Win98 CD

John John - What is an OEM key? The win98 product I have came preloaded with
the Dell computer I purchased in '98. The replacement code I was given by
Microsoft support does not fully function and was told it wouldn't when it
was given to me. Does this have anything to do with the OEM issue you're
referring to or is it something else?

"John John" wrote:

Copernicus wrote:

As for not stamping every cd with a code, why is that not possible?

It is not possible because each and every cd would have to be different
(have a different file for the key scheme). It would be impractical to
do that.

Each cd
comes with it's own code, so I'm sure it would haave been just as easy to
embed it on the cd somehow.

No it wouldn't, it's like burning cds on your home computer, each
Windows CD would be like a different burn project! Imagine stamping out
400 million different cds! It just isn't feasible, since Windows XP
product activation has pretty well done away with the pirate key problem.

Anyway, since no one really seems to know, I guess I'll not get a definitive
answer to my question.

We do know and we are telling you that product keys are not embedded in
the CDs. The only difference in the keys is what Ron told you, an OEM
key won't work for a Retail CD and vice-versa.

John

98 Guy -

I post here because that's the only way I know how to do it.

Regarding the cd, obviously I don't know enough about the process to debate
the issue. It just seemed possible.

As for when I contacted Microsoft support, I must sincerely apologize. It
was not Microsoft, it was Dell, because that's who I purchased the computer
through. So, again, I'm sorry for the misinformation.

Anyway, when I explained to the Dell rep (who had an Indian accent) that I
had misplaced the product keycode, I asked if they had a recoord of my
purchase on file, hoping that they could look up what they had issued to me.
I was put on hold and when he returned he gave me this generic code.

He explained that this code would not allow win98 to fully function, which
is what prompted my search for the unattainable, as it were.

"98 Guy" wrote:

Before I begin, I would advise anyone reading these product-key posts
to use a usenet server other than Microsoft's.

Copernicus, I notice that you are posting and reading these messages
from Microsoft's server. I would advise you to seek an alternate
server. It is a well-known fact that posts pertaining to or
containing some information (such as product keys) are actively
removed by Microsoft.

Copernicus wrote:

As for your disbelief that Microsoft would not give out a product
code over the phone, why not? They don't support win98 anymore,

Exactly. They don't support win98 any more, so they won't be giving
out any product keys.

When did they give you this key?

Again, I'm just telling you what I experienced with the rep that I
spoke with. Maybe another rep wouldn't do that.

Here is the code they gave me: KR9PM-B68H2-DJHDY-VK643-7F986.

A google search for that key (searching just the first set of 5
characters) turns up the following:

http://www.hardwaredude.com/post-1600.html
- this was posted by someone with moderator status
- poster claims to be in Hyderabad India
- post was made Feb 10, 2006
- potentially this info was posted, or was leaked, by an MS
tech support person working in India.

http://www.softwaretipsandtricks.com...problem-4.html
- a Belarc advisor dump listing about a dozen MS product keys
for various apps
- posted Nov 20, 2005

http://forums.techguy.org/hardware/215320-help.html
- another Belarc dump March 27, 2004

http://support.coral-it.com/ucp/List...hillcresthouse
- another Belarc dump (April 6, 2006)

The above page is part of an inventory of system information files
that are probably confidential, but you can see more of them he

http://support.coral-it.com/ucp/List.../AllItems.aspx

http://gretchenubarc.pbwiki.com/Fixing+Broken+Computers
- seems to be an information dump performed by a tech repair service
- Registered Owner Duxbury High School (Duxbury, Massachusetts?)

http://www.opentechsupport.net/forum...c/22943-1.html
- forum posting (May 29, 2004) identifying it as a "generic" key

http://pfd.aphp.org/laboratoire/mate...port_LPD10.txt
- another system information dump (april 30 2002)
- system seems to be located in France

It's strange to see this same key turn up on this rag-tag assortment
of systems.

Again, the MVP's are invited to comment.

As for not stamping every cd with a code, why is that not possible?
Each cd comes with it's own code,

The code for each CD comes printed on the packaging. When CD's are
mass produced, they are duplicated from a master CD by using a
stamping process. You can't alter the microscopic bit-pattern on the
metal master while it's being used to stamp the plastic CD's.

so I'm sure it would haave been just as easy to embed it
on the cd somehow.

Like I said, mass-produced CD's and DVD's are stamped from a metal
master disk, so you can see why it's impossible to alter the metal
master for each disk being stamped.

