|
UPDATE:
•
SP2 appears to install/update/function
correctly...continuing testing
• Microsoft has detailed instructions on
their corporate website on how to update/change
the CD key.
Microsoft
Knowledge Base Article - 328874
c
Checking the Product ID
c
How
to change your Product ID in Windows XP
Checking the Product ID
During the installation of Windows XP, you are
prompted to enter a 25 digit Windows XP Product
Key, which Windows XP converts into the system's
product ID. Because of security concerns about
piracy, Microsoft does not provide a tool that
allows you to view the Product Key (or CD Key)
that was used to install the operating system.
However, Windows
XP Service Pack 1 ships with a list of
the two product IDs that are created by the
pirated product volume license product keys. (The
Product ID can be found by right clicking
My Computer
and choosing
Properties) To determine eligibility
for the update, Service Pack 1 compares the
Windows XP product ID on the system to this list.
The comparison and the list reside locally on the
users PC and no information is sent to Microsoft
as part of this process.
*Service Pack 1 for Windows XP will fail to install
on installations of Windows with one of the
following product
IDs:
XXXXX-640-0000356-23XXX
and XXXXX-640-2001765-23XXX
(as well as the corporate version beginning with 'FCKGW...')
XP Key Viewer
(pre-SP2)
 OR
XP Key Viewer (SP2)
-- if you
have already installed SP2 and the older key
viewer does not show the right key, try the SP2
(Magical Jelly Bean Keyinder v1.41) version key
viewer.
The following message will be displayed if
installation fails for this reason:
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Service
Pack 1 Setup Error. The product key used to
install Windows is invalid. Please contact
your system administrator or retailer
immediately to obtain a valid product key.
You may also contact Microsoft Corporation’s
Anti-Piracy Team by emailing
piracy@microsoft.com if you think you have
purchased pirated Microsoft software. Please
be assured that any personal information you
send to the Microsoft Anti-Piracy team will
be kept in strict confidence. |
How
to change your Product ID in Windows XP
Please Note: The
CD Key Generator allows you to create a unique key
that uses your machines hardware and system
profiles in the algorithm that generates the key.
Because of this, the generated key is for the
machine that generated it only, and rarely works
on other machines. You must run the generator
program to create your unique and valid key -
there are no "free" keys here, nor can I
give help via email. This is a free program,
with no support available.
If the product ID matches the invalid keys above,
you may need to change the key (re-enter a valid
key) in order to install Windows XP service pack
1, and to make sure your environment is legal. The
XP CD Key changer program allows you to change
your key on an already installed system.
Download
the program, unzip it to a convenient folder. Go
to that folder and double-click the program icon
(labeled: 'update_xp_cd_key') to start it.
Follow the instructions. When asked if you want to
generate a key, enter y.
The keygen tool will open. You will need to
generate your own keys with the keygen tool...know
which version of XP you have, for example XP Home,
XP Professional, XP Professional Corporate, etc.
to generate the proper key. This may take a few
minutes depending on your system speed. Once you
have generated a valid key (or one that tests as
valid), go back to the key changer program and
when asked if you want to generate a new key,
enter n. This will open the Windows XP
activation window.
Choose "Yes, I want to telephone a customer
service representative activate Windows", click
"Next", then "Change Product Key", enter the new
key, then click on the red X to close the window.
You can use this tool to view your updated key:
XP Key Viewer
(pre-SP2)
OR
XP Key Viewer (SP2)
-- if you
have already installed SP2 and the older key
viewer does not show the right key, try the SP2
(Magical Jelly Bean Keyinder v1.41) version key
viewer.
Important Note: When
using the XP CD Key changer program, some users of
corporate version installs have attempted to use
Windows Update, received the error above, and then
try to change the cd key, but the new key does not
work. Perhaps this is due to Microsoft's new
Windows Update tools locking the invalid version
from updates, or may require editing your registry
as in the article above from Microsoft. So,
install Windows, update the key, then run
Windows Update, in that order. Please
remember, this is a free program, there is no
support available.
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