XP Home product key, OEM or Retail, how to tell?

RoadWarrior · Mar 7, 2006

Hi guys,

I bought a broken down system for cheap, HDD is gone, but I've got a product key on the case for XP Home. It's built out of generic parts, with no branding so it's not "obviously" an OEM provided key, so is there a way to tell which it is. Are there different patterns to OEM and retail keys?

thanks,

Road Warrior

BulldogMcC · Mar 7, 2006

is the COA on the machine, that will say OEM on it if it is an OEM version.

RoadWarrior · Mar 7, 2006

Okay, yeah, the COA is on the machine, and it doesn't say OEM anywhere on it, so I presume it's retail then?

BulldogMcC · Mar 7, 2006

Yes.

Edit: With the qualification that I have never come across an OEM COA that didn't say OEM on it but I don't have a reference to prove the answer is universal.

RoadWarrior · Mar 7, 2006

Okay, thanks much :thup:

ErikD · Mar 7, 2006

I have seen PCs from OEM makers with COAs that have no mention of OEM on them. I wouldn't trust that the license eas retail just because it doesn't explicitly state OEM.

RoadWarrior · Mar 8, 2006

Okay, so here's the gist of what it looks like if anyone can tell by sight...

You are required to affix this . . . . . 000XX-XXX-XXX-XXX
Certificate of Authenticity label
to the exterior of the PC
Windows XP Home Edition

With the exclamation point in a yellow triangle at the left, and XX are numbers in the PK, put the leading zeroes in there as they were instead of as X, just in case there's any way of telling with those. Obviously don't want to and can't post the full key.

redrumy3 · Mar 8, 2006

RoadWarrior said:
Okay, so here's the gist of what it looks like if anyone can tell by sight...

You are required to affix this . . . . . 000XX-XXX-XXX-XXX
Certificate of Authenticity label
to the exterior of the PC
Windows XP Home Edition

With the exclamation point in a yellow triangle at the left, and XX are numbers in the PK, put the leading zeroes in there as they were instead of as X, just in case there's any way of telling with those. Obviously don't want to and can't post the full key.

heres what the one on my emachines inside looks like.

MonroeM · Mar 8, 2006

OEM stickers and retail stickers look different. There's a page on MS' website that shows what each sticker looks like and what it means. I think there's more than just OEM and retail too, it's screwy.

RoadWarrior · Mar 8, 2006

Bah, been all over their "how to tell" site, can't match it, it's got the blue to white fading stripe on the left and holographic "Genuine Microsoft" glossy coating, with blue "microsoft printing on the bottom edge, apart from that it's plain white, no bar codes or anything.

XP Home product key, OEM or Retail, how to tell?

RoadWarrior

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