OEM is Original Equipment Manufacturer. Windows CDs from Dell, HP, Acer
et al would be OEM cds. Quite possibly the key you got from Microsoft
doesn't work with your Dell CD. I don't know the contents or context of
your conversation with the Microsoft help desk, but unless you made a
typo, you state that they told you the key wouldn't work with your Dell
CD, so why did they even bother giving you the key? There may have been
a misunderstanding and you may have been given the wrong key for your CD
type. If you can borrow a W98 retail cd you can try the key and see if
it works. One thing I can tell you is that an internet search on the
key returns several hits and that is usually an indication of a leaked
or pirated key, why would Microsoft give you a leaked key? There is
something that doesn't quite add up here.

John

Copernicus wrote:

John John - What is an OEM key? The win98 product I have came preloaded with
the Dell computer I purchased in '98. The replacement code I was given by
Microsoft support does not fully function and was told it wouldn't when it
was given to me. Does this have anything to do with the OEM issue you're
referring to or is it something else?

"John John" wrote:


Copernicus wrote:


As for not stamping every cd with a code, why is that not possible?

It is not possible because each and every cd would have to be different
(have a different file for the key scheme). It would be impractical to
do that.

Each cd

comes with it's own code, so I'm sure it would haave been just as easy to
embed it on the cd somehow.

No it wouldn't, it's like burning cds on your home computer, each
Windows CD would be like a different burn project! Imagine stamping out
400 million different cds! It just isn't feasible, since Windows XP
product activation has pretty well done away with the pirate key problem.


Anyway, since no one really seems to know, I guess I'll not get a definitive
answer to my question.

We do know and we are telling you that product keys are not embedded in
the CDs. The only difference in the keys is what Ron told you, an OEM
key won't work for a Retail CD and vice-versa.

John

John John - As I also replied to 98Guy, I must sincerely apologize. The rep I
spoke to was not from Microsoft, but from Dell. That may clear up some
issues. Sorry.

"John John" wrote:

OEM is Original Equipment Manufacturer. Windows CDs from Dell, HP, Acer
et al would be OEM cds. Quite possibly the key you got from Microsoft
doesn't work with your Dell CD. I don't know the contents or context of
your conversation with the Microsoft help desk, but unless you made a
typo, you state that they told you the key wouldn't work with your Dell
CD, so why did they even bother giving you the key? There may have been
a misunderstanding and you may have been given the wrong key for your CD
type. If you can borrow a W98 retail cd you can try the key and see if
it works. One thing I can tell you is that an internet search on the
key returns several hits and that is usually an indication of a leaked
or pirated key, why would Microsoft give you a leaked key? There is
something that doesn't quite add up here.

John

Copernicus wrote:

John John - What is an OEM key? The win98 product I have came preloaded with
the Dell computer I purchased in '98. The replacement code I was given by
Microsoft support does not fully function and was told it wouldn't when it
was given to me. Does this have anything to do with the OEM issue you're
referring to or is it something else?

"John John" wrote:


Copernicus wrote:


As for not stamping every cd with a code, why is that not possible?

It is not possible because each and every cd would have to be different
(have a different file for the key scheme). It would be impractical to
do that.

Each cd

comes with it's own code, so I'm sure it would haave been just as easy to
embed it on the cd somehow.

No it wouldn't, it's like burning cds on your home computer, each
Windows CD would be like a different burn project! Imagine stamping out
400 million different cds! It just isn't feasible, since Windows XP
product activation has pretty well done away with the pirate key problem.


Anyway, since no one really seems to know, I guess I'll not get a definitive
answer to my question.

We do know and we are telling you that product keys are not embedded in
the CDs. The only difference in the keys is what Ron told you, an OEM
key won't work for a Retail CD and vice-versa.

John

That explains a few things. It appears that they gave you an invalid
key. In any case, I have never heard of anyone getting a "replacement"
key from any legit source, if you lose your key you are usually told
that you have to buy a new Windows license. Of course to every rule
there are exceptions, else why would there be rules? So perhaps with a
good sob story and if you get someone in a particularly good mood on a
good day they may give you a key but it is rather rare to be issued a
replacement key. The key for your Windows installation should be on a
sticker on the computer. If you still have the Windows installation on
the hard drive the key may be recoverable by remote registry editing
techniques.

John

Copernicus wrote:

John John - As I also replied to 98Guy, I must sincerely apologize. The rep I
spoke to was not from Microsoft, but from Dell. That may clear up some
issues. Sorry.

