windows activation

[crazyhorse]

Hi Guys,
As usual I got a problem, ok, I bought this computer approximately 2 or 3 years ago, now I have recieved a pop-up that says I have 30 days to activate Windows and when I click on the pop-up it asks for my "product key", well I have looked this thing over several times and can't find a product key, and I don't have a windows disc, so what an I to do and another thing I can't understand is why Microsoft waited so long to ask me for the code.
So, as of right now I am down to 6 days on the countdown, what will happen when the time is up, is the computer going to explode or what?
I need some help here!!!!
Many thanks,
Frank aka crazyhorse

[bigH2O]

You would get that message if you made any significant hardware changes that caused the XP install to think that it was no longer in the same machine. Network card changes are notorious for causing this, but it can be as simple as adding or changing RAM. Usually all it takes is hitting the activation button and everything will go through. Occasionally you may have to talk to a human and tell them what you did to your system to cause it to need to be re-activated.

If indeed you have a legitimate install of windows, you can retrieve your cd key by using a utility such as the Magical Jelly Bean Keyfinder (http://magicaljellybean.com/keyfinder/). It will retrieve your key from the registry so you can then copy and paste it to the activation screen.

Good luck and let us know how much grief you have to go through to get it re-activated.

[crazyhorse]

Well, I'm convinced that the product that I have in this machine is a bootleg copy, considering the guy that I bought the machine from, course I didn't think about the Windows issue at the time, and that's basically because I didn't know the first thing about a computer at all, there is a guy on ebay that is selling a key retriever for 4.99, maybe I'll give that a try.
Thanks for your response

[bigH2O]

Well, the key retriever I pointed you to will retrieve the key whether it's legitimate or not, so there's no sense in spending five bucks on a key retriever, but if you think it's a bootleg copy of Windows I wouldn't suggest trying to activate it, no matter how you retrieve the key.

[crazyhorse]

Well, considering the fact that I did not get a Windows XP disc with the computer and the guy I bought it from sold a bunch of these computers over a period of about a year and then left town, what would you think?
Ok, so what would y'll do in a case like this? That's all I am trying to find out.

[bigH2O]

I guess I was probably wrong in my statement of "I wouldn't suggest trying...", it really can't hurt to try. Microsoft isn't going to bang your door down for trying to activate software that can't be activated, so give it a shot... you never know. All it can do is refuse to activate it, but you might get lucky and find out it's legitimate after all.

If that fails your only other option is to buy a legitimate copy of XP and go from there. You can get XP PRO OEM for $139 or XP Home OEM for $89 from TigerDirect. You may have to order a component like a hard drive with it in order to be able to purchase it though... I don't know. I've never tried to order OEM software without ordering components, so all you can do is try.

[crazyhorse]

Ok, Thanks,
Will give it a try.

[crazyhorse]

I suppose that I will just have to get someone to try and correct this problem for me, I tried the Magic Jellybean and I might as well have been trying to read Japanese. Don't know the technicial jargon.

[crazyhorse]

I have a friend that has an unopened copy of windows 98 that he is willing to give me, what's the difference in W-98 and W-XP
Thanks,
Crazyhorse

[Greg]

Win 98 is unusable by any standard I would be aware of. I think it's End of Life.

[crazyhorse]

Thanks Noppid,
Ypu have quite possibaly saved me many hours of agony and fustration trying to install W98, I have decided that the only thing left to do is obtain a copy of Windows XP. DO you know W-XP is just as high priced on ebay as it is in the retail stores?

[Greg]

That's crazy. I own like 4 copies. I think I can sell you one. They are legit and I no longer use the computers I purchased them for. I buy ready made computers these days and no longer build them. So I have the OS disks for what we use now computer wise.

Here is Windows XP Home (http://cgi.ebay.com/WINDOWS-XP-HOME-FULL-VERSION-WITH-CD-PRODUCT-KEY_W0QQitemZ150309718743QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUS_Sof tware?hash=item150309718743&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1234|66%3A2|65%3A12|39%3A1|240%3A13 18) for 100$. WOW! But people love it, supply and demand.

[bigH2O]

XP home is $89.99 @ Tiger Direct, and XP Pro is $139.99

[crazyhorse]

Ok, let's just suppose that I get a windows xp home edition, when I install it on my computer, is it a step by step procedure and what about the old copy that Microsoft says is bootleg, what becomes of it?
I am just uneducated when it comes to this sort of thing, however I am learning more daily.
Thanks to all that have tried to help me.
crazyhorse aka Frank

[Greg]

I think it will overwrite the old with a valid license number and all will be good. This is what MS wants you to do. They want you to buy and use windows. I doubt they want to sue you.

[bigH2O]

Just do a fresh install and you'll be golden. If it were me (and about once every six months it is me) I'd just load the install cd, tell it to delete the old C:\ partition, and let it re-format. From there it's a self guided funbus.

It's amazing how much faster windows run's when you do a complete re-install from scratch, but it can be a pain if you have a lot of applications to install on top of it.

Make sure you've got solid backups of your user data though... Oops, maybe I should have said that first.

[crazyhorse]

Thanks y'all,
I appreciate the information, do y'all have any idea how much longer Microsoft plans to support Windows XP ?, I would rather have XP, however if I will be forced to buy Vista in a year or so, I might as well get it now.
Y'all's thoughts if you please.
C-horse

[bigH2O]

Availability of XP was set to expire on July 31, 2008, but they extended it until January 31, 2009

Mainstream support is set to be retired in 4/14/2009, but it won't surprise me if they extend that since they extended availability.

Extended support (security patches) will be available until at least 4/8/2014.

You won't ever be "forced" to buy Vista, but if you want to buy Vista make sure you've got the latest and greatest hardware to run it on. Based on the specs of your hardware you have listed in your signature, I wouldn't even remotely consider trying to put Vista on it. I'm surprised it even runs XP very well.