Thread: advice re win xp licence

It's easier to buy a new Win XP licence (and install disc) from your local white box computer store or computer fair.

To get the best price you'll have to buy a hardware component (so you can get the 'system builder' or OEM price under Microsoft's rules) but generally this can be something stupidly small. The academic price can also be good if she's still a student.

$50 ish dollars is the amount that springs to mind, but it's been a few years since I looked at this.

The disc you have (from your computer) may be tied to a specific brand of machine, especially if it's a laptop, so trying to use it may not work.

Alternatively, if the machine is recent enough, Windows 7 is quite nice.

did they install counterfit copy? if so take it back.

What reason did they give to suggest it wasn't a genuine license?
If the pc has been doing regular MS updates and had installed the "Genuine Advantage Validation" then it probably was legit.
Do you have the license number for it? If so check online as MS disabled some OEM builds as the keys had fallen into the hackers hands and were being used on multiple machines.
Also, if you have the key then reinstall it and see if the key activates it. If it doesn't activate go back and demand a legit copy from where it was purchased.

It's a poor hacker that needs genuine keys. The most common keygens for Windows use a serial generator reverse engineered out of the actual validation checking algorithm in the Windows installer, and a modification to the on-line validation means that it's always passed as 'valid'.

If the shop that is claiming the disk is a 'fake' is not the place she bought the computer from, I somehow get the feeling that they are angling to skin her for a new set of operating system disks. Or a previous 'repairer' has swapped her genuine disks for a dud set - like the scam that was going on with jewellery valuers who were removing genuine stones & replacing them with coloured glass a few years ago.

If she has the 'original' disks, with the hologram logo & serial number stickers, she should not have any trouble reinstalling XP herself. If she only has the stickers with the XP serial numbers, YOU can reinstall XP using your disks & her serial number - XP only looks for a 'genuine' serial number, it does not really care about which CD/DVD it is installed from.

The Australian 'PC User' magazine has put out a DVD with a full copy of Windows 7 release version which can be installed on any PC, you just have to buy a licence from Microsoft within 30(?) days of the official release in your area (or it stops working then). I suspect that the other PC magazines will follow suit.

The wndows 7 is fully functional until qbout may 2010. After that you need to purchase a license.
I would try to reinstall XP first.

Some of the older computers or hardware may not work with Win 7