lost original xp2 disc, tried a lot of options...why did it fail?

[mach1andy]

A friend of mine just bought an imac. He had an xp2 disc for a homemade pc but its 'gone'. My goal was to use his code (which he still had taped to his computer) with a version on Xp that we 'found'. And it failed. I want to know why. Here's what we did...

After downloading the SMC firmware, I got boot camp to show up as a program. He doesn't have an XP sp2 install disc so we used one we downloaded with the intentions of putting in his key that he already owned and lo and behold-- no dice. Bootcamp wouldn't recognize the disc as an install disc.

My question: why didn't this work. It has all of the same files a legit xp disc has but for some reason, didn't show up.

Our solution, temporarily we used a XP sp1 disc and it seems to be working except that some of the drivers didn't work and the key only has 30 days left.

He's obviously goign to have to buy a new retail or OEM version of XP but I want to know why it didn't work my way.

 

[EricNau]

How did you download xp and how did you create the disk?

 

[displaced]

There's a handful of different types of Windows installation CD.

There's Retail, OEM, MSDN, Volume License, etc. variations. Each of these contain a file with slightly different contents, which allows other software to identify which kind of disk it is.

Also, each type of disk accept different sets of product ID's. The sticker on your friend's PC will only activate OEM disks.

Most ISO's of XP you'll find on the net are either OEM or Volume License disks. BootCamp requires a Retail edition of the disk.

 

[mach1andy]

Still not sure why...

I basically just copied my XP Pro Retail disc with the intentions of putting in his key after windows had installed to register it.
His was an OEM, so I could see why it wouldn't have worked to register it.

But my question is more of "why didn't bootcamp recognize the copy of my windows xp pro disc?"

Could it have been the name of the disc?

Right now, he has an OEM XP SP1 on the iMac-- it won't last past 30 days but while he goes out to buy a Retail copy, I just want to know how BootCamp differentiates between blank disc with xp on it and actual xp disc.

 

[displaced]

I basically just copied my XP Pro Retail disc with the intentions of putting in his key after windows had installed to register it.
His was an OEM, so I could see why it wouldn't have worked to register it.

But my question is more of "why didn't bootcamp recognize the copy of my windows xp pro disc?"

Could it have been the name of the disc?

Right now, he has an OEM XP SP1 on the iMac-- it won't last past 30 days but while he goes out to buy a Retail copy, I just want to know how BootCamp differentiates between blank disc with xp on it and actual xp disc.

Yes, the disk label makes a difference. There's also a few other things that could make a difference. In order for the disk to be bootable, there's some subtle differences in how the CD is structured, beyond just the arrangement and content of the files.

Just to clarify, if you've done complete duplication of the disk (ripping the original to an image file -- e.g. .ISO -- then burning that image should work fine.

 

[Agurri]

I thought all this was illegal ... I mean even if his friend lost his CDs, it's still illegal to d/l or copy Xp and give it to him.... no ?

"It's MegaMaid, sir! She's gone from 'suck' to 'blow'!"

Ahhhh, Spaceballs.... what a great movie

 

[displaced]

I thought all this was illegal ... I mean even if his friend lost his CDs, it's still illegal to d/l or copy Xp and give it to him.... no ?

It's certainly skirting the edge, which is why I'm leaning towards "such-and-such is possible" in my replies, rather than "this is how to do it"

Downloading is certainly rather shady, and is not something I'd condone even if you own a valid license for the software -- purely because you're never going to be 100% certain of the authenticity of what you're getting.

Now, going by the original poster's description, the person has a valid license for XP Retail, the key for which has been stuck onto the homemade PC (heck, it's as good a place as any to keep it I suppose). He should be within his rights to transfer that license to another of his machines (it would be a different story if this were an OEM license, which 'lives and dies' with the machine with which it is provided).

Irrespective of the nitty-gritty of the Windows EULA, one of the side-effects of Microsoft's "you own the license, not the software" is (to my mind) a weakening of the tie to the physical media. I would personally have no qualms with borrowing installation media for a product from another user if I had lost or damaged my own, as long as I had documentary evidence that I owned a license to install and run the software.

Ahhhh, Spaceballs.... what a great movie

You know I always have coffee when I watch MacRumors!

 

[7on]

OEM disks work. I bought an OEM Windows XP and it installed on the macbook fine.

 

[mach1andy]

.... thought I might chime in ,,,,

My friend and I were stuck with the key but no disc so what other options would one have? My opinion is that you pay $179 for the liscense and the CD is secondary and completely vurnerable to being destroyed or lost. My interpretation of the event was "we have the key and its legal so lets get it running. it failed anyways and we had to buy a new copy of home edition. i wonder what the differences are btween home and pro...

 

[Mord]

when you buy software you buy a license to use the software, thus if you damage your copy you are just using a communal backup to retrieve it, you still possess the license to use it.

and i have never once downloaded anything to find it to b anything other than what i wanted.

 

[generik]

Not only that, each OEM has a slightly different Windows installation. Hence if you lost your (say) Fujitsu Windows XP disc, and you borrowed one from your friend who is a Dell user, the key that you receive from your Fujitsu tag will not authenticate on your Dell Windows XP installer. Nevermind the fact that it is legit.

To top it even further, like that isn't enough nowadays computers don't ship with a XP installation disc at all. They usually have it preloaded into a hidden partition on the hard drive, or come on a special recovery disc that is tailored to work only on the exact make of your computer.

Microsoft certainly didn't get to where they are today by being free and easy with their licensing. Certainly makes you appreciate MacOS's more.. naive yet better way of actually trusting their customers. Not that I like the Big Brother chip in my Mac, after all a number of my Christian friends actually liken that to being a sign of The Mark and that the Apocalypse is nigh! Personally my only complaint is that I'm not too big a fan of being potentially locked out of a device that I purchase and own. Still if Apple stays not evil and use the BB Chip for innocent purposes, it might actually be a refreshing alternative from what we'd get foisted with from Microsoft.

 

[keysersoze]

OEM disks work. I bought an OEM Windows XP and it installed on the macbook fine.

Thanks for posting that. I think a lot of people assume OEM XP disk install won't work, and post it as fact, when in fact it is just assumption. That's a good thing to be aware of and thanks for letting people know.

 

[kyleaa]

A friend of mine just bought an imac. He had an xp2 disc for a homemade pc but its 'gone'. My goal was to use his code (which he still had taped to his computer) with a version on Xp that we 'found'. And it failed. I want to know why. Here's what we did...

After downloading the SMC firmware, I got boot camp to show up as a program. He doesn't have an XP sp2 install disc so we used one we downloaded with the intentions of putting in his key that he already owned and lo and behold-- no dice. Bootcamp wouldn't recognize the disc as an install disc.

My question: why didn't this work. It has all of the same files a legit xp disc has but for some reason, didn't show up.

Our solution, temporarily we used a XP sp1 disc and it seems to be working except that some of the drivers didn't work and the key only has 30 days left.

He's obviously goign to have to buy a new retail or OEM version of XP but I want to know why it didn't work my way.

The original question about why the disc did not work - unless you downloaded a disk image to burn, the disc you made was probably not bootable. If you just copied the files from a CD, that would not work. You need to copy it using a disk copying utility, or a utility that can burn bootable discs.