Windows XP SP3 reinstall, product key not valid

Hello,
I have gotten myself in a bit of a situation and I could definitely use some help! I decided to post here because recently your malware-removal tutorials successfully helped me clean my system. Although I've already trashed it again.

The currently problem is that I'm trying to do a fresh reinstall of Windows XP SP3 and the product key I entered using the COA from the computer was not valid. I also tried a second product key that I found on the cd itself in the UNATEND.txt file, but it didn't work. I just can't get past the product key page in the installation.

My system is a Dell Dimension 9100 with a Pentium4 3GHz, 2GB of DDR2 Crucial ram, a 160GB factory drive and a 500GB Seagate drive. I got it in 2005.

The cd I'm using to install is a SP3 slipstream made with Nlite. The original disc is a copy of an OEM disc with no service pack that came with an older Dell Dimension pc my family bought years ago. (My current one did not come with any such discs).

The reason I'm doing this is because yesterday I contracted a virus which almost immediately blue-screened my pc. I could not reboot into any safe mode or hardly do anything. So I decided to delete all the partitions and start over. I realized later that I could have probably used the Utility partition to restore it. oops.

So anyway, my goal right now is to restore functionality to my desktop pc, so any help or advice would be greatly appreciated!

Best,

Shawn

 

XP with sp2 came out around 2002, so, I would say your pc is the XPSP2 LISCENCE ON THE CASE.- I believe XP SP3 CAME OUT LATE 2007-EARLY 2008. Although I assume you updated to SP3, the copy with nlite might be dodgy. You may need to find an XPSP2 disc to reinstall,

 

You can try pressing Ctrl+F11, on startup, and you might just access a recovery partition, to revitalise the pc- then , if it gets you into Dell's dsr partition, just ollow the instructions- If it has that partition, then you are lucky

Go here for more instructions
http://www.goodells.net/dellrestore/fixes.htm

 

Thanks for the prompt reply! Ctrl+F11 is a no go, and so is the "Boot to Utility Partition" from the F12 boot menu. I definitely deleted all the factory partitions.

Good thinking, I will see about locating a SP2 OEM disc and in the meantime I think I will try making a disc with SP2 slipstreamed in with Nlite.

 

Success!! I have a desktop! I made a SP2 disk with Nlite and the installation went perfectly. I didn't even have to enter a product key, so I suppose it used the one on the disc or got it off the computer itself or something. I have also used the original disc to reinstall windows on my Asus eeepc and on my parent's desktop, so I hope there won't be a problem with Microsoft.

All my media and important files were on the second 500GB harddrive and i haven't touched that. I hope though that nothing was infected by the virus which started this process. It was a fake anti-virus program and only ran for a few seconds before I shutdown the computer though. I also grabbed a few files off the factory drive before I formatted like some pictures and documents so hopefully those aren't infected. Once I get things set up I should probably run a couple virus scans, right?

Anyway, thanks again for your help, Baklogic! I would never have thought of that.

 

Slight note: xp sp2 came out around 8/10/2004
sp3 5/6/2008