Very Urgent Xp Help

JamesBart · 12-04-2007, 01:20 PM

Hey guys,

A friend of mine was having some XP problems well virus etc etc, she didnt listen to me as to download this and download that... etc but anyways she got another firend of mine to re-install xp, purely because we fell out over this! sad i know

so i think she originally had XP home and i think he took it upon himself to install xp pro. so the 30 days are up and she didnt know about the serial that had to be placed in there. ive just found this out today.

she works as a photgrpaher and has some very important pics to get off the hdd by 5 today. UK time.

So with regards to the activation it is now asking her to call microsoft and get a confirmation code (this is where i am only looking for legal guidance)

so with what ever copy of xp has been installed if shes calls MS for this will she be in trouble if it is pro and isnt home like i think was originally installed?

if i was to call MS with this query how do you think they would treat it, do you think that i was asking if i had a cracked copy, this isnt the case? Also the originally copy of XP was bought and she has the serial for that.

shes got a 5yr old toshiba! its a monster laptop

Legal help only please

thanks

imsati · 12-04-2007, 02:50 PM

Quote:

so i think she originally had XP home and i think he took it upon himself to install xp pro. so the 30 days are up and she didnt know about the serial that had to be placed in there

Why didn't the person who installed XP Pro activate it at the time? Further, why is she waiting until the last minute to Activate? Did she not see the constant pop-up that says 'You must activate me!'?

Quote:

she works as a photgrpaher and has some very important pics to get off the hdd by 5 today. UK time.

She can still access the files after that time, just not through using that disk alone. She would need to take that disk and hook it up to another computer as a slave drive, then she can access everything on it. Or, move the pictures to another disk before she can no longer get into Windows.

Quote:

if i was to call MS with this query how do you think they would treat it, do you think that i was asking if i had a cracked copy

Yes, they will most likely not activate it for you due to that. It's technically not a cracked copy, as it still requires a CD Key, but they will ask why you reinstalled, where you obtained Pro from, etc.

Does she have the recovery CD's from when she bought the system? Can she find her old XP CD? Do you know more about computers than the other guy who installed Pro and left her out to hang? If so, falling out or not, try to make amends and help her fix her problem. And tell the other guy to keep his mitts off from now on!

JamesBart · 12-04-2007, 03:10 PM

Thanks for the response

Quote:

Why didn't the person who installed XP Pro activate it at the time? Further, why is she waiting until the last minute to Activate? Did she not see the constant pop-up that says 'You must activate me!'?

for reasons i dont know and like everything else i believe she was just leaving it to the last minute.

Quote:

She can still access the files after that time, just not through using that disk alone. She would need to take that disk and hook it up to another computer as a slave drive, then she can access everything on it

so she cant access anything at the moment as the time is up but if i was to make it a slave drive then she could access the files that she needs?

so as its a laptop she has would i need to get an external enclosure, make it then a external hdd, connect it to my desktop and boot that usb but as a slave?

Quote:

Yes, they will most likely not activate it for you due to that. It's technically not a cracked copy, as it still requires a CD Key, but they will ask why you reinstalled, where you obtained Pro from, etc.

i thought as much

Quote:

Does she have the recovery CD's from when she bought the system?

yes she has the original one. so what could she do with this? would this activate the Version of XP she has or would she need to format and reinstall from scratch?

Quote:

Do you know more about computers than the other guy who installed Pro and left her out to hang? If so, falling out or not, try to make amends and help her fix her problem. And tell the other guy to keep his mitts off from now on!

Yeah thats the thing i would have sorted it out for her but im trying my best now and time is running out and yeah this other fella thinks hes know everything about everything... you get the picture?

Thanks for your help

imsati · 12-05-2007, 03:09 AM

Quote:

so as its a laptop she has would i need to get an external enclosure, make it then a external hdd, connect it to my desktop and boot that usb but as a slave?

Just take out the Drive on the laptop and buy one of these from ebay: http://cgi.ebay.com/Laptop-2-5-HD-to...QQcmdZViewItem

Set the laptop drive to slave, and you're good to go

Quote:

yes she has the original one. so what could she do with this? would this activate the Version of XP she has or would she need to format and reinstall from scratch?

Yes, The CD she has is a Recovery CD. It will contain the version of Windows that originally came with the computer. Most likely, she'll have other CD's with it too for installing the original software and drivers. If not, she may have to get drivers manually from the manufacturer's website. Note that the Recovery CD will not activate the current install of Pro, but since it's a Recovery, activation will be a snap

Make sure you get all her files off the drive though before you do it! The cable linked above will make is easy.

Quote:

Yeah thats the thing i would have sorted it out for her but im trying my best now and time is running out and yeah this other fella thinks hes know everything about everything...

Yeah, I know the type... Look him in the eye and tell him *he* was the one that couldn't/forgot to Activate and *he* is the reason she's sans laptop at the moment. That should shut him up

Quote:

Thanks for your help

Most welcome. it's what we do

JamesBart · 12-05-2007, 03:43 PM

Quote:

ust take out the Drive on the laptop and buy one of these from ebay: http://cgi.ebay.com/Laptop-2-5-HD-to...QQcmdZViewItem

Set the laptop drive to slave, and you're good to go

cool man, i think i may have one of these lying around as its happens, also the deadline has been extended for the photo's so not all is lost

Quote:

Yes, The CD she has is a Recovery CD. It will contain the version of Windows that originally came with the computer. Most likely, she'll have other CD's with it too for installing the original software and drivers. If not, she may have to get drivers manually from the manufacturer's website. Note that the Recovery CD will not activate the current install of Pro, but since it's a Recovery, activation will be a snap

this is good to know, she has way to many disks for way to many things its crazy

Quote:

Yeah, I know the type... Look him in the eye and tell him *he* was the one that couldn't/forgot to Activate and *he* is the reason she's sans laptop at the moment. That should shut him up

lets just say we have had words

and thanks again man!

Thanks

and going to try that now

JamesBart · 12-05-2007, 11:48 PM

all sorted

imsati · 12-06-2007, 12:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JamesBart

all sorted

Awesome! Glad you got it up and running.

12-04-2007, 01:20 PM	#1 (permalink)
JamesBart Diamond Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Posts: 2,338	Very Urgent Xp Help Hey guys, A friend of mine was having some XP problems well virus etc etc, she didnt listen to me as to download this and download that... etc but anyways she got another firend of mine to re-install xp, purely because we fell out over this! sad i know so i think she originally had XP home and i think he took it upon himself to install xp pro. so the 30 days are up and she didnt know about the serial that had to be placed in there. ive just found this out today. she works as a photgrpaher and has some very important pics to get off the hdd by 5 today. UK time. So with regards to the activation it is now asking her to call microsoft and get a confirmation code (this is where i am only looking for legal guidance) so with what ever copy of xp has been installed if shes calls MS for this will she be in trouble if it is pro and isnt home like i think was originally installed? if i was to call MS with this query how do you think they would treat it, do you think that i was asking if i had a cracked copy, this isnt the case? Also the originally copy of XP was bought and she has the serial for that. shes got a 5yr old toshiba! its a monster laptop Legal help only please thanks

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12-05-2007, 11:48 PM	#6 (permalink)
JamesBart Diamond Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Posts: 2,338	all sorted