Cannot activate XP Home on Dell PC

[Hi Ho]

I am attempting to reinstall Windows XP Home on a friends Dell B110 PC. He does not have the original discs. I thought, "No problem, I have an XP install disc...". Boy was I wrong!

First I couldn't get past the disc formatting/copying installation files. It would simply restart the formatting process after rebooting. I ended up doing a complete format instead of a quick format and that solved that problem.

I thought I was home free... until I tried to logon and start installing updates/programs. I immediately got the following message:

This copy of Windows must be activated with Microsoft before you can log on. Do you want to activate Windows now?

I clicked yes and it was "Unable to activate online". I clicked "Telephone" and it could not generate an installation ID.

I gave up for the night. This morning after some digging I determined that the problem may be caused by the NIC drivers not being installed. This PC has an onboard NIC. The problem was I could not install drivers because I could not log into Windows. I couldn't even boot to safe mode. I found a workaround that allowed me to access a CD that had the necessary drivers and they appeared to install but the NIC was still not recognized.

I tossed in another NIC I had lying around and wow! I was able to activate! Or so I thought. After appearing to successfully activate and attempting to log on I get the EXACT SAME ERROR that I got the first time!

I tried activating online again and it said it was unsuccessful. I tried the telephone activation and it did generate an installation ID. I went through the automated prompts on the phone and it seemed to work; except I still get the same error that I quoted above.

I am in a perpetual activation loop! How do I get out of it? Why didn't I get the usual 30 day activation period?

My XP install CD is pre SP1 (around 2001 or so) and this PC seems to be from 2006. Could that have something to do with it? Is the Dell XP CD key incompatible with my XP CD? Wouldn't it tell me when I entered the CD key? I am at a loss. I have never had an issue installing/activating XP. I have used many CD keys with my XP install CD but I have never done it on a Dell.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[chuck4456]

His DELL OS Reinstallation CD, as well as the blue and white DELL driver and utilities CDs if you are going to successfully reinstall his WINDOWS.
Welcome to the forum.

[Hi Ho]

Thanks for the welcome but I've been here since 2003.

Anyway, he doesn't have the discs. I don't see what is preventing me from installing a clean version of Windows on this PC. I have all of the necessary drivers downloaded from the Dell website. This is very frustrating.

[shadowpr]

Maybe if you zero filled the drive, and then tried to install a slipstreamed sp2 xp?

Could the drive be going bad by chance too? Might not hurt to run diagnostics on it.

[chuck4456]

Originally Posted by Hi Ho Thanks for the welcome but I've been here since 2003. Anyway, he doesn't have the discs. I don't see what is preventing me from installing a clean version of Windows on this PC. I have all of the necessary drivers downloaded from the Dell website. This is very frustrating.

Good morning.
My bad.
I was looking at the top right corner! So I welcomed you!

I don't if this has anything to do with it, but I'll mention it.
The B110 that I performed a reinstallation with was a 2006. The RI disc was XP Home/SP2. One thing that I noticed though was that during the installation, some extra files were installed after reboot and somewhere at the beginning of the XP installation. I have never seen those files being installed with standard copies. It may be some type of proprietary stuff that only DELL uses. It's been two years so I really can't recall the exact order that they were installed but I did notice that in the WINDOWS Program Files themselves that there were a couple of DELL folders for one thing or another.
Maybe GLC knows.
DELL is in a world all its own.

[glc]

If you didn't delete any partitions, it's very simple. Press Ctrl+F11 on startup and use Symantec PC Restore to reload it. It will restore a complete image that's stored in the recovery partition. If you did delete the diagnostic partition or the recovery partition - or reformatted the recovery partition, you are SOL.

You cannot use the Dell installation key to install any generic load of XP. You must use PC Restore or a Dell-provided reinstallation CD. If you use a Dell CD, you will also need the Resource CD for that machine to reinstall the drivers, and none of the preloaded applications will be reinstalled unless you have those CD's. If you want to wipe and use a different CD, you must have a key that's valid with that particular CD.

[EzyStvy]

And Dell will probably send a new OS cd for ten bucks or for free.

[Hi Ho]

And Dell will probably send a new OS cd for ten bucks or for free.

Hmmm.... That may be what I'll have to do. There was only one partition on the disk when I got the machine and it took up the entire drive capacity. There didn't seem to be a recovery partition. I deleted the partition that was there. If getting a disc from Dell is that easy then maybe I'll just do that.

This reminds me why I build my own machines. I'm glad my Toshiba laptop had no screwy things like this. The key worked with my slimmed down Vista Premium CD without a problem. Why does Dell feel the need to make everything proprietory?

