In contemplation of an XP reinstall

[Sharam]

I've been trying to stay away from the problem at hand since other members are helping and just tried to explain the OEM copies available for sale at computer stores as well as on-line stores compared to Retail and Upgrade. All other flavors including Corporate, VLK, VLM, Enterprise, Student as well as Manufacturers specific OS re-install disk are not obtainable from a regular store by just anyone.

If the install had to be activated, then it is not Corporate, VLM needs activation and they are sold with as many licenses that were purchased with it meaning so many computers can be activated and when that number is reached activation is refused by MS data base. Corporate, no activation and unlimited installs.

If one of these systems went through few hardware changes and the VLM usage has reached its limit, the activation will not go through and a phone call is needed or the upgraded components need to be replaced with the original components in order to activate without a phone call to MS.

The way to tell the disks apart for sure is to look at the PID in the setupp.ini file in the i386 directory.

Examples:

•Retail = 51882 335
•Volume License = 51883 270
•OEM = 82503 OEM

 

[Sharam]

@Sharam. You are correct that OEM disc as shown in your attachments can be used to install windows on any machine regardless of it's manufacturer. The only issues are 1) as you noted you must use the original key code from the machine and 2) the installation will include all the blah blah blah software most companies like Dell and Hp include with their installs. Thanks for the attachments also. They certainly help clear matters.

I have to disagree with that, go to any on-line store and look for an OEM version of Win7, most don't list XP any more, these OEM copies are meant for system builders, I wish MS called it something else not to cause this misunderstanding.

I disagree with the part that you say "the installation will include all the blah blah blah ..." these CDs or DVDs have no information from any specific or all the manufacturers on them, they are just plain XP Pro, Home, Vista or Win7 offered at a lower price if you purchase all or some major components to build your own system, computer stores as well don't sell you Retail copies when you buy a system from them and ask them to install an OS for you, they sell you OEM copies because you bought a system from them and that has nothing to do with any manufacturer.

The OEM, Corp, Retail and upgrade CDs or DVDs are almost identical in their contents the PID decides what key is accepted during the install.

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=5213932&Sku=M17-7302

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4846646&Sku=M17-1146

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=5038534&CatId=306

Check the above example, the OEM version has absolutely nothing what so ever to do with any OEM manufacturer.

 

[ruready2]

@Sharam.. Apparently we are talking about two completely different OEM type disc. The ones I refer to do contain the blah blah blah software. You rarely, if ever, see these type disc distributed with computers anymore. They were, however, in times past, a part of the package when you purchased a computer. However, we are dealing with Xp here which is by no means new. Many of the computers sold when Xp was introduced came with the disc I refer to. Of course the ones now sold on Tigerdirect, or any other computer parts/software retail site are not the same as what I refer to. The links below give a pretty good explanation. Nevertheless, I do not thing the OP will have this issue. Based on his post I believe he has a copy of a corporate disc.

http://www.duxcw.com/faq/win/oem.htm

http://arstechnica.com/hardware/news/2007/01/8730.ars

http://compreviews.about.com/od/general/a/OEM.htm

 

[Sharam]

Thanks for the links ruready2, I don't agree with how the first link is written and it's contents in all but the next two are what I am talking about, the third is even better when it includes OEM hard drives and such, that makes my point clearer, I hope people are not going to start saying if you buy an OEM hard drive irt would only work with DELL, HP and such or they could not be put in custom built systems by end users or computer stores!.

ruready2, the Quote in Red in my reply to you as in issue # 2, does not go with issue # 1 based on what I wrote before from my first reply to this thread..

I am only talking about the OEM copies of Operating Systems from retailers aimed at system builders, they have been around since Win 2K and even 9X, I still have the 2K OEM I purchased as a Network Admin between 1997 and 2001.

Again, I am and have been leaving the original problem to other members helping the OP.

 

[SledgeProne]

Think I may have got ahead of myself, in all this.

Using Double Driver, it scanned my system, and presented me with three options.

Structured Folder
Compressed (zipped)
Single File Extract (executable)

Having assumed Single File Extract is what I needed, I selected it, but it still compressed the file into a Zip.
If I burn that onto a CD, to at least have a basic executable to install all my drivers, how will I decompress it, without the software?

