Hi I've read a few of the posts here and, as usual, I'm a bit lost. A colleague of mine has given another of my colleagues an old tower which she had bought from a Mom and Pop store in 2004 that came preinstalled with a Frencch XP Home OEM version. The hardware is still running well but it had a linux instal on it recently and I've been asked to reinstall XP on on it. However there's no COA on the box and the person is looking for the original CD's but since its been 6 years, I'm not hopeful. Getting my hands on a corresponding OEM version is easy enough but are there tools here that could make it activate if I use MS's SL keys to install ? I've read through the stickies but, to be honest, most of it is a bit above my head and the OEMBIOS archive would seem to be a good option but I think I'd need the COA right ? Any option to get it to activate using OEMBIOS files without the COA ? Otherwise, my mom has an old Fujitsu laptop who's on its last miles but I'm unsure if its been formatted with a stndard XP Pro CD or reinstalled using the OEM instal. It does have a COA but its in English and its for pro instead of home. Any chance to use that one to activate the french home version ? Thanks. PS : I know these questions must have been asked a thousand times but I couldn't find the answers during initial search so feel free to direct me to the proper keywords I should search for or, failing that, link me the appropriate info and I'll be happy to do the rest. PSS : I know its easy to say but I was weary of this being a legit version of XP until I was showed the bill from the mom and pop store (actually a 5-6 stores chain down this way so it has credibility) and it did state XP on it. That's actually how I came to know which version was originally installed.
Thanks for the info. I'm attempting the install as we speak. Let's see how it goes. This should pass genuine validation right ? If it works, here's what I did for anyone who's a bit lost like me : 1) Used the ISO made by scancode made based on your code to change my BIOS string to Hewlett-Packard 2) Checked the string had succesfully changed with OEMBIOS 1.1 3) Downloaded the corresponding OEMBIOS files (HP / Compaq) from the OEMBIOS archive 4) Unpacked my XP HOME FR HOME /w slipstreamed SP3 to C:/XPOEM 5) Extracted the 4 files inside the OEMBIOS archive to the C:/XPOEM/i386 folder 6) Used the tool from SuicideSolution to rebuild my XP ISO) (found inside his temp.zip package) 7) Burned the CD using CdBurnerXp 8) Installed using HP SLP key I googled 9) I'm at this part now ... pass WGA validation ? Does this sound like the proper procedure in this case ? I'll edit this post with the result of the WGA validation once I have finished downloading the drivers as the Network drivers weren't installed during setup.
Do not make more out of it then is needed (it is only XP after all...) Yes, it is correct procedure, and yes, it will work fine & pass WGA with 0 problems And technically you do NOT bypass activation, it is that with OEM files activation is NOT needed! sebus
I would have added winnt.sif to i386 save you having to enter serial number. Code: [UserData] ProductKey="Add Your Key Here" [Data] MSDosInitiated=0 UnattendedInstall=Yes [Components] Fax=On
Not my intent. But since this is more a board that aims to solve the challenges in getting around MS's activations legally rather than provide tech support (which is fair - tech support is boring), I didn't find a "whole" package instruction set to follow in the stickies so I figured I'd retrace my steps for all to see. If it can help another person who had the same questions I did, it'll have been a worthwhile effort. Good idea. I'll do so next time if I ever need to go through these steps again. Also a big thanks to all involved. It's working flawlessly.