Will OEM WinXP CD Key work on existing system?

Hi Everyone,

I'm trying to change the CD Key on my existing Windows XP Pro system. The system currently has a "Corporate Edition" installation/key on it. The key has expired so I can't get updates anymore, so I purchased an OEM WinXP Pro CD from some website so that I can update my CD Key to a valid one.

However it seems the CD Key is invalid. I'm not sure... I've tried the instructions on MS website to de-activate Windows and run msoobe.exe /a to enter in the new Key but when I click Update, the app tells me the key is invalid.

So does anyone know if the key is invalid due to trying to update my existing install with this OEM CD, or is the key itself probably a bad key? In general, is the approach I took to change the CD Key correct, or is there another method you have to use in this case?

Any advise is greatly appreciated!
-Chris.

 

An OEM key will not Work with a "Corporate" version of XP. You have to reinstall your system from the OEM CD w/ the OEM Key.

 

If the OEM version won't work, would an normal "Windows Upgrade" version work with Corporate? Or would I need a Full Version copy?

 

The Product Keys are different for OEM, Retail, Upgrade, & VLK (Corporate). Also the keys a different for Home & Professional.

 

So is there a version of Windows XP I can buy (Upgrade, Full version, etc) that will work, where I can update the product key of my Corporate install?

Or will I need to reinstall Windows since it's Corporate?

 

You would have to buy a Corporate Licence for it to work with your install of XP. The best thing for you to do at this point is backup your data and do a clean install of the OEM version.

 

I was afraid of that. Well I guess this system needs a clean install by now anyway.

Do you know this: Can I use this OEM version on another computer (ie. if I buy a new system, etc.) if I uninstall it on my current system first? Or will it only work on THIS system? If I'm going to do this, I'd rather install something that can be used elsewhere later when I need to.

-Chris.

 

You can use that OEM version on any system, as long as you either uninstall it from the system it is currently on, or you purchase a valid OEM Product Key for the additional system you want to install XP on.

 

Thanks Shadow for the info, I really appreciate it!

I don't think it'll be a big deal reinstalling on the computer... it's my wifes computer and she doesn't have much stuff to backup, and probably won't miss anything that *I* miss in the backup. Although she reemed me pretty good last time I overwrote changes she made to some images. I mostly use her system as a quick backup to my system and overwrote some images she edited, by mistake one time. We won't repeat that.

-Chris.