key or coa question

  • Thread starter Thread starter rb
  • Start date Start date
R

rb

Got a Win 2000 os in my laptop.

Does a key or coa ensure that, if I ever needed to have Win 2000 reloaded at
a shop, I could get it done without having to buy another Win 2000 program?

Is there any legitimate way around buying a new Win 2000 program if you
don't have the coa or key? The fact that you have Win 2000 on your hard
drive isn't enough??
 
About the only place to source win2k now is via Ebay or similar. Obviously
you should proceed with caution
 
rb said:
Got a Win 2000 os in my laptop.

Does a key or coa ensure that, if I ever needed to have Win 2000 reloaded at
a shop, I could get it done without having to buy another Win 2000 program?

Is there any legitimate way around buying a new Win 2000 program if you
don't have the coa or key? The fact that you have Win 2000 on your hard
drive isn't enough??
Click to expand...

Why isn't the version of Windows 2000 on the hard drive not legitimate?
You know that for a fact? But if it had been legitimately installed (and
legally conveyed to the present user under an "as-is" transfer), there
are ways at obtaining its COA, viz., Belarc or MagicJellybean.
 
Even if you have the key you need a cd to reinstall, which if you dont have
one can only be sourced as I said, unless you can borrow a cd and make a
copy
 
I'm sure the win2K on my laptop is legitimate, and I use Belarc. Is that
evidence enough for the shop guys if they ever needed to reload my os?

I'm thinking about pulling WinME off an old pc and putting Win2K on it.
Just trying to figure out the least expensive way of getting the job done.

The shop I use has all Windows versions, and can load them----but----only if
there is a key, COA, or whatever. Starting from scratch, naturally I
wouldn't have a Win2K coa or key the shop could use.

I'll probably just have to find some legimate Win2K version somewhere that
does have a coa/key.
 
rb said:
I'm sure the win2K on my laptop is legitimate, and I use Belarc. Is that
evidence enough for the shop guys if they ever needed to reload my os?

I'm thinking about pulling WinME off an old pc and putting Win2K on it.
Just trying to figure out the least expensive way of getting the job done.

The shop I use has all Windows versions, and can load them----but----only if
there is a key, COA, or whatever. Starting from scratch, naturally I
wouldn't have a Win2K coa or key the shop could use.

I'll probably just have to find some legimate Win2K version somewhere that
does have a coa/key.
Click to expand...

Nobody is going to interrogate you or beat a confession out of you.
But having a valid COA that matches the cdrom is required for any
re-installation. The shop will know whether or not the COA taken from
the Belarc printout is legitimate or not and will proceed accordingly.
 
This thread is full of misinformation. Neither can Belarc Advisor nor can
MagicJellybean produce a COA. The former does reproduce the Product ID and the
Product Key and the latter will only extract the Product Key from the installed
operating system.

The Product Key is usually printed on a COA. The Product Key is required to
install or reinstall from a standard Windows 2000 Pro CD. Having a Product Key
itself is not proof of legitimacy.

See this article for clarification of what a COA is:
http://www.microsoft.com/resources/howtotell/en/coa.mspx
 
David said:
This thread is full of misinformation. Neither can Belarc Advisor nor can
MagicJellybean produce a COA. The former does reproduce the Product ID and the
Product Key and the latter will only extract the Product Key from the installed
operating system.

The Product Key is usually printed on a COA. The Product Key is required to
install or reinstall from a standard Windows 2000 Pro CD. Having a Product Key
itself is not proof of legitimacy.

See this article for clarification of what a COA is:
http://www.microsoft.com/resources/howtotell/en/coa.mspx
Click to expand...

Actually, knowing both the Product Key and the Product ID that is
generated from using the Product Key will disclose the legitimacy
of the installation. Of course, the clues are not mentioned in the
MIcrosoft website on COA. In the case of Windows 2000, specifically
here in this example, one would give the benefit of the doubt to the
OP if the above 2 pieces of information do not mismatch. In the case
of Windows XP, knowing these values played a major part in separating
those users whose systems were incorrectly identified as non-genuine
from the real fakes.
 
Got a Win 2000 os in my laptop.

Does a key or coa ensure that, if I ever needed to have Win 2000 reloaded at
a shop, I could get it done without having to buy another Win 2000 program?
Click to expand...

The COA does.

Is there any legitimate way around buying a new Win 2000 program if you
don't have the coa or key?
Click to expand...

If you can prove that you have a legit copy some other way (like a
reciept), you can order a new copy from microsoft inexpensively.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/326246

The fact that you have Win 2000 on your hard
drive isn't enough??
Click to expand...

True.
 
My main point was to clarify the terms being used in this discussion, mainly to
show that the Product Key is not a COA. As quoted from the cited MS website
page, "A Certificate of Authenticity (COA) is a label......". The two utilities
mentioned in this discussion do not generate this label.
 
Back
Top