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hacking win XP keys-other install issue

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by zack mac

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Is there a way to hack into the CD's and get the product keys from them?

Also, I started loading win xp pro from the wrong CD set, one for which I do not have the key and now I'm stuck. Is there a way to load XP with the disk I have the key for without putting the drive on another machine and wiping it clean first?

2 replies

by thechas

Sorry friend, the product key is not stored on the CD at all.

Microsoft and other companies that use a product key have an algorithm in the installer that processes the product key sequence and verifies that it is a valid key for that distribution.

That is why it is critical to keep the CD and product key together.

As to cleaning the hard drive so that you can start over, I boot from a W98 startup disk, run fdisk and delete the non-DOS partition.
Then, boot from the correct XP CD and start the installation. XP will guide you through setting up the hard drive.

Chas

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