Regardless of whether the OS was pre-installed and recovery details are/were on a hidden partition, he's entitled to a valid licence key from the original maker/vendor. Should have at least a sticker or some documentation with his original key. Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach him to fish and his wife will never forgive you.

0

According to THIS link, the Packard Bell Recovery Program is explained on page 40 of the User's Guide i_XpUser

0

XpUser to the rescue again. And based upon his help on a question I had, I think I can speak from experiance. If you did not get a recovery CD and are trying to use the product key printed on the side of the computer with a retail version of XP (even if it's a good copy) it will not work! Here's why: The setup files on a retail version are configured to accept only retail product keys and not an OEM key. While it may load, the key does not match the version and it will come up as a pirate. You need to change the setupp.ini files in the i386 folder to make it work. (and burn a new bootable copy of XP with the changes) It takes about an hour and a half to complete but it does work. ASUS P5GD1 P4 3.4 Socket775 ABIT RX600-SE V-Guru 1G Corsair PC400

0

hapee, Got a link to a guide on ini mods? M2

0

Hopefully someday folks will realize that reformatting is not the answer but, in fact can be the problem. This one started with the reformat and escalated from there, IMHO. An early attempt to solve the problem would have been the appropriate approach.

0

FYI WinXP's Setupp.ini controls how the CD acts. I.e. is it an OEM or retail version? First, find your Setupp.ini file in the I386 directory on your WinXP CD. If you open it up, it looks something like this: [Pid] ExtraData=707A667567736F696F697911AE7E05 Pid=55034000 The Pid value is what we're interested in. What's there now looks like a standard default. There are special numbers that determine if it's a retail, OEM, or Volume License Edition. First, we break down that number into two parts. The first five digits determine how the CD will behave, i.e. is it a retail CD that lets you clean install or upgrade, or an OEM CD that only lets you perform a clean install? The last three digits determine what CD key it will accept. You are able to mix and match these values. For example you could make a WinXP CD that acted like a retail CD, yet accepting OEM keys. Now, for the actual values. Remember the first and last values are interchangeable, but usually you'd keep them as a pair: Retail = 51882 335 Volume License = 51883 270 OEM = 82503 OEM So if you wanted a retail CD that took retail keys, the last line of your Setupp.ini file should read: Pid=51882335 And if you wanted a retail CD that took OEM keys, you should use: Pid=51882OEM Note that this does not get rid of WinXP's activation. Changing the Pid to a Volume License will not bypass activation. You must have a Volume License (Corporate) key to do so.

0

Something else came to my mind. The COA sticker affixed to your Packard Bell is not the same thing as a Product Key Label. Here is why: 1. THIS page explains the difference between the COA and the orange Product Key label affixed to the installation CD holder, and 2. THIS page explains what COA really is and its four types. i_XpUser

0

arthurx123 - Xp does not allow you to install service pack 1 under a product key that is known to be a pirate key. MS checks it's dbase for known pirate keys and then checks it against your copy. If a match is found you get the messege you got. The work around is to find out what your own key is. Personally i would get myself down to the shop you bought your computer from and give em hell if they haven't given you a backup/restore CD!! - H.I.T -

0