I put together this system, and there's no bundled ie ZIP or RAR extracting software related to the install.


On another note the system remains buggy, can SP3 be reinstalled as a means for perhaps cleaning up my install without reformatting?

Thanks for the guidance.

 

[SledgeProne]

The way to tell the disks apart for sure is to look at the PID in the setupp.ini file in the i386 directory.

Examples:

•Retail = 51882 335
•Volume License = 51883 270
•OEM = 82503 OEM

Not sure what the limit was set at.

PID =55274270

and it is indeed a copy.

 

[Sharam]

55274 = XP Pro generic OEM
270 = Volume License

Volume Label on the original CD With SP1 should've been "XRMPVOL_EN "

"Royalty" OEM (Dell, HP etc...) have same PID for XP Home and Pro as well as XP home and pro with Service packs up to and including SP2, different volume labels though.

 

[SledgeProne]

Is there a difference between an XP Version and that of the disc, or installation, or are they one and the same?

If its OEM, isn't "OEM" supposed to be included on the product ID?

Mine has all numbers.

eula.txt lists it as EULAID:WX.4_PRO_RTL_EN, which looks to be retail.


Perhaps it has to do with the clandestine VLK confidentiality, but trying to make any sense out of these identifying details, is a lesson in futility.

 

[Sharam]

Here we see yet another "misuse" of the word or misunderstanding of, for that matter.

"Generic OEM" doesn't mean OEM manufacturers and it also doesn't mean an OEM copy of the OS that we were talking about. It is just how it is described perhaps because it uses the same "Product Code" with OEM copies available at computer stores to system builders as well as themselves (unless they grow so big and purchase so many then MS considers them a Royalty OEM)

It is the way MS differentiates between its copies, Setup accepts product keys based on the PID, some people have successfully changed PIDs to work with their Product Key, and some experienced problems.

The OEM copy does say OEM and the OEM from Royalty OEM includes their name also.

If we take Pro as an example, most versions share the same l386 folder minus a few files and the setup.exe might have a few different lines. Royalty OEMs have few additional folders, edit and/ or add few files but the Operating System is still the same.

I just installed XP Pro on a Dell Inspiron 9400 that a friend bought from eBay and it came with an XP Pro CD with Dell logo and all on it, after setup I was surprised to see there were no "extras" it was just plain XP Pro with SP2! The previous owner must have ordered the OS CD from Dell, may be his hard drive crashed and he lost the Recovery Partition!

This link explains Product IDs I didn't look for MS link, the link could be read different ways by different people!

When your system was built or XP was installed and activated on it, the product key used was linked to your system in MS data base based on a GUID (a pointing system MS uses based on the components in your system) you will have no problems re-activating it, if you have changed few major components since and the GUID is different by what rules MS has set, on-line activation will fail and a phone call is needed, I don't know if they have yet different rules for Retail, OEM, Royalty OEM, VLK and such.

Another read

A friend of mine changed few components and re-installed Windows, they had "VLK Campus agreement" and could not activate, he removed the new PCI Network card, put the old one back in and he went through activation with no problems, we learnt that day that a NIC has 5 points and by using the old one he was within the limit, after activation he changed the cards back.

 

[SledgeProne]

The difference of a NIC card?
Not sure what point total constitutes a different computer, but
I've added a hard drive, changed a powersupply, and graphics card on my other machine without being flagged, unless perhaps it merely assigned another key?
If it had drawn a flag, and required a call to MS to activate, I suspect little chance I'd pass protocol mustard, as the on-site sysop, upgrading corporate infrastructure.

 

[Sharam]

PSU shouldn’t make any difference I believe MS didn't make it so if you made some “minor” upgrade for their servers and phone lines to be filled up with requests all day every day. Never bothered to check on-line for an actual fact on their GUID system but do know NIC at that time was 5 points.

You are right, may be there were licenses available at that time?

I had replaced motherboard and few other components on one HP, on-line activation failed after a phone call, the automated system also failed and said I needed to speak to a representative, after explaining motherboard crash I was given a code and went through activation no problem.

I don't recall ever being refused and always spoke the truth!

Lot of these "SYSOp" install OS on different employee’s home system based on their needs, upper management and down. You have a COA and looking at it, that is your certification and they cannot refuse it.