I have an older Gericom Supersonic P3 laptop with a Windows XP Pro COA on the bottom. I tried installing XP Pro oem using the key on the COA, and it didn't work. So I used the generic key provided by Microsoft so I could finish installation, then ran slic toolkit to see if there was SLP string in bios - there is not. (and I don't see any oembios files for gericom PCs anyway.) So is this a retail key on the bottom, or am I totally screwing this up? I've read through the stickies but it's information overload - so many options and variations on which CD to use or create - I think the Gericom thing is throwing me off a little since there is no info for this brand. I thought I had the whole volume/oem/retail thing figured out, but seem to be more confused than ever. If there is no SLP string in bios, I would NEED to use that key on the bottom to activate, right?
What CRC does your bios has, if any at all? Its not a retail key, its an OEM key.. You can add slp string yourself if you want to. And yea using that key is best for now unless you want to tattoo it.
I used oembios tool 1.1 (bootable DOS CD) to doublecheck SLP and it tells me none of the 100+ OEMBIOS files will activate XP on that machine. I'm not sure how to check bios CRC? PID of install CD is 82503OEM. I think the laptop is originally from Austria, would that affect the version of XP I would need to use to install with the COA key? System Info: OS NameMicrosoft Windows XP Professional Version5.1.2600 Service Pack 2 Build 2600 OS ManufacturerMicrosoft Corporation Activation StatusActivation Pending (28 days remaining) System NameSUPERSONIC System ManufacturerGericom System ModelA380 System TypeX86-based PC Processorx86 Family 6 Model 11 Stepping 1 GenuineIntel ~1199 Mhz BIOS Version/DateFIC NOTE BIOS Version/380A0100, 9/13/2001 SMBIOS Version2.3
Thanks for the help tcntad. If it's definitely an OEM key and there is no SLP string, I guess I will need to try a different OEM XP CD to see if it helps or just tattoo the gericom SLP into the pheonix bios. I'm not sure how well Vista would run with 512MB (max for this model) but XP runs great so I think that is the way to go.
Its kinda wierd. The XP sticker key doesnt activate online (invalid key message) but the win7 one does. I mean in xp MS disabled online activation with the COA key to stop rogues from stealing sticker keys from shops, the same logic should apply to 7. But it doesnt.