Windows XP Pro key not valid, won't allow to continue with upgrade from XP Media Center

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EAndresB2

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Wannabe Geek

#113726 25-Jan-2013 21:42

Hello Geek Zone friends,
This is the problem i an confronting and need your expertise to hopefully restore the system back to its prior state before the failed upgrade to XP Pro. The system is a HP Pavillion A1140n with Windows Media Center. Fully functional but without LAN connectivity. It would access the web alright, but would not connect to the work-group computers of the office network. It was decided to upgrade it to Windows XP Pro OEM.

The first attempt was made from within the desktop, with the CD running the XP Professional Upgrade Setup without a problem- until the registration/activation window open requesting the CD Key to be entered. This was an OEM OS CD purchased at Tiger Direct and it has it accompanying booklet and CD KEY Label and authenticity. So the key was entered and it was rejected by the setup process stating that is was an incorrect or invalid key. It was rechecked and re-typed two or three times before the upgrade process was cancelled.
The computer was restarted with the Windows XP-PRO CD in the drive and the "boot from Cd..." option selected. The setup process ran again correctly until the CD KEY was requested- and again it was rejected as invalid. From that point, we could, according to the displayed instruction, we could continue the installation without entering a key at that time, but clicking OK would start a loop of the setup asking for the key and we clicking OK to continue without entering a key. Clicking the BACK button would returned us to the Time Zone and Keyboard selection portion of the setup, but it would not allows us to cancel or continue further with out entering a cd key.
After close examination of the CD and the Authentication Label, I notice that the Authentication Code on the label (X14-0117) did not coincide with the number on the CD itself which was X14-7249. I assume that at some point, a partner of mine might have taken my XP-PRO CD and left me his. I am awaiting to, hopefully, find out that in-deed it might had been something simple like that. BUT, in the case its not, How may I reverse the upgrade ??? Booting to select F8 only presents us with the choices of safe mode, last known good point or Windows Restore Console BUT only for the Windows XP Professional, not XP Media Center. Booting directly to the hard-drive retakes the upgrade setup from the point of the key request part, and the key and no key loop begins again.
If the Restore Console can be used to restore the system to the Media Center OS, what command and parameters should I use and restore???? The computer has a recovery partition and the choice at the Bios Post to select restore, but this would wipe out all the data on the drive and bring the system to a factory state.
Sorry for the long post, hope I gave you as much info as possible to access the situation and share a possible solution! Eagerly awaiting your helping suggestions!
Thank you.

yitz

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#751008 25-Jan-2013 22:00

Windows XP Media Center Edition and Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 will appear as "Windows XP Professional" during the Setup process and in Recovery Console. This is normal.

If you think your original operating files are intact (you haven't reformatted) you could try the fixmbr command from within the Recovery Console or you can manually edit boot.ini on the system partition. You may also need to move and rename Windows system folders from Windows.old.

Upgrade media is only available as Retail not OEM. Product keys depend on which channel (Retail/Full, Retail/Upgrade or OEM/Full) you are using. You cannot upgrade from Windows XP Media Center 2005 to Windows XP Professional which may be why your Product Key is not being accepted (after all it appears you are unsure which CD you used)
Also I'm pretty sure you're missing a digit on the 2nd part of the Microsoft part number so we can't look up what CD you are using.

EAndresB2

7 posts

Wannabe Geek

#751039 25-Jan-2013 23:15

Thank you Yitz for your quick reply and guidance. The system files should be intact as I did not use the format options, so I should be able to find the windows.old folder and reboot back to the windows media. Any specific instructions for using the fixmbr command? Very Important detail I just remember, this guys don't have a XP-Media Center CD! It came pre-installed in their pc. I have the feeling I am going to need a Windows Media Center Cd to use the fixmbr command...correct?

You are probably most correct the problem simply been the fact that an upgrade from XP Media Center to XP-Professional is not allowed -and that is why its rejecting the CD-Key.
I thought for a moment that my friend and I might have departed with each other CDs taking into account that the Authentication code on the label of mine has a lower number (X14-01xx) while the one on the CD itself appears as a higher (X14-72xx) The first three digits I am positive are as I am writing them down (x14-) and that there is a large gap between the second set, but since I left the CD in the car, and its really cold outside tonight, i am been lazy and not getting it exactly. I will post them tomorrow exactly as they are if it will help. But I suspect you hit the nail with the upgrade not been compatible with the media center version.

yitz

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#751063 26-Jan-2013 04:40

You can reinstate your previous Windows MCE 2005 installation only if you chose to setup in a different folder at this stage of Windows Setup:

If you installed Windows XP Professional in a different folder using the above option, your previous operating system should be left intact and you should be able to boot from the F8 menu into your previous operating system (it is usually the 2nd option):

If your previous Windows XP MCE 2005 installation was overwritten you will need to perform a reinstall using your Windows XP Professional media. If you want to keep your data, you must choose the 'Leave the current file system intact' option. Even with this option your application software and settings from your WinXP MCE 2005 installation will be lost. You may want to move or rename the 'Documents and Settings' folder using Windows Recovery Console (boot from the Windows XP CD) to be sure your data is safe.

X14-01711 Windows XP Professional SP2 OEM
X14-72249 Windows XP Professional SP3 OEM
For Windows XP you should use Product Keys and media with matching part numbers as some versions of media may be restricted to certain Product Key and Product ID combinations. Product Keys can be used with any Service Pack level. Upgrade from Windows XP MCE 2005 to Windows XP Professional is not supported.