[mikeL]

Why does Dell feel the need to make everything proprietory?

So you can deal directly with them, and give your money directly to them.

[glc]

If there was only one partition, someone in the past wiped it. All Dells sold since 7/04 have had 3 partitions - a diagnostic partition, a main partition, and a recovery partition. This is usually a good thing. They were not delivered with a reinstallation CD, just a resource CD with drivers and diagnostics. The reinstallation CD was a $10 option, it works only on Dells (it has a bios lock) and does not require a key or activation. It does not have drivers or anything else proprietary on it, it's just like a generic CD. It *WILL* install on other machines without asking for a key, but it will not activate unless you use a key changer and enter a valid key. A Dell OEM key is not a valid key.

[mplsmelo]

Just a couple days ago I purchased a Dell Dimension 8300 (3ghz Pent 4) for $100--my first non-custom built machine-- and had no problems formatting the drive, deleting the partition (only one existed) and installing XP off my certified copy.

So, I'm a bit confused why the original poster ran into so many problems? Does Dell put something in the master boot record that prevents users from installing a different copy of XP, or, did the poster not have a valid key for his personal copy of XP?

BTW, I'm an old poster returning from the dead. My last build was so rock solid that I haven't worried about upgrading for.....6 years....yep....SIX YEARS (might be longer but who's counting?)! Still running an old T-Bird 1.2ghz.....three monitor setup that seems to just get better with age (although I will admit that this PENT4-3ghz system is just a bit faster...LOL).

[Hi Ho]

I do have an update. I was able to acquire a Dell OEM install disk and it worked perfectly. It did not ask me to input a key or activate which leaves me wondering... what exactly is the Dell Windows XP key that is stuck on the side of the case used for? It doesn't seem to work for anything.

and had no problems formatting the drive, deleting the partition (only one existed) and installing XP off my certified copy.

Did you use the key stuck on the side of the Dell case or the one that came with your disc? My XP disc has a key that works perfectly. However, I wasn't about to use my key on someone elses PC. It was the Dell key that gave me the problems.

[glc]

The Dell key really isn't used for anything that the user will ever need. Now, if you want to do a little poking around, use the Magic Jellybean to read out the key. It will not be the same as what's on the case. If you try to change the key to what's on the case, it will deactivate, and will not reactivate.

I used a Dell XP Home CD to temporarily install a copy of XP on a generic machine. It installed without asking for a key, but it did NOT activate by itself like it would have on a Dell. It's keyed to a Dell bios. If I had tried to activate it, it would not have been possible without a valid non-Dell generic OEM XP Home key.

Now, before you tell me "I can do this, I can do that", yes, there appears to be a bit of a loophole here. You can use any Dell reinstallation CD on any Dell. It will install without asking for a key and will be preactivated. This is one reason why Dell stopped providing reinstallation CD's and went to the recovery partition. My sister bought my nephew a new Inspiron 530s last year with Vista Home Basic. It ran like dog doo on Vista. She brought a Dell reinstall CD with XP Pro on it from work - we nuked and paved, and it installed preactivated without asking for a key and passed WGA validation. Was this legal? Nope - downgrading to XP Pro is only legal from Vista Business or better. Are they happy? Yep.

This is also why if you ever replace a motherboard in a Dell, it has to be a Dell motherboard or you will have to buy a new copy of XP.

[mplsmelo]

My Dell came with a reinstallation cd for xp home but had xp pro installed on it. I just wiped the drive clean, created two partitions, installed my valid copy of xp (with the supplied key) and windows prompted me to activate it which I did.

Apparently Bill's happy as am I.

[mplsmelo]

Originally Posted by Hi Ho I do have an update. I was able to acquire a Dell OEM install disk and it worked perfectly. It did not ask me to input a key or activate which leaves me wondering... what exactly is the Dell Windows XP key that is stuck on the side of the case used for? It doesn't seem to work for anything. Did you use the key stuck on the side of the Dell case or the one that came with your disc? My XP disc has a key that works perfectly. However, I wasn't about to use my key on someone elses PC. It was the Dell key that gave me the problems.

Ah, now I understand (duh---my bad)

[trowand]

Hey, for what it's worth, I was afraid that I was going to run into problems similar to yours but I just successfully installed a store bought retail disc of XP Home on my buddy's HP Media PC. It installed without a glitch thank goodness.

[glc]

A retail CD should install on any computer if you use the key it came with...............

If you go back and reread the thread, the problem was experienced trying to use a DELL OEM KEY with a retail CD.

[trowand]

Oh, uh... yeah, I knew that. I was just testing you...