XP Home SP2 oem

[ak22]

Hi there i brought windows XP home SP2 oem and i recently tired to reformat but I broke my cd.... now my friends have windows XP home SP3 & Windows XP Pro could I use theres to install on my pc then and use my cd key or does it have to be the same version?

thanks

 

[wing2010]

I don't think you can use the XP Pro dics and then apply the Home cd-key.

If the Home SP3 is also OEM version, you may be able to apply the OEM cd-key. If that's a retail version, you may need to install it first using the key comes with the SP3 disc and then run a program to change it to your SP2 key. Google "change product key". I have done that before.

HTH.

 

[tigsounds]

Hi there i brought windows XP home SP2 oem and i recently tired to reformat but I broke my cd.... now my friends have windows XP home SP3 & Windows XP Pro could I use theres to install on my pc then and use my cd key or does it have to be the same version?

thanks

Do you have the authentic Microsoft laser foil CD key/certificate of authenticity sticker from your broken CD? If not, then using your friends CD when you don't have your own is like telling the cops that you crashed your car, but you're driving one just like it... my keys work in it, is that good enough? See how far that gets you.

If you have the sticker I described above, then the SP3 part is moot, as SP3 is free. Yours had SP2, but that is not a problem. Your friends XP Home Edition CD may very well work with your key. If you can get it to install with your key, more power to you, but keep the broken pieces of your genuine CD as proof-of-purchase, and possession of a legitimate CD.

 

[ak22]

I have have the green/blue stick with cd key and barcode/foil strip stuck on my desktop so proof of purchase is no problem, also have recipient some where, just don't want to install it off another cd and Microsoft block my cd key or something.

 

[tigsounds]

I have have the green/blue stick with cd key and barcode/foil strip stuck on my desktop so proof of purchase is no problem, also have recipient some where, just don't want to install it off another cd and Microsoft block my cd key or something.

The idea is to have an operating system in your machine that was legitimately paid for. In your case, you did actually buy the operating system, you just broke the CD. Using a friend's CD of the same system is using his/her CD as a backup CD (which you should have made of your own). The plastic disk is not important, it's that you properly paid for the system that runs in your computer. Your CD key is your CD key. If you install using a different CD, you must use your key, and if it fails to install, you shouldn't use someone else's key as that becomes a duplicate install on a different machine.

Microsoft is not going to block your installed XP because it was done with a different physical disk. They are interested in seeing the Product Key in use is not one that has been passed around, that it is exclusive to you, and they can see it registered to you and nobody else is trying to register that key number. Microsoft makes millions of identical CD's, so there is no detecting which physical disk was used for the install, but the CD key used to authenticate the install is all important. Your CD key won't be blocked by Microsoft unless it shows up repeatedly from being installed in multiple machines (indicating it is in general circulation). You paid for XP Home Edition, you are granted License to use that system in your machine using your CD key, regardless of the physical CD that is used to install that system. The SP2 or SP3 being supplied with the disk is not important, the base XP install is what is important and must be legitimate.

 

[hang-the-9]

If your copy if an OEM version and your friend's are not, your key won't work with them. OEM product keys do not work on non-OEM versions.

 

[tigsounds]

He may be out of luck using his own key, but all is not lost, he can still buy a new key from Microsoft, or he can install using any key that works and perform an key-change to put his own key in the system (as long as it is accepted by Windows).