XP Home OEM re-install problem

Just volunteered to fix a friends PC.

The OS (XP Home) is trashed. It has MS License Key sticker on the side "Windows XP Home Tulip Computers" (PC brand is indeed Tulip). Unfortunately, they have no OS media at all (not even a 'restore' disk).

All I have is XP Pro media (no XP Home) .. is there anyway I can install XP Pro and then 'downgrade' it to XP Home so that their License Key will be accepted ??

Failing this, I can get XP Home media on eBay = however from what I can discover, the MS Key for Tulip OEM may not work with other OEM media ?

Does anyone know if it will work with a 'full retail' XP Home media ??

 

Tulip went bust ages ago ..

As far as I can discover, the Tulip name was purchased by "Nedfield", who only ever used it on a range of 'up market' laptops (for sure they offer no support of any kind for the old Tulip Desktop range).

In any event, it seems the Tulip OEM Desktop was only ever sold to schools == so I guess there was never any support, unless you paid through the nose for it, no doubt

 

I think you're going to need to find/borrow an XP Home install.
Ironic, I only have the XP Home disks, and on ocassion I could use the Pro version.
It's irritating as hell that the install disks have become like gold. What happened to the days when you ALWAYS got the install disks? And, why did this change?
Sorry for the rant in your thread, but I run into this issue all the time.

 

confused:confused
But Halo, I've used "generic" install disks on Dells, HPs, ASUS, Milw PCs, etc.

Never with problems, except for drivers that you've actually helped out on. Steve can't do the same with the Tulip?

 

Drivers are not a problem, I'm glad to say = the motherboard is an ASUS P4S800-MX/S and all the drivers are available from the ASUS support site (whoppee !) even if they do take ages to download ...

I'm going to bite the bullet and buy a new XP Pro license ....

 

Usually an OEM disk is an OEM disk. I have XP Home OEM SP1 disks that I've used to reload Dells, Compaqs, whatever. as long as it is OEM I've never ran into a system builder's key that didn't work with an OEM disk.
If you want to PM me I'll check my stock and see about getting you a disk.

(I use to have many CDs, at my former job they bought OEM retail, instead of corp licenses and I got a disk with every PC we deployed - I kept some just in case & tossed a boat load of them too.)

 

Or, alternatively, you can order replacement OEM media direct from Microsoft.