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No media?

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8 replies

by picturethat

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I have a machine with a failed harddrive, the origional media is missing but there is a microsoft label/key on the box. I tryed other media I have but the key did not work? How do I determine the right media?

8 replies

by woody h

The label on that pc should tell you what OS that key was meant for. You can't take a key from say windows 2000 and use it for windows xp. You can do 1 or 2 things. You can use another OS cd that belongs to another computer as long as its the same OS, or you can goto MS or someone like CDW and purchase just the cd without a license. They usually run about 20 bucks. Hope this helps.

Woody

by picturethat

I looked at the page and could not find the link, after calling MS and being sent to 4 different departments I was told I had to have media to be legal and they are 4 weeks out and it would be 45 dollars.

by timwalsh

The following "generally" holds true for most Microsoft Operating Systems:

A product key for a given OS can generally be used with other media of the same version of that OS. The versions I'm talking about are OEM, Upgrade, Full Retail, and Corporate.

If the Product Key label is on the computer, this means the manufacturer preloaded the software using the OEM version. Therefore, if you can find the media from another computer that the OEM version preloaded, that media SHOULD work.

Microsoft was correct in that according to their License (licenses do vary between versions), you do need the media to be totally legal. The above is just a shortcut for you to be able to get the computer operational again.

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