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My laptop has got several problems all pointing to needing a reinstall. Its genuine - and I can extract the key from the registry.
But where can I get a copy of XP Professional to install? A bit reluctant to use torrents, but would be over the moon if someone could point me to a genuine iso.
m.edmondson
Posted 2010-12-08T14:35:27.290
Reputation: 141
3
For a laptop, you may have to buy a replacement disc from the manufacturer. Many laptop vendors use custom ISO's for many of their models and the original key you got will only work with their custom ISO. I would contact them first.
BBlake
Posted 2010-12-08T14:35:27.290
Reputation: 5 120
Good point too, although the handling cost for the replacement media is likely to be higher than the cost of buying a copy of XP pro – Pekka – 2010-12-08T15:09:05.713
Heh, yea, nowadays that's probably true. Especially if it's HP or Dell. They're really bad for ridiculous costs on replacement anything. – BBlake – 2010-12-08T15:12:49.370
@Pekka - the media is usually only about $10 or $20 – Joel Coehoorn – 2010-12-08T15:13:40.787
@Joel then they are more generous in the US than they are here. Acer for example wanted to charge me €40 for a Windows replacement DVD a few years back (Plus shipping IIRC) – Pekka – 2010-12-08T15:14:47.163
A lot of those images don't even require you to enter a key - it's mostly just for show. They're keyed to the manufacturer's BIOS and unlock themselves if installed on the correct hardware. (This is the basis of the exploit generally used by software pirates to crack Vista and 7, and the fact that it was broken wide open for Vista and unchanged for 7 tells me it is unlikely to change dramatically for any non-virtualized product anytime soon. Of course, from the looks of things, Windows 8 may be completely in the cloud...) – Shinrai – 2010-12-08T15:15:50.157
@Pekka - most vendors have become more reasonable since they started only shipping the OS on a recovery partition by default. But I don't have a specific experience with Acer - they may still charge much more. – Joel Coehoorn – 2010-12-08T15:16:32.250
@Joel - When I worked for Lenovo it was $40 plus shipping. I would be shocked if you could find a major OEM giving you media for $10 (unless you purchase it at the time you buy the machine). – Shinrai – 2010-12-08T15:16:45.197
@Shinrai - I've seen it done this way before with Dell - only $10 for replacement media. However, in looking for documentation on the process it appears they only do this when the machine is still under warranty. – Joel Coehoorn – 2010-12-08T15:24:19.280
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Genuine and iso in the same phrase are a difficult catch for windows xp on the internet. Try for a used cheap retail copy on Ebay :)
Pitto
Posted 2010-12-08T14:35:27.290
Reputation: 1 766
1+1. XP pro can be bought legitimately at very, very low prices. – Pekka – 2010-12-08T15:08:29.007
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Depending on where you work, you might check with your IT department. I ran into a similar issue with Vista a little while back, explained that I had a legitimate key (shoot, I think I even brought my laptop in to show them), and they were happy to burn a copy for me.
Each IT department will handle this in their own way, but it never hurts to ask.
Dillie-O
Posted 2010-12-08T14:35:27.290
Reputation: 1 363
phone call to microsoft might get it, but it's end of lifecycle. good luck – RobotHumans – 2010-12-08T14:44:31.373
@aking a phone call to Microsoft for a replacement CD? I'd like to see that. – Pekka – 2010-12-08T15:09:30.270
Paradigm shift ie. switch to Linux. – Aki – 2010-12-08T16:22:33.073