How do OEMs like Dell license their machines - all about asset tags

Sorry I dont undertsand what you mean by OEMBIOS Tool Program ? Do you mean the OEMBIOS.EXE I used to identify the SLP in my bios (this was linked to in earlier post in this thread).

I had to create a bootable USB drive with DOS and ran OEMBIOS from there, as it does not run in my current OS (win2003 X64). I thought there was just OEMBIOS.EXE, nothing else to run.

What I did was download the torrent file, this contain only 4 OEMBIOS files, I did a Makecab on these files and copied them to the AMD64 and I386 Folder of the CD, overwriting existing ones. I then took Setupp.ini and WINNT.SIF from another link and copied these to same folder on CD, using the relevant SLP key.

Then created install of this Win 2003 disc in VMWare 6.5 and it still asks for activation !

Something is not right and I think its the way I created the disc. Sorry, what do you mean by 'Then in the OEMBIOS tool program, make a Dell folder and drop those files in it. Run OEMBIOS tool, it will copy those files in there and you should not be prompted for activation.' - I am obviously using a diffrent OEMBIOS tool or not using it properly.

 

i didn't know that OEMBIOS does not run under 64bit versions of windows. You are supposed to run this from within your current OS, or just replace the 4 files in your OS with those files, and as long as you used the right OEM key it should work.

 

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Difference btw X86 and x64 key ?

OK, that makes sense, thanks for the clariffication.

That would explain why it does not seem to activate. One thing is the key different for x86 and x64 ? The keys I have found so far do not explictly state x64

I trying to install Windows 2003 X64 Enterprise Server, but I suspect the key I have could be x86 only ? If so, could anyone be so kind as to point me to where I can find it I have looked on this forum and google,

 

Member stated that PC came with Vista pre-installed. Not sure if member would have a complete Dell SLP 1.0 bios. It will activate Server 2008 however, because it would have a proper Vista SLIC.

It may show to have the DMI Dell string, but Dell requires strings in other areas of the bios for XP and 2003 SLP activation. If the bios is not Dell SLP 1.0 ready, it does not matter what you throw at it, its not going to activate using Dell OEMBIOS files & SLP 1.0 methods.

Making matters worse is that Dell bios's are compressed in a format that no one has found a solid way in to dump and modify them, (last time I checked), but the bios coders would know more about that. Can always go the VLK method if you must have 2003 Enterprise, or buy a retail motherboard so the bios can be modified to suit your needs.

You can run a specific DEBUG command in command prompt which will show you all the areas that Dell shows up in the bios to compare with the Dell OEMBIOS demands.

Once you launch command prompt type in: DEBUG and press Enter.

Now type in:

S F000:0000 FFFF "Dell"

Press Enter.

Save the output to a text file then copy it here so that a bios coder can view the output and see if its correctly setup for SLP 1.0.

Note:
To quit Debug and return to C: prompt, type in Q, and press enter.

 

Sorry to sound stupid and ask the obvious, but Ive tried debug and it doesnt work.

I am using windows 2003 x64 enterprise, I run CMD and then from there type debug, it comes back as "not recognised command".

If I type in debug straight from the run button, it opens C:Windows\debug folder in windows explorer with various empty log files.

Is there another way to check for sure the SLP?

I really must run windows 2003, specific software only supports win2k3, and new motherboard is not an option as my system is a fairly new Dell laptop.

Whats is the VLK method ? Will it not fall down with an antivirus scan and windows 2003 files seem quite rare nowadays on newsgroups

 

Sorry, if I confused the issue.

The machine I am refering to is a fairly new Dell laptop. The PC did come with Vista Pre-Installed, but seeing that Vista is pants I removed it.

I have since reinstalled Vista a couple of times, each time using the Dell Vista disc supplied. Each time I did not need to enter a license key and each time it was activated. This suggests to me, it already has SLP2 in bios -

So its safe to assume that I can installed and activate Windows 2008 Server as long as I have the right files on disc and correct SLP Dell OEM key (both Vista and Win2k8 use SLP 2 ?)

Back to problem at hand, I dont have Vista installed now. Just Windows 2003 Enterprise Server x64, currently using AntiWPA but would like to activate with SLP key and OEMBIOS files as antivirus will screw up AntiWPA.

Debug doesnt seem to work in x64, is there a work-around, how can I ascertain that I have the Complete SLP1 key in bios - like stated before its a futile excerise spending all this time if I am not even sure that I have SLP1 proper in my Bios.

Thanks

 

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Damn.. I made a oem disc and it still won't activate :S. Sould I try it without SP1? or is it the language? Thanks for your help by the way

EDIT: Never mind, it does not work on an gx520...

Quote from an other site:
One trick I've found rather convenient is to go to Dell's website, Download drivers section... if they propose Vista 32-bit and 64-bit drivers for download for your specific model, it means it is officially supported for Vista, and usually it has a SLIC table provided you upgraded the BIOS to the latest revision.
If, on the other hand, you do not see Vista listed in the Operating System choices, such as for GX520 and GX620, usually it's a hint the BIOS will not have a SLIC entry as these models predate Windows Vista.

 

so a floppy drive is needed? damn

 

Hi

Is there a guide to this, ive got 2 floppy drives now, 1 usb and 1 internal, both seem to be up the swanny

 

Thanks a lot for this great trick...works fine on Dell Vostro 1500n with latest A06 BIOS!!!