Hi guys, firstly i am not asking for product keys i have 2 fully licenced Windows XP codes but I wanted to ask a question thats been bugging me for ages. I have read stuff on the internet about people asking for keys and things for activation becuase they have unlicenced copies. Now all the PCs at work have Product keys stuck on the machines! So what on earth stops people from using them? I just dont get it! Mark AMD Athlon 64 3500+ sct 939 Gigabyte K8NXP-SlI Radeon X700pro 256mb 1GB Kingston value ram 3200 Audigy 2 ZS 200GB Maxtor SATA HDD DVD Rom

If an individual has built his own machine, than it never came with one of those stickers on the case. Those stickers are there because when a person buys a computer from Dell, HP, etc. it comes with an OEM license for the Operating System. If a person builds their own machine, they have to come up with an O/S to load and therefore need a license key. Hope that helps.

Most (all?) Microsoft product keys are associated with an individual installation CD. Sorry, I do not check for private messages

""all the PCs at work have Product keys stuck on the machines! So what on earth stops people from using them?"" First, if I was an administrator of a small system, I would either remove the stickers and put them, say, inside, or figure a way to cover them up with some sort of company seal, to prevent employees from seeing them, and then make sure that the "boss" implements an employee regulation that makes removing the seal a job termination offense. Second, you CAN "harvest" and "use" those products keys---for awhile. XP requires activation--so when you would try to activate your "harvested" key, you'd find trouble. What everybody calls the "corporate" or "volume license" verison does NOT need activation. A system administrator that lets THOSE keys out, well, .........

A system administrator that lets THOSE keys out, well, ... will be posted on MS Antipiracy "Bad Guys Captured" List for public humiliation. i_XpUser

This is just my take on the matter & only that!! Having a OEM licence key stuck on the side of each machine at work when you talk about say 20+ PC's is better than a VLK for the lot. As 'name' stated early an OEM licence key is useless for someone wanting to steal that key when it comes to the point of activation on another machine. The problem is with somebody getting hold of the VLK licence key from a machine from the workplace which is not very hard. Then they are getting hold of a copy of XP corp & away they go!! As long as the theif does not start posting the key on the internet he has got away with it! OEM in my mind is more secure but a pain to admin. Turn it off, wait a while, turn it back on again.

"""The problem is with somebody getting hold of the VLK licence key from a machine from the workplace which is not very hard. Then they are getting hold of a copy of XP corp & away they go!! As long as the theif does not start posting the key on the internet he has got away with it!""" That's pretty much what I was getting at.