What to do?

[Mike]

I had posted earlier about being given a computer that wouldn't boot,
couldn't do a repair install & appeared that the Windows directory was wiped
clean.
I had purchased an OEM copy of XP Home & a new HD (from a reputable source!)
& intended to put the disk in another computer, copy what was left &
reinstall on the new drive.
When I started computer that the old drive was mounted in, checkdisk started
at boot up, giving a bunch of messages about corrupt attributes & repairing
them
I let it run it's course & the contents of the windows directory was back to
normal.
Put drive back in old computer, booted up & everything looked fine & then
message about validation failure, saying it had a volume product key that
had been blocked. It is currently running XP Pro, but has an XP Home OEM
sticker on the back of the box!
To make a long story short, can I go buy an OEM version of XP Pro & use that
new product key to validate it?
I am trying to avoid wiping out & re-installing!
Thanks in advance-

 

[Mark F.]

I had posted earlier about being given a computer that wouldn't boot,
couldn't do a repair install & appeared that the Windows directory was
wiped clean.
I had purchased an OEM copy of XP Home & a new HD (from a reputable
source!) & intended to put the disk in another computer, copy what was
left & reinstall on the new drive.
When I started computer that the old drive was mounted in, checkdisk
started at boot up, giving a bunch of messages about corrupt attributes &
repairing them
I let it run it's course & the contents of the windows directory was back
to normal.
Put drive back in old computer, booted up & everything looked fine & then
message about validation failure, saying it had a volume product key that
had been blocked. It is currently running XP Pro, but has an XP Home OEM
sticker on the back of the box!
To make a long story short, can I go buy an OEM version of XP Pro & use
that new product key to validate it?
I am trying to avoid wiping out & re-installing!
Thanks in advance-
--

If you buy a new copy of XP you can register the license via the wizard only
if you install using the CD. Otherwise the product key will be different.

The validation is based on the machine's hardware configuration. So if you
make major changes the MAC addresses won't be the same and the Windows
Product Validation thinks that the installation is on a different computer.

You can register your _current_ XP copy via telephone. Start > Programs >
Accessories > System Tools > Activate Windows. There is a phone number on
the wizard page that you call to activate your copy.

Mark