EAndresB2

7 posts

Wannabe Geek

#751065 26-Jan-2013 05:34

Those are exactly the codes I have for the cd and the auth label! So then my friend and I did switch each other CDs!!! Would it make any difference at this point?!

Also, if I did select to install over the same folder of windows I am basically at a lost with the data amnd mostly the installed programs?! ( I am not 100% sure if the install in a different folder was chosen.)

Using a windows XP home edition has the same compatibility issues than win map and XP-pro ????

EAndresB2

7 posts

Wannabe Geek

#751080 26-Jan-2013 08:56

Thank you again Yitz for your guidance.
I only get two options to select from Windows XP Professional and Windows Recovery Console. I guess that might indicate that the upgrade installed over the exiting windows files. Correct?

I have setup an extra hard-drive to copy the Document and Settings folder as well as those pertaining to the client. Documents and Settings is giving me an error that a file from TEMP' ~DF886C.tmp Cannot create or replace en-us: Access is denied. To make sure the disk is not full or write-protected and that the file is not currently in use. I would be able to use the copy command in the Windows Restore Console to make a copy in the second hard-drive correct?

I will follow your suggestion and proceed to install leaving the system file as is without changes...
Also, I checked with my buddy, and the CD he has, it has a different authorization number (X12-XXXX) with the last number blocks been different from those on the CD-Authentication Label.

I will post how it goes...

Dairyxox

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#751114 26-Jan-2013 11:15

hp oem computers often have a recovery partition, so you might it need the media centre disc to restore the computer back. Press F11 at the hp logo bios screen and follow the prompts.

Some of these are non destructive, but it should tell you. I'd recomend backing up all data first if there is anything important.
This is probably what you should have done anyway, as it would probably fix your workgroup networking issue, instead of this XP pro upgrade nonsense.

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EAndresB2

7 posts

Wannabe Geek

#754191 1-Feb-2013 06:37

Hello Dairyxox,

Unlike Yitz, who provided me with his help and knowledge, your post didn't yield anything of substance. There is an old saying:" if you don't have anything good to say, don't say anything." Thanks to this kind of "nonsense"as you called it is that we have work and haven't become obsolete.

Thank you Yitz for your guidance!
I was able to install XP-Pro and still save the user's data as well as resolve the network connectivity problem. All 3 computers are now connected and sharing resources!

I do have a peculiar issue trying to share the two printers connected to two of the computers. Each of these 2 computer have one model of an HP brand printer. Tower-1 has an USB connected Laserjet 1300n, while Tower-2 has an USB connected Deskjet 5550 printer. I should mention, and I think here might lay the problem, that Tower-1's operating system is Windows Vista 64bits, while the other two remaining computers use Windows XP Professional 32 bits. Each printer is installed correctly, in working order, online, and with share activated. Tower-3 located at the clients front desk (Windows XP Pro 32bits) is configured and able to use the printer installed in Tower-2, but gives me the same error message when trying to connect to Tower-1 LaserJet 1300n printer: " You are about to connect to a printer on Tower-1, which will automatically install a printer driver on your machine.... continue? (YES); error response "The server for "HP LaserJet 1300 PCL 5" printer does not have the correct printer drive installed. The *.inf on (unknown) is needed. Search for driver yields no acceptable driver although both printer drivers are installed on all of the computers. I get the same error trying to install access to the printer in Tower-2 from Tower-1. Any suggestions?!

freitasm

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#754200 1-Feb-2013 07:21

Now that was a rude comment and uncalled for. The last of your posts was about restoring the PC to its previous OS. There was no post saying the PC was updated at last.

The advice given by Dairyxox was correct given the known situation and the last post before it.

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EAndresB2

7 posts

Wannabe Geek

#754202 1-Feb-2013 07:39

Dairyxox: hp oem computers often have a recovery partition, so you might it need the media centre disc to restore the computer back. Press F11 at the hp logo bios screen and follow the prompts.

Some of these are non destructive, but it should tell you. I'd recomend backing up all data first if there is anything important.
This is probably what you should have done anyway, as it would probably fix your workgroup networking issue, instead of this XP pro upgrade nonsense.

With all due respect, I call the shots as I see them, and it appears to me that the comment quoted above and posted by Dairyxox is not an acceptable and in deed the rude one here. The answer to the end result of is clearly posted in my reply as well as my gratitude to Yitz for his/her contribution.

freitasm

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#754204 1-Feb-2013 07:49

It was not disrespectful as it did not break our rules. He was not making a personal comment, but saying the whole process could have been avoided by using the built-in recovery partition. His comment was about not using the recovery partition to get back to a clean slate was non-sense.

Your subsequent comment on the other hand was personal.

We do accept that people get hot with someone else's comments. It's hard to get nuances in writing as we can't see the other person's body language, tone, etc.

But in here people should always attack the idea, not the person. That's the principle of the thing.

I'm happy you have this PC working again (albeit with some caveats still it seems), so let's go back on topic to get that one solved. But remember, whatever help you get is free and from the goodness of other people. And people will give advice based on previous posts they see floating around. It's how it works.

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EAndresB2

7 posts

Wannabe Geek

#754210 1-Feb-2013 08:07

I agree on getting back to business. As you commented, its hard to see peoples body language from a writing, yet i was taught not to make a comment unless it was clear what I meant.
I am grateful to all and anyone that has or will contribute to expanding our community experience and problem solving capability, whether free or premium. I hope in time to be able to contribute with my own answers to posted inquiries.

So, enough dust blown around, lets get back to the road to enlivenment!