Lucinda

Putting this simply there were numerous problems with my old pc and I was forced to keep reinstalling.

During that time the product key was changed quite few times by Microsoft, (because the original kept being rejected), when I had to keep ringing them.

Anyhow now I have lost the newer key numbers.

I went to put the cd (XP Pro) on my new internal hdd in a new computer and tried the orignal key number but as before it did not work.

Was it ok to do what I did? How do I get XPPro installed? Has anyone any idea if I ring Microsoft now what kind of questions will they ask me?

The original computer and the XP Pro CD were brought seperately.

imsati

All you need is the original product key that came with the CD to install it. That CD key is linked to the specific CD and does not matter how many times it's installed so long as you enter the correct Key.

Now for Activation, don't worry--you'll be fine. Even though you can use the same Key to *Install* however many times you need to, the Key can only be used a certain number of times to *Activate* the software. After that number of times is up, you can still do so, but will need to generate a new key and call MS each time you choose Activate it. Each of those new Keys you're given though are a one-time shot only.

After everything is installed, call MS to activate it, and they'll ask you why you're reactivating it and how many computers it's currently installed on. Legally it can only be installed on one Desktop at a time--that's why they ask. They'll give you a new Activation Key and you'll be good to go.