Question About Serial Numbers

  • Thread starter Thread starter Chokky
  • Start date Start date
C

Chokky

Hi,

I am installing Windows XP on a friends computer. They have so muc
crap on it and it's so slow, basically they want to wipe the whol
thing and start again.

Their serial number is on the side of their machine but they do no
have a Windows XP CD.

Question:

Will MY Windows XP CD work with THEIR serial number or is every copy o
Windows XP specific to one serial number?

Any help appreciated
 
If a Product Key is affixed to the side of a PC, it will only work
with the PC manufacturer's designed Windows XP reinstallation
or recovery CD. It will not work with a "retail version" of Windows XP
since it is an "OEM version".

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

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

:

| Hi,
|
| I am installing Windows XP on a friends computer. They have so much
| crap on it and it's so slow, basically they want to wipe the whole
| thing and start again.
|
| Their serial number is on the side of their machine but they do not
| have a Windows XP CD.
|
| Question:
|
| Will MY Windows XP CD work with THEIR serial number or is every copy of
| Windows XP specific to one serial number?
|
| Any help appreciated.
|
| --
| Chokky
 
Chokky said:
Hi,

I am installing Windows XP on a friends computer. They have so much
crap on it and it's so slow, basically they want to wipe the whole
thing and start again.

Their serial number is on the side of their machine but they do not
have a Windows XP CD.

Question:

Will MY Windows XP CD work with THEIR serial number or is every copy of
Windows XP specific to one serial number?
Click to expand...

As I understand it, each copy of XP has it's own serial number,
although I did find that earlier windows programmes had just
one to cover all computers.

A word of warning though, if you install it too many times, even
if it is on your own machine, the thing will stop working at some
time, this happened to me following anumber of breakdowns, the
solution involved phoning the supplier and gettng a new serial number.

Alan
 
Chokky said:
I am installing Windows XP on a friends computer. They have so much
crap on it and it's so slow, basically they want to wipe the whole
thing and start again.

Their serial number is on the side of their machine but they do not
have a Windows XP CD.

Question:

Will MY Windows XP CD work with THEIR serial number
Click to expand...

Maybe. If yours is of the same type (Home vs Professional; Retail vs OEM;
Full vs Upgrade), yes. Otherwise no. Also if it's an OEM version that came
with a particular brand of computer, the two need to be the same brand.

or is every copy
of Windows XP specific to one serial number?
Click to expand...


No. Manufacturing individual CDs, each different from all others, would be
prohibitively expensive.
 
Why not try the installation and see what happens. You may be
surprised. I did and it worked.
TonySper



Hi,

I am installing Windows XP on a friends computer. They have so much
crap on it and it's so slow, basically they want to wipe the whole
thing and start again.

Their serial number is on the side of their machine but they do not
have a Windows XP CD.

Question:

Will MY Windows XP CD work with THEIR serial number or is every copy
of
Windows XP specific to one serial number?

Any help appreciated.
 
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