Missing product key

[Towndawg]

I had a hard drive failure and am installing a new one. I
have WXP pro and started reinstalling it to the new hard
drive. I got to the point where I need to enter the
product code and the last 5 characters are missing from
the autenticity certificate. Is there anyway to recover
the last 5 characters from the CD? This was activated and
registered earlier, can MS help?

 

[Carey Frisch [MVP]]

The Product Key is not stored anywhere on a Windows XP CD.

How to Replace Lost, Broken, or Missing Microsoft Software or Hardware
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;[ln];326246


--
Carey Frisch
Microsoft MVP
Windows XP - Shell/User

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| I had a hard drive failure and am installing a new one. I
| have WXP pro and started reinstalling it to the new hard
| drive. I got to the point where I need to enter the
| product code and the last 5 characters are missing from
| the autenticity certificate. Is there anyway to recover
| the last 5 characters from the CD? This was activated and
| registered earlier, can MS help?

 

[Joseph Conway [MSFT]]

Your PID might be OEM, in which case its listed on the machine somewhere,
usually the top or sides. Did the machine come preinstalled or did you buy
a copy of XP?

 

[Towndawg]

It is OEM and the "certificate of authenticity"
sticker on the case is damaged. I am only able to
decipher the first 20 characters. I need the last 5
characters to comlete the install. The company that sold
the computer is no longer in business.

 

[Joseph Conway [MSFT]]

Unfortunately those are the PIDs that we cant hand out, they are the
responsbility of the OEM. Try calling our customer service group and see if
they have a workaround PID you might be able to use.