Rebuilding a Windows XP Installation – Part 1

This series of posts is going to cover installing Windows XP from scratch. It’s most likely true you are installing XP as part of a computer rebuild (even if just software), hence the reason this series is called "rebuilding" and not "building".

In this first installment I’ll discuss the different types of XP install discs you’ll come across, and what you can do with them.

Differentiating the different types of XP install discs

Retail copy, single license

This is a copy of XP that you literally bought off the shelf at a store. You have the original box, documentation and most importantly the product key.

XP installed from a disc of this type does require a product key, else the OS will not "activate" correctly.

There’s one really crappy part about using an XP installation of this type. If you take this license and install it on a different computer with a different motherboard, the OS may fail online activation. If this happens, XP will instruct you to purchase another copy of a license. DON’T. Call Microsoft. I had to do this once. Yes, you will be on hold for 20 minutes or more, but once you explain to MS that the old computer has been thrown away and the new one will have this particular installation, they will re-enable the license you have.

If on the other hand the copy of XP you have is going on the same computer with the same motherboard, activation will proceed without any hassle.

Retail copy, multi-license

The most common variants of multi-license editions of XP are 3-pack and 25-pack and 30-pack. The 25′s and 30′s are only used by corporations because they cost thousands of dollars. The 3′s are used by smaller computer builders as they usually run just under $300.

I’m going to be honest here. If you have a multi-license copy of XP, you probably stole it from work. If you did, don’t worry, I won’t judge you because thousands of other people have done it thousands of times. This is part of the reason Microsoft added in WGA (Windows Genuine Advantage) in the first place. Prior to XP, very few people actually paid for Windows 95, 98, NT or 2000.

In fact, from 2001 to late 2004, XP didn’t have WGA until Service Pack 2. During that time almost nobody paid for XP that didn’t have it come with their PC originally.

If your license validates and doesn’t get "WGA’d" after installing Service Pack 3, consider yourself lucky. But if it doesn’t validate, I’m going to be honest again: Don’t bother trying to circumvent it. Try another license, buy Windows 7 or use Linux. If you try to get around XP’s WGA, it’s just a bad idea because it leaves the PC open for spyware and malware attacks, so don’t do it.

OEM copy, single license

For most people, this means the Dell "System Recovery" or "Operating System" CD.

The way in which this XP install disc works is by far the easiest, and as a matter of fact you can install the OS on different Dell PCs as many times as you want – legally.

Here’s how it works.

The first thing you’ll notice is that when you use a Dell XP disc, it never asks you for the Windows product key. The OS just installs completely, activates, updates, works. The reason for this is because there’s a file called winnt.sif in the I386 directory that has an XP license already in there. This is an automated installation procedure.

In reality, the XP product key sticker on the side of the case means nothing, because you’ll notice the product key on the box doesn’t match the one in the winnt.sif file at all.

This is a licensing deal between Dell and Microsoft. Any Dell that originally came with XP can use any Dell Operating System disc, and XP will install and work. It will detect the Dell-branded motherboard, and that’s all it requires.

Here’s where it gets really interesting.

If you go to a flea market and spot a Dell PC, as long as it has the XP sticker on the side, you can use the same Dell XP OS disc you have at home, and it will work and validate. As said above, the only requirement is the original Dell-branded motherboard. As long as that Dell box has it, which it’s more or less guaranteed to, the XP disc will work – BUT ONLY if there’s an XP sticker on the case.

This is not illegal to do whatsoever because that box originally did come with XP. And due to the licensing agreement between Dell and Microsoft, and Dell-specific XP OS disc to install the XP OS will work.

So if you have a Dell OS disc and spot a used Dell box with an XP sticker on it, your Dell OS disc will install properly and validate.

And because I know some of you would ask, no, you cannot use a Dell XP OS disc on a non-Dell PC. If you do, the installation will not detect Dell hardware and halt.

Stay tuned for part 2.