"John John" wrote:


OEM is Original Equipment Manufacturer. Windows CDs from Dell, HP, Acer
et al would be OEM cds. Quite possibly the key you got from Microsoft
doesn't work with your Dell CD. I don't know the contents or context of
your conversation with the Microsoft help desk, but unless you made a
typo, you state that they told you the key wouldn't work with your Dell
CD, so why did they even bother giving you the key? There may have been
a misunderstanding and you may have been given the wrong key for your CD
type. If you can borrow a W98 retail cd you can try the key and see if
it works. One thing I can tell you is that an internet search on the
key returns several hits and that is usually an indication of a leaked
or pirated key, why would Microsoft give you a leaked key? There is
something that doesn't quite add up here.

John

Copernicus wrote:


John John - What is an OEM key? The win98 product I have came preloaded with
the Dell computer I purchased in '98. The replacement code I was given by
Microsoft support does not fully function and was told it wouldn't when it
was given to me. Does this have anything to do with the OEM issue you're
referring to or is it something else?

"John John" wrote:



Copernicus wrote:



As for not stamping every cd with a code, why is that not possible?

It is not possible because each and every cd would have to be different
(have a different file for the key scheme). It would be impractical to
do that.

Each cd


comes with it's own code, so I'm sure it would haave been just as easy to
embed it on the cd somehow.

No it wouldn't, it's like burning cds on your home computer, each
Windows CD would be like a different burn project! Imagine stamping out
400 million different cds! It just isn't feasible, since Windows XP
product activation has pretty well done away with the pirate key problem.



Anyway, since no one really seems to know, I guess I'll not get a definitive
answer to my question.

We do know and we are telling you that product keys are not embedded in
the CDs. The only difference in the keys is what Ron told you, an OEM
key won't work for a Retail CD and vice-versa.

John

Microsoft and most OEMs will provide a replacement Product Key. Quite
common, in fact. Whether they still do so for Win9x systems is another
question. They certainly used to, not too far in the past, either.

--
Gary S. Terhune
MS-MVP Shell/User
www.grystmill.com

"John John" wrote in message
...
That explains a few things. It appears that they gave you an invalid key.
In any case, I have never heard of anyone getting a "replacement" key from
any legit source, if you lose your key you are usually told that you have
to buy a new Windows license. Of course to every rule there are
exceptions, else why would there be rules? So perhaps with a good sob
story and if you get someone in a particularly good mood on a good day
they may give you a key but it is rather rare to be issued a replacement
key. The key for your Windows installation should be on a sticker on the
computer. If you still have the Windows installation on the hard drive
the key may be recoverable by remote registry editing techniques.

John

Copernicus wrote:

John John - As I also replied to 98Guy, I must sincerely apologize. The
rep I spoke to was not from Microsoft, but from Dell. That may clear up
some issues. Sorry.

"John John" wrote:


OEM is Original Equipment Manufacturer. Windows CDs from Dell, HP, Acer
et al would be OEM cds. Quite possibly the key you got from Microsoft
doesn't work with your Dell CD. I don't know the contents or context of
your conversation with the Microsoft help desk, but unless you made a
typo, you state that they told you the key wouldn't work with your Dell
CD, so why did they even bother giving you the key? There may have been
a misunderstanding and you may have been given the wrong key for your CD
type. If you can borrow a W98 retail cd you can try the key and see if
it works. One thing I can tell you is that an internet search on the key
returns several hits and that is usually an indication of a leaked or
pirated key, why would Microsoft give you a leaked key? There is
something that doesn't quite add up here.

John

Copernicus wrote:


John John - What is an OEM key? The win98 product I have came preloaded
with the Dell computer I purchased in '98. The replacement code I was
given by Microsoft support does not fully function and was told it
wouldn't when it was given to me. Does this have anything to do with the
OEM issue you're referring to or is it something else?

"John John" wrote:



Copernicus wrote:



As for not stamping every cd with a code, why is that not possible?

It is not possible because each and every cd would have to be different
(have a different file for the key scheme). It would be impractical to
do that.

Each cd


comes with it's own code, so I'm sure it would haave been just as easy
to embed it on the cd somehow.

No it wouldn't, it's like burning cds on your home computer, each
Windows CD would be like a different burn project! Imagine stamping
out 400 million different cds! It just isn't feasible, since Windows
XP product activation has pretty well done away with the pirate key
problem.



Anyway, since no one really seems to know, I guess I'll not get a
definitive answer to my question.

We do know and we are telling you that product keys are not embedded in
the CDs. The only difference in the keys is what Ron told you, an OEM
key won't work for a Retail CD and vice-versa.

John

Unfortunately, the keycode that is now in the regisrty is the replacement
code. Had I known there was software that could retrieve the code before I
reformatted my hard drive, I wouldn't be in this situation now. Stupid me
didn't realize that I didn't have my original keycode before I wipped out the
hard drive. Since I had done this a few times before, why would I not have
the code!!! I'm an idiot sometimes.

