getting xp home cd

[exalted512]

I need to reinstall win xp on my laptop, but I dont have the disc...dont know what happened to it, but the product key is on the bottom of it. Could I contact dell to get another xp cd without having to pay full retail?

I have the damn key, i just need the cd. Its XP home edition.

Thanks!
-Cody

[jmwest1970]

I need to reinstall win xp on my laptop, but I dont have the disc...dont know what happened to it, but the product key is on the bottom of it. Could I contact dell to get another xp cd without having to pay full retail?

I have the damn key, i just need the cd. Its XP home edition.

Thanks!
-Cody

If it's still under warranty Dell will send you a free disk. I don't know if they'll provide one if it's not under warranty.

[petrym]

If it's a Dell there might be a CNTL-F11 keystroke sequence you can press during bootup that brings up a utility that'll restore your computer back to factory delivery configuration. Try it and if it works, cancel, back up your files and then do the restore.

[engtaz]

petrym, nice info. Learn something new every day.

[snow]

If it's a Dell there might be a CNTL-F11 keystroke sequence you can press during bootup that brings up a utility that'll restore your computer back to factory delivery configuration. Try it and if it works, cancel, back up your files and then do the restore.

True simply restart the PC and when the blue screen comes up with Dell press Ctrl and F11 together it may take a few trys before you do it fast enough. If that doesnt work or if its not a dell than you can get a Windows XP restore disk for around $30-$40 and it will provide you with a fresh copy of XP the only bad thing about that is you will still need to install all of your utilities and drivers for that model laptop.



REGARDS SNOW

[Polkitup2]

Yep, just did the ctrl-f11 to my Dell yesterday to recover from some nasty malware works great. Of couse you have to reload your drivers, virus protection, updates etc.

[exalted512]

True simply restart the PC and when the blue screen comes up with Dell press Ctrl and F11 together it may take a few trys before you do it fast enough. If that doesnt work or if its not a dell than you can get a Windows XP restore disk for around $30-$40 and it will provide you with a fresh copy of XP the only bad thing about that is you will still need to install all of your utilities and drivers for that model laptop.



REGARDS SNOW

I tried doing this but it said press enter to restore from a CD/DVD...but no other option. I didnt press anything and then it just booted up like normal.

I'm just going to see if I have a friend that has XP Home, then when I'm done with the CD i'll just give it back to him. I'm trying to stay away from having to pay $40 or so...gotta save up for the wedding.
-Cody

[snow]

I tried doing this but it said press enter to restore from a CD/DVD...but no other option. I didnt press anything and then it just booted up like normal.

I'm just going to see if I have a friend that has XP Home, then when I'm done with the CD i'll just give it back to him. I'm trying to stay away from having to pay $40 or so...gotta save up for the wedding.
-Cody

Ok it must not have that option saved on the Hard drive. GL with your friend's CD.



REGARDS SNOW

[unc2701]

I'm just going to see if I have a friend that has XP Home, then when I'm done with the CD i'll just give it back to him. I'm trying to stay away from having to pay $40 or so...gotta save up for the wedding.
-Cody

Probably won't work- the Key on your computer will be specific to the Dell issued XP discs and his key won't match the hardware config that microsoft has linked to it to prevent piracy. Unless he has a dell, in which case it'll work just fine; use your key.

Talk to dell and get a CD or search for a Dell OEM XP home .iso on pirate bay or the equivalent. While the means by which you'd be getting it is illegal-ish, you do actually have a license and you would be getting the edition for which that license was issued. You'd just use your key and if it's really a Dell OEM disc, it'll work.

I ran into the same issue w/ a compaq. The OEM discs don't actually do the nasty hardware registration, but check for a value in the BIOS. One of the ways to hack XP copy protection involves writing that value to any bios and using a matching OEM disc.

[exalted512]

Probably won't work- the Key on your computer will be specific to the Dell issued XP discs and his key won't match the hardware config that microsoft has linked to it to prevent piracy. Unless he has a dell, in which case it'll work just fine; use your key.

No, I was just going to use his XP Home CD with my key. It worked flawlessly!

-Cody

[unc2701]

Interesting! I've never had that work, but I don't know that I was working with the same SP, OEM vs retail, etc. Have you done the registration, too?

[exalted512]

Yup. I did have to call it in because it said it had been registered too many times, but its working great!
-Cody

[unc2701]

Huh- they must have made the copy protection less aggressive since the last time I tried this. I got more of a "go f--- yourself" message. Glad it worked for you.

[exalted512]

Huh- they must have made the copy protection less aggressive since the last time I tried this. I got more of a "go f--- yourself" message. Glad it worked for you.

maybe they like me more?:p
-Cody