I also create unattended and slipstreamed XP Disks.Scenario : You’ve got a problem with your computer (DELL,HP….etc), you call their technical support team and the person on the other side requires the machine’s serial number (also called as Service Tag) to log your request. I know these things because I have my one Windows Keys and i also have a VLK license. All VLK and RETAIL disks are the same and contain EVERY version of Windows Vista. In the case of Windows Vista, EVERY SINGLE DISK is EXACTLY the same, except, once again, for OEM Disks. When you activate, Windows checks that it hasn’t been used to many times. The key is never on the disk instead there is a non-reversable algorithm which checks if the key can be used. HOWEVER, the key becomes invalid 30 days after the OS was installed so a legitimate key then needs to be entered.
Microsoft add the key so that businesses and PC manufacturers can perform mass installs with the same product key without having to activate. You people saying that the key inside UNATEND.txt is real are WRONG. Retail and VLK keys are also interchangeable and usable on the same CD. However, if you change a single piece of your pc, windows will need to be activated as it is no longer an “original pre-built” pc.
If the “code” matches with your motherboards serial, RAM, Graphics Card, First HDD, First CD Drive, First Floppy (If Present), Memory Controller, Sound Card, Ethernet Card, then windows will install WITHOUT activation. The way OEM works is that the PC maker loads a special file with their OEM “Code” inside. The OEM Disks (the ones you get when you buy a pc with Windows on in) are different for each manufacturer.
So in case you haven’t guessed, those product key stickers are valuable, and Product keys for Windows, and several other installed programs.
There’s a free tool: KeyFinder, that will report your You can, in fact, get the product key without the sticker. Now, if you have a legitimate, working installation of Microsoft Windows, The details of “product activation”, but it’s likely that one of the things itĬhecks is that the product key you entered is unique, and not already in use by Should be used to install on only one machine. One of the reasons that the product keys are unique is to prevent piracy.Įach person should receive a unique product key, and thus that product key Unique product key that verifies you as having purchased a legitimate copy ofĪ CD without a product key? Without your unique product key? Not Any CD will do, but it’s your possession of a You may think you’re purchasing a CD, but in fact, it’s more like you’re Of the same product, you’ll see that the key is different on each label. The product key is typically printed on a label on the product packagingĬontaining the CD when you purchase it. More like you’re purchasing that product key.” “You may think you’re purchasing a CD, but in fact, it’s