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Building a Pre-activated CD from an existing installation


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ok i have an oem blue/green coa windows media center product key from dell. i did a clean install of my media center and when i entered the key it would not allow it. so i quickly found a key online just to get it to install and then i was going to change it later using the product key changer. well it will not let me change it and i dont have my original cds that came from dell and im not waiting for them to send me new ones either. is there a way i can get my original cd key validated so i can update my computer?

thnx

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please... i need my computer back to normal can anyone help me? got this computer from dell a couple years ago and its out of its warranty and i lost the original disks but i have my backup... but for some reason it wont let me enter my OEM product key that is on my machine. how do i enter that key so i can validate it and update my software via windows updates?

thnx

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please... i need my computer back to normal can anyone help me? got this computer from dell a couple years ago and its out of its warranty and i lost the original disks but i have my backup... but for some reason it wont let me enter my OEM product key that is on my machine. how do i enter that key so i can validate it and update my software via windows updates?

thnx

What kind of backup do you have? And why do you need to enter a product key?

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meaning a backup copy of Media Center but its not the original recovery disk from dell, thats why i need to enter my key. but i was reading somewhere either in this post or another that usually the key from the royalty oem recovery disk is different then the one they post on the computer itself. so what do i do to get my product key licensed with MCE so i can be "genuine"? i dont want to have to do that stupid phone activation cuz im trying to make a "recovery" disk of my own since reading the unattended section of msfn.org and reading a lot of posts here. i've already scratched my hard drive on my dell so i have to find out how to activate it using the key that is on my computer.

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meaning a backup copy of Media Center but its not the original recovery disk from dell

Do you mean you have a copy of the generic CD set?

If so you can use the key on the sticker and use Phone Activation method. If you want to use the OEMBIOS method you will have to find a SLP key somewhere else.

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yeah its the generic 2 cd set from MSDN and it didnt accept my key from my cpu. so what SLP key will work for MCE so i can do an unattended or even not an unattended install? how can i reactivate my software through phone activation if its already activated with the non-genuine key?

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yeah its the generic 2 cd set from MSDN and it didnt accept my key from my cpu.
MSDN disks use a Retail CD key, which is why the one on the COA won't work.

You'll need to use an OEM disk set to use the COA key or a SLP key.

But if you use the COA key you'll still have to phone MS to activated your PC, as they don't activate online anymore.

Edited by ZaForD
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this is an interesting topic

ive read through most of the 8 pages and pretty much understand what the purpose and point to all of this is.. but i honestly don't recall after going through the 8 pages if this question/thought is answered (ive been at work all night, and have been drinking some very alcoholic beverages since i came home, so i dont recall too much of what ive read) :

what is the purpose or significance of needing or the requirement to have a "holographic" CD from the factory? if using this method produces four required files (not including the winnt.sif here, only the oembios.* files) could these files be used in a generic OEM cd to essentially recreate the pre-activated installation? by "generic" i mean an ISO created from one of the forementioned 9 in 1 or 11 in 1 "warez" internet releases.

are there other modified files on the factory cd that are required to make use of this function that would not/may not be present on a generic cd?

i only ask this out of educational interest and not because i am trying to anything "illegal". i have a brand spanking new Dell system that has come with an XP reinstall CD, but i have not used it nor do i know if it "restores" the activation or if it is a straight XP install disc that I would have to use my COA key on or if it is built in with the SLP key.

i had already started to test the "9in1" OEM ISO with these oembios.* files when I got to the page in the thread that said it would not work in a virtual machine since the VM's bios would not match. I dont want to waste CDR's and my already-activated system by testing to see if the 9in1 OEM would work or not.. don't ask me why I didn't just make an ISO of the restore cd, there's no answer for that... i just didnt.

as i write this lengthy post, i'm testing this method on my Toshiba laptop using the oembios.* files from it and the SLP key to see if it comes out pre-activated or not.

second question

how does using this method differ or how is it different than the "OEMScan - Automated Multi Manufacture Pre-Activation Utility" thread? or does it not differ?

from the sound of it both methods get the SLP key, and create the oembios.* files... is this correct?