It has to be here somewhere, it's just a matter of tearing the place apart.

"John John" wrote:

That explains a few things. It appears that they gave you an invalid
key. In any case, I have never heard of anyone getting a "replacement"
key from any legit source, if you lose your key you are usually told
that you have to buy a new Windows license. Of course to every rule
there are exceptions, else why would there be rules? So perhaps with a
good sob story and if you get someone in a particularly good mood on a
good day they may give you a key but it is rather rare to be issued a
replacement key. The key for your Windows installation should be on a
sticker on the computer. If you still have the Windows installation on
the hard drive the key may be recoverable by remote registry editing
techniques.

John

Copernicus wrote:

John John - As I also replied to 98Guy, I must sincerely apologize. The rep I
spoke to was not from Microsoft, but from Dell. That may clear up some
issues. Sorry.

"John John" wrote:


OEM is Original Equipment Manufacturer. Windows CDs from Dell, HP, Acer
et al would be OEM cds. Quite possibly the key you got from Microsoft
doesn't work with your Dell CD. I don't know the contents or context of
your conversation with the Microsoft help desk, but unless you made a
typo, you state that they told you the key wouldn't work with your Dell
CD, so why did they even bother giving you the key? There may have been
a misunderstanding and you may have been given the wrong key for your CD
type. If you can borrow a W98 retail cd you can try the key and see if
it works. One thing I can tell you is that an internet search on the
key returns several hits and that is usually an indication of a leaked
or pirated key, why would Microsoft give you a leaked key? There is
something that doesn't quite add up here.

John

Copernicus wrote:


John John - What is an OEM key? The win98 product I have came preloaded with
the Dell computer I purchased in '98. The replacement code I was given by
Microsoft support does not fully function and was told it wouldn't when it
was given to me. Does this have anything to do with the OEM issue you're
referring to or is it something else?

"John John" wrote:



Copernicus wrote:



As for not stamping every cd with a code, why is that not possible?

It is not possible because each and every cd would have to be different
(have a different file for the key scheme). It would be impractical to
do that.

Each cd


comes with it's own code, so I'm sure it would haave been just as easy to
embed it on the cd somehow.

No it wouldn't, it's like burning cds on your home computer, each
Windows CD would be like a different burn project! Imagine stamping out
400 million different cds! It just isn't feasible, since Windows XP
product activation has pretty well done away with the pirate key problem.



Anyway, since no one really seems to know, I guess I'll not get a definitive
answer to my question.

We do know and we are telling you that product keys are not embedded in
the CDs. The only difference in the keys is what Ron told you, an OEM
key won't work for a Retail CD and vice-versa.

John

Without paying? It is the first time I ever hear that!

John

Gary S. Terhune wrote:

Microsoft and most OEMs will provide a replacement Product Key. Quite
common, in fact. Whether they still do so for Win9x systems is another
question. They certainly used to, not too far in the past, either.

"Copernicus" wrote in message
...
98 Guy -

I post here because that's the only way I know how to do it.

Regarding the cd, obviously I don't know enough about the process to
debate
the issue. It just seemed possible.

As for when I contacted Microsoft support, I must sincerely apologize. It
was not Microsoft, it was Dell, because that's who I purchased the
computer
through. So, again, I'm sorry for the misinformation.

Anyway, when I explained to the Dell rep (who had an Indian accent) that I
had misplaced the product keycode, I asked if they had a recoord of my
purchase on file, hoping that they could look up what they had issued to
me.
I was put on hold and when he returned he gave me this generic code.

He explained that this code would not allow win98 to fully function, which
is what prompted my search for the unattainable, as it were.


The guy who told you that does not know what he is talking about

The key will either work or it won't

Everything I've ever heard from those who know is that MS will provide a PK
after verifying a couple of things. So will major OEMs, and if the OEM
won't, MS will. There is supposedly a $10 fee, but everyone whose done it
reports that it wasn't asked for.

Now, again, whether they do it for products as far out of support as Win98,
that's a different story, though I've heard tell that this is also possible.

Heck, if I get bored enough, I may check in with MS and get an official
answer, or one that is true, anyway.

--
Gary S. Terhune
MS-MVP Shell/User
www.grystmill.com

"John John" wrote in message
...
Without paying? It is the first time I ever hear that!

John

Gary S. Terhune wrote:

Microsoft and most OEMs will provide a replacement Product Key. Quite
common, in fact. Whether they still do so for Win9x systems is another
question. They certainly used to, not too far in the past, either.