So i had XP on my desktop at home, and through work i got given an evaluation copy of win7 professional from Microsoft.

I did the format and put it on my desktop and now... its telling me its run out of time and i must register it. its asking me to put in a Win7 Professional key.

What do i do from here? I am unable to find my WinXP cd key, yes its legitimate but was lost over time, and i am stuck with my desktop not allowing me to use it until i register my product.. which i had thought, had been given to me free from microsoft, no where did it tell me at any time that i would have to purchase a full copy of win7 pro the bastards.

Ideas?

Buy a new copy of XP or Win 7

buy a copy of the upgrade and throw in a key..

XP Home or Pro?
FYI: Upgrade for 7 requires a valid install (read: Licensed and Activated) of an OS in order to qualify.

last edited by HERMITech at 07:57:52 11/Nov/09

You got an evalutation copy and now your complaining you have to pay for it.

Key word here being evaluation......

Seriously.

My reccomendation would be to buy a copy of windows 7. You won't regret it. It is even more user friendly than XP in my opinion. I have installed it across my own pc and my laptop with no issues whatsoever and also noted significant increase in performance.

If you are a student take advantage of the cheap student prices. If you are not a student get creative and get a friend who is to help you purchase a student copy. (It costs something like $50 vs $200).

FYI: Upgrade for 7 requires a valid install (read: Licensed and Activated) of an OS in order to qualify.

pretty sure this has been discussed to be not the case in like 2 other threads..

Did you get a key with the evaluation copy of Win7? If so, enter that and activate the product. It works for the Beta and RC1.

Otherwise, as suggested you will need to purchase XP or Win7. There is no getting around it otherwise.

dont download a crack off the internet

complain to the ACCC and install linux.

go get a technet subscription.....

What do i do from here? I am unable to find my WinXP cd key, yes its legitimate but was lost over time

That's why you spend 30 seconds obtaining your XP cd-key off your current OS before you format it?

good point CHUB
http://www.magicaljellybean.com/keyfinder/

go get a technet subscription.....

ja. pm me.

Chub - hindsight is awesome, i had a retard moment.

I did not get a cd key for win7

I am not complaining that i got a free "evaluation" copy, i am asking if there is anything you guys may know, that i dont, that i could do to fix it - as in - is the XP Cd Key some how retrievable? I can view a folder called "Old Windows" on the HDD and its backed up a lot of stuff such as folders that were on my desktop i didn't care about and did not back up before installation of win7.. It said prior to installing that it needed to format - it has not formatted the disk at all, maybe they just had to delete a lot of s*** to be able to install and decided to just call it "formatting"?

oh well - i work for JB so purchasing a copy of Win7 is no problem :)
thanks for the help though :)

Chub - hindsight is awesome, i had a retard moment.

I did not get a cd key for win7

I am not complaining that i got a free "evaluation" copy, i am asking if there is anything you guys may know, that i dont, that i could do to fix it - as in - is the XP Cd Key some how retrievable? I can view a folder called "Old Windows" on the HDD and its backed up a lot of stuff such as folders that were on my desktop i didn't care about and did not back up before installation of win7.. It said prior to installing that it needed to format - it has not formatted the disk at all, maybe they just had to delete a lot of s*** to be able to install and decided to just call it "formatting"?

oh well - i work for JB so purchasing a copy of Win7 is no problem :)
thanks for the help though :)

How long have you been running win7?

Put this in a Administrators command prompt: slmgr -rearm

Yo,
you might be in luck.

Magic Jellybean should let you browse what's called the Registry Hive.

Try running it, and then browse to your old windows \system32 folder. You may be able to retrieve it if the hive was left intact.

As I said earlier, what version of XP.
Was it Home or Professional

PM me if you need some help doing this.

Val - the evaluation copy is likely to be the Windows 7 RC. This will work fine until about March (?) next year when it will start shutting down every 2 hours, and mid-2010 your computer will cease to function without a purchased license.
You still need to buy a license though, or (bad idea probably) get the teenagers to ... acquire ... licensing from the interwebs.

Hi, thanks for all the help. I am going to purchase an OEM key from my PC company...so that my OS doesn't shut down in March 10...Cheers,

I've had my XP cd/key since 03 or something and never lost it :) (On a piece of paper haha)..

Dare i say.... find... a.. serial??

Or buy...

SIMPLE!

pm sent XaltD

Install Magic Jelly Bean, it will find any cd key on your PC and retrive it for you. works a treat.