Ultimately what I want to accomplish is to be able to create a custom install CD using nLite/etc that is already activated--which normally would not be possible unless you started with a VLK source/key--on my laptop (which legit coa, slp, etc) and my Dell desktop (ditto on the legit). I have a restore cd for the Toshiba that restores it to factory, including the activation, but also including all the junk software. And as I said, I'm not sure what the Dell restore CD is... if it's just a straight XP install of it its an actual "restore" cd..

Sorry for the long winded post, I tend to blab on and on when I've been drinking.

Thanks.

-- Edit

The Toshiba reinstall using the generic OEM cd is not accepting the SLP key. Dont know if I did something wrong or not (and ive wasted a cdr on this). Looking at the Toshiba restore CD its a ghost image so it would not be easy to work with.

Edited by dagon
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what is the purpose or significance of needing or the requirement to have a "holographic" CD from the factory? if using this method produces four required files (not including the winnt.sif here, only the oembios.* files) could these files be used in a generic OEM cd to essentially recreate the pre-activated installation? by "generic" i mean an ISO created from one of the forementioned 9 in 1 or 11 in 1 "warez" internet releases.

The Hologram CD ensures that you have the rest of the required files and that everyone is starting with the same files. Starting with a different source may or may not work. (Also warez distibutions cannot be discussed on this forum and they often have other illegal cracks that may interfere with the procedure)

i only ask this out of educational interest and not because i am trying to anything "illegal". i have a brand spanking new Dell system that has come with an XP reinstall CD, but i have not used it nor do i know if it "restores" the activation or if it is a straight XP install disc that I would have to use my COA key on or if it is built in with the SLP key.

If you have the Dell CD you don't need this. In setting up this procedure I compared a Dell CD to a hologram CD and wrote a program that would generate the files that were different.

how does using this method differ or how is it different than the "OEMScan - Automated Multi Manufacture Pre-Activation Utility" thread? or does it not differ?

OEMScan is an offshoot of this method. The differances are as follows:

  • This method will only work with 1 manufacturer and OEMScan will work with multiple manufacturers
  • This method replaces the files before Windows is installed and OEMScan changes them after Windows is installed
  • This method doesn't require any additional software to be run or configured on the target PC

from the sound of it both methods get the SLP key, and create the oembios.* files... is this correct?

Yes.

Ultimately what I want to accomplish is to be able to create a custom install CD using nLite/etc that is already activated--which normally would not be possible unless you started with a VLK source/key--on my laptop (which legit coa, slp, etc) and my Dell desktop (ditto on the legit). I have a restore cd for the Toshiba that restores it to factory, including the activation, but also including all the junk software. And as I said, I'm not sure what the Dell restore CD is... if it's just a straight XP install of it its an actual "restore" cd..

If you want your CD to work for multiple manufacturers use OEMScan, otherwise use this procedure

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i called MS to activate but they couldnt tell me how to change my key to the COA key that i have on my system (it doesnt help that everytime i called MS that i get a foreigner on the phone who is so anxious to just hang up on me). they said i have to contact dell on the issue. this creates a problem cuz how can they tell me when my warranty is finished? i dont know.... this whole thing just p***es me off.

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i called MS to activate but they couldnt tell me how to change my key to the COA key that i have on my system
Even if this was possible and the guy kenw how to do it, he couldn't tell you. Without lossing his job.

I don't know if this would be classed as piracy, but it would definitely violate your licence agreement.

it doesnt help that everytime i called MS that i get a foreigner on the phone who is so anxious to just hang up on me
If you were asking me to put my job on the line. I'd be trying to hang up on you.

But then again as you can see by my nationality on the left, I'm a foreigner too.

they said i have to contact dell on the issue.
As you said in your post, you bought this PC [and its OS] from Dell. So they should really be the people your talking to. Because they're the ones that took your money.

But no company is gonna tell you that outright.

The only way your gonna solve this is to get/find/buy/borrow/steal a Genuine Dell or Holographic OEM CD. As thats the only disks that will accept your COA number.

That may not be the answer your after, but its the right best your gonna get from this foreigner. ;)

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