What type of XP Pro key do I Have??

Is there a way to tell what type of XP Pro key that I have (retail,oem,vlk)??
I retrieved the key with jelly bean but I dont have the COA sticker. The PC will not boot and I dont have the original cd. I have backups of all versions of XP but hate trying different versions until one works. Is there an application that will tell you what version you have by typing the key in??

Thanks in advance

 

It is pretty much impossible to determine , for a fact, what version of XP Pro you have just by looking at the key.

Try typing the key in Google & doing a search.
If it's a common OEM key or "Volumn license key" you'll probably get some returns.

If you get none then there is a strong possibility it is a "clean" [good] retail key.

 

OEM and retail keys are interchangeable. This means you can use an OEM key with a retail install CD, and vice-versa. However, a VLK key is not interchangeable with OEM and/or retail. To use a VLK key, you MUST have a VLK CD. This applies to upgrades also. If your XP Pro was installed from an upgrade CD, then you must use another upgrade CD with the key you extracted to install Windows. An upgrade key will not work with any other CD, be it OEM, retail, or VLK. When installing from an OEM disc (like a Dell branded install CD), chances are, you will not be prompted for a product key, but once the install is complete, you have 30 days to activate. The pre-installed OEM product key will NOT activate if the PC is not the PC the CD was targeted for (if you use a Dell CD to install XP on a Compaq PC, it won't activate). But you can use the activation wizard to change the key to the correct one for the PC you own.

 

I'm not too sure what sort of XP Pro key I've got then.
I bought a cheap ex-lease IBM a couple of years back that has an XP Pro certificate/key.
I've re-installed at least 10 times over this time using an old OEM disc I had lying about without any activation issues. I just assumed it was part of a large corporate license...
The IBM now runs Linux and I've got that key activated on a completely different machine...
anyone able to shed some light?