Greetings all
I just purchased an HP Pavilion 9030us. Unfortunately it came preinstalled with XP Media Center which is incapable of joining a domain. I wasn't too worried because I am replacing a Sony VAIO and have a MSDN/retail version of XP Pro for that. Seeing as I will be returning the Sony to its original state with its pre-installed XP Home once I transfer files to the HP, I know I'm within my licensing rights and obligations.
Here's my dilemma:
I insert the retail XP Pro CD into the HP and I choose the "upgrade" option at the appropriate screen. It then takes me to the screen where the CD key is entered and I get a pop-up stating "invalid key." To clarify - this is not the 'validation' part - this is at the very beginning where all it does is the hash check on the key to determine if it's valid. And yes, I quadruple checked my typing of the key - it was correct. I further checked it against the key already in the Sony and it matches.
Troubleshooting steps taken:
Updated all Windows software already on the computer
Updated all drivers from the HP support site
Tried different install options other than 'upgrade'
Tried booting from the CD itself - it can't see the drives so quits (I'm not ready to go down the HD driver road yet, I can still just return the thing to the store.)
Removed all pre-installed Norton products
Used msconfig to perform a clean boot (disabled *everything* to make sure nothing else on the HP was interfering (this from MS technet describing a similar problem)
Tried the CD and key on three other computers (and the Sony laptop it's already installed on) - I'm able to enter the key successfully and get past the key input screen. I cancel the install at that point - just had to prove that it was the HP and not the software.
I called HP support but it was a classic stereotypical worst nightmare of experiences - the least of which was that I couldn't get the tech to understand what the problem was.
I've been working with computers and Microsoft products for a number of years and can normally get around stuff like this if I bang my head against the keyboard enough times but this one has me stumped.
Any ideas at all will be greatly appreciated.
Regards,
Bart
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