Windows Activation

[Lebanese_007]

HI all,

one of my friend came to me and said that my computer is not working and i need the files from it, and if it is possible to format it.. but the problem was he doesn't have his windows xp CD that came with it ... so i was thinking about it, i have a dell windows cd that has the serial embedded in it.. so i installed it on his pc, and after searching around i found that i can change the serial number with the sticker that is on the bottum of his pc.... so i did and activated it...

My question is... is that legal???....

I hope MS doesn't lock my serial number from their end

[Famer]

what you could have done and i guess some of the guys here will fix what im saying if im wrong, is entered your key when you was trying to change it and then entered his key when it asked for the new key,, this way when the activation when through it was his key that M$ got

i really dont know how the dell cd's work but you could have also just copied the cd to your hard drive and search for the winnt.sif and the setup.ini file and then used his setup.ini file which would have had his pid in it and then you could have also changed the or removed the winnt.sif from the dell cd

again dont know how right i am with all this but there have been many post on how to bypass the dell cd's and use your own keys the guys here will correct me on any of this if im wrong hope it help's though

[prathapml]

What you did is not entirely legal, since you used your OEM CD to install on another machine, which is out of the terms of agreement of the EULA (maybe your friend's machine was also previously using an OEM edition - if so, then it is not such a big difference).

But since you later changed the serial to the right key, what you did is no problem. Also, since it got successfully activated, it means that things are proper at his end. As far as MS blocking your key goes, they will not do such a thing, since it was not spread so widely (to thousands of people) as to need some anti-piracy action.

[Alanoll]

I"m guessing his friends machine was an OEM edition, as he had that little sticker at the bottom, and those don't come in the retail packs.....

For legallity purposes, you could atleast contact either the system supplier or Microsoft for a replacement disc. They may charge for replacement parts, but it won't be anywhere near the cost of buying a retail copy in the store to replace his lost OEM copy

[Lebanese_007]

thanks guys for clarifying that for me... i was just worried... next time i will contact microsoft... do i won't get in trouble

Thanks again