pro ?
55661 : XP Pro (retail)
76475 : XP Home (upgrade) (?)
76477 : XP Home Royalty OEM
76487 : XP Media Center Edition 2005
76487 : XP Pro Royalty OEM
76487 : XP Pro volume license (with '640' channel ID)
76500 : XP MCE 2005 (XP Pro with AD/GPO disabled)
76588 : XP Pro x64 OEM
(This is the first number of the Product ID.)

The second number is Channel ID
-------------------------------------------
000 : Other (includes some retail, upgrade and evaluation versions)
007 : Retail
009 : Not for resale - bundle
011 : XP Home Upgrade
OEM : OEM (This does not specify royalty or normal OEM)
270 : Volume License
296 : MSDN
308/347 : Microsoft Action Pack subscription
335 : Retail
640 through 648, 652 : Volume License (usually generated via 270 CID in
setupp.ini)
699 : Volume Windows XP Tablet Edition
071 : Possible, but unknown. Possibly an SP2 integrated install of some
variety.

That list may not be 100% accurate/complete... But it might get you
started.

--
Shenan Stanley
MS-MVP
--
How To Ask Questions The Smart Way
http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html




.

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