Windows XP License +Thinkpad Laptop

AmDaMan · 3 Mar 2008 at 12:29

Hi, i've got a thinkpad with a COA for XP Pro on the bottom of it, but no recovery partition as I had to replace the HDD.

Can I use any copy of Windows and use this key to activate it or does it have to be an IBM copy? It says XP Pro 1-2 CPU underneath so I assume it's SP1?

JonnyT · 3 Mar 2008 at 13:45

You can use any XP Pro OEM CD with that COA Sticker to reinstall XP (including a SP2 cd) but it won't have any of the drivers or ThinkVantage Utilities preinstalled. Alternatively you can call Lenovo & order a replacement set of Recovery CDs for your ThinkPad which will create a clean XP installation complete with drivers and utilities and also a recovery partition. IIRC they charge £15 for duplication & shipping & handling but they're handy to have in case of it happening again.

Burnsy2023 · 3 Mar 2008 at 14:25

JonnyT said:
You can use any XP Pro OEM CD with that COA Sticker to reinstall XP (including a SP2 cd)

Not true, large OEMs have media that will only work with their product key pool. It's not always the case that any OEM media will work with any OEM product key.

Burnsy

AmDaMan · 3 Mar 2008 at 23:37

yup, had an xp sp1 cd knocking about and the code didn't work :/

JonnyT · 3 Mar 2008 at 23:42

Hmm strange, I did a reinstall of XP Pro on a HP Evo D510 today using the COA stuck on the case (clearly labelled HP) and a plain vanilla XP SP2c OEM CD (I work for a system builder/reseller) and it worked fine :confused:

Brian Stuart · 4 Mar 2008 at 07:44

Must say I've never had a problem using an OEM XP disc with a branded product key. It won't activate on line sometimes but will go through the telephone system OK.

AmDaMan · 4 Mar 2008 at 15:03

the disk i used was a XP Pro corporate SP1 disk. If I got an SP2 disk (non corp) should it work do you think? Otherwise I will just buy the restore disks from IBM.

JonnyT · 5 Mar 2008 at 10:07

No it needs to be a OEM disc rather than a retail/corporate version. There is a way to convert a corporate/retail disc to work with OEM keys if you fancy getting your hands dirty (might be worth slipstreaming SP2 at the same time).

Copy the contents of your XP CD to a folder, say c:\xpcd

Go into C\XPCD\i386\Setupp.ini

Change the 'Pid=xxxxxxxx' from what it is (should end 000 or similar) to 'Pid=76487OEM' then create a new CD with the modified files & it should work with your OEM key. It's not quite as simple as just burning the files to a blank CD as you need to add a microsoft boot-sector and change the disc label, there's a decent guide here