Looking for win xp on the cheap lol

[Liquid_Scope_99]

I really could use a legal copy of xp on the cheap if anybody has one 32 bit please

[Luke122]

Wouldnt it be great if people disposed of their old computers, and left license keys attached to the case?

[Liquid_Scope_99]

lol yeah i see how that would be a good thing i think just for laughs i wiil check some in storage

[TheGreatSatan]

I can get you a copy for $0

[Snowman]

Also can get it for 0 dollars.

[Spawn-Inc]

Wouldnt it be great if people disposed of their old computers, and left license keys attached to the case?

i found 2 cases like that, but neither key wants to work for me.

[TonyAKAMrClean]

That's because it's probably a corporate edition key as opposed to what you're installing from (XP Professional OEM/Retail). You can actually modify a file on your disc that will allow you to use it to install with the key that you've provided from the sticker. Since I'm a techy, I generally keep 3 discs, one of each, OEM/Retail/Corporate so that I can install with either disc based on the key that belongs to the machine I'm installing on.

Instructions: (As found on http://www.freepctech.com/pc/xp/xp00066.shtml)

Unlocking WinXP's setupp.ini

WinXP's setupp.ini controls how the CD acts. IE is it an OEM version or retail? First, find your setupp.ini file in the i386 directory on your WinXP CD. Open it up, it'll look something like this:

ExtraData=707A667567736F696F697911AE7E05
Pid=55034000

The Pid value is what we're interested in. What's there now looks like a standard default. There are special numbers that determine if it's a retail, oem, or volume license edition. First, we break down that number into two parts. The first five digits determines how the CD will behave, ie is it a retail cd that lets you clean install or upgrade, or an oem cd that only lets you perform a clean install? The last three digits determines what CD key it will accept. You are able to mix and match these values. For example you could make a WinXP cd that acted like a retail cd, yet accepted OEM keys.

Now, for the actual values. Remember the first and last values are interchangable, but usually you'd keep them as a pair:

Retail = 51882335
Volume License = 51883 270
OEM = 82503 OEM

So if you wanted a retail CD that took retail keys, the last line of your setupp.ini file would read:

Pid=51882335

And if you wanted a retail CD that took OEM keys, you'd use:

Pid=51882OEM

Note that this does NOT get rid of WinXP's activation. Changing the Pid to a Volume License will not bypass activation. You must have a volume license (corporate) key to do so.

I did this once when I dropped cigarette ashes on my XP Pro Retail disc and all I had was a corporate disc. Worked like a charm for me. If the instructions don't work, let me know and I'll go to my discs and see what I put in the ini for mine. The instructions sound right though. Best of luck.

[TonyAKAMrClean]

FYI, for legalities, I should tell you that you're only supposed to install with that key on the machine that the sticker is on. So reuse the case, and mod it up!

[Airbozo]

RE: Licensing

What Tony said is correct. M$ is selling you a license for your computer, not the software. So long as you have a valid license for the system you are installing on it is perfectly fine to edit config files so long as you are not hacking the actual license key itself. I have spoken with my companies M$ rep about this due to other problems I have had, and they confirmed this with their licensing folks.

[Liquid_Scope_99]

thnaks gusy is lots of help sorry it took so long to reply crazy busy which si good except for leisure time lol +rep to all