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MiKePiFF

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jul 27, 2008
17
0
ok so i have a Macbook Pro running Tiger. My friend recently gave me a copy of Parallels which I installed today. The installation was going fine and it seemed like it was 99% done until it said "Product Key Invalid." Now the product key was for Windows XP from my old Dell. Someone on another site said that Dell Win XP product keys only work on Dells...Is this true??? and if so is there someway I can solve all this without buying a new version of XP??? Im very low on cash at the moment and the last thing I would want to do is buy a another copy of XP when I already have one that works fine.
 
Was it the Windows XP activation that gave you the invalid key error, or Parallels itself?

As a rule, you can't transfer an OEM license. You can't install Windows XP from a Dell onto a new computer. The Windows XP activation will fail, recognizing that it's an install of an OEM disk on a different computer.

You need to buy a new license for WinXP. The cheapest way is to buy a new (unused) OEM disk from NewEgg.
 
Damn that sucks, and im 100% sure it was the Windows key that was invalid..ok well anyway i know some people may have a problem with this next question i ask so if you do then simply dont reply. Now if I were to find a cracked copy of Windows XP, how would I go about installing it with Parallels? Im very desperate at the moment, and like I said, im also short on cash seeing as I just bought a car. Please somebody help me out. Id REALLY appreciate it!
 
Don't steal. Just don't.

If a car is important enough to you that you'd loose your integrity, rethink your life.
 
i know some people may have a problem with this next question i ask so if you do then simply dont reply.

SMH...If you think a computer program is more important than a car, a means of transportation that gets me to work and anywhere else i need to go, than you obviously need to rethink YOUR life...and you need to learn how to read too
 
SMH...If you think a computer program is more important than a car, a means of transportation that gets me to work and anywhere else i need to go, than you obviously need to rethink YOUR life...and you need to learn how to read too


Learn to read? I read just fine. If what you meant to say is "Learn to respect me and my commandment not to remind me that stealing is bad".... well, no.. I won't.

I love the way you justify it... it's not that a car is important, but to you, your integrity is just a 'computer program'. Not that it's someone elses, you don't care. You don't care that you're a thief and you have no integrity.

With an attitude like that, I'm sure your car, job, life is more important than anything else (including your integrity and everyone elses property). I just hope you're not driving without auto insurance... afterall, if you don't get in a wreck it's just a waste of money, something that you could spend on another important toy.
 
I think you might need the specific version that dell gave with the computer for the license to work
 
dont really care what people say about me - but i have bought about 3 xp discs and thats only a total of 9 installs, which isnt enough for the computers and also some PCs have had 3 or 4 installs, so im fed up of buying it!!:mad:

but to install a dodgy version of windows all you would need to do is find a corporate version of windows, best is from a bit torrent and make sure its x64 so the 64 bit version. then the download will come with its own key - type that into parallels and it will work - some versions will also let you update and do everything as if you had bought it new.
 
I am about to order a new iMac with vmfusion and was wondering if I need to buy an oem copy of XP or if I would be able to install one I own that is running on a second machine. I'm not sure what the rules were on that. Anyone know if you can have it on a second machine as long as it in the same household?
 
SMH...If you think a computer program is more important than a car, a means of transportation that gets me to work and anywhere else i need to go, than you obviously need to rethink YOUR life...and you need to learn how to read too

A computer program is a tool, just like your car. There's always the bus instead of copyright infringement.
 
but to install a dodgy version of windows all you would need to do is find a corporate version of windows, best is from a bit torrent and make sure its x64 so the 64 bit version. then the download will come with its own key - type that into parallels and it will work - some versions will also let you update and do everything as if you had bought it new.

Parallels doesn't support 64bit Windows. Only VMware Fusion does.
 
I am about to order a new iMac with vmfusion and was wondering if I need to buy an oem copy of XP or if I would be able to install one I own that is running on a second machine. I'm not sure what the rules were on that. Anyone know if you can have it on a second machine as long as it in the same household?

You would need to uninstall it from your second machine before installing on your iMac unless it has more than one licence ( family )
 
You would need to uninstall it from your second machine before installing on your iMac unless it has more than one licence ( family )

Thanks Neil. So far as I know it's a standard licence. Can the licence be changed or is that only at the point of purchase.

I plan on running the other machine as well, so uninstalling isn't an option. I'm willing to buy another copy if needed but only if I have to.

BTW - placed the order last night. The new iMac should be on it's way soon.

Thanks.
 
Thanks Neil. So far as I know it's a standard licence. Can the licence be changed or is that only at the point of purchase.

I plan on running the other machine as well, so uninstalling isn't an option. I'm willing to buy another copy if needed but only if I have to.

BTW - placed the order last night. The new iMac should be on it's way soon.

Thanks.

I would imagine it can only be done at point of purchase but i am not 100% certain on that & not sure how you would go about checking , if it cant be done unfortunately if want to keep XP on your other machine you have no choice but to buy another copy, if you were to install it on two machines at the same time you would be breaking your End-User-License-Agreement or EULA for short

bummer i know but enjoy your new Mac anyway's
 
Parallels should be upfront about inability to transfer license

I just spent hours figuring out how to network my new macbook to my old hp windows laptop in order to use Parallels transporter, only to find that I cannot renew my XP license. Parallels should be clear about the fact that a new XP license needs to be purchased. I would have never gotten Parallels in the first place had I known this.

What a bummer
 
XP Pro SP2 and Parallels 5.x

Ok, am an MSDN subscriber, running Parallels 5.0 on MacBook Pro. cannot load XP Pro sp2. Downloaded XP Pro Sp2 from MSDN and the key is fresh. System keeps telling me "Invalid Key" when it's quite obviously not! any thoughts? am perplexed...

BlueBadge
 
Ok, am an MSDN subscriber, running Parallels 5.0 on MacBook Pro. cannot load XP Pro sp2. Downloaded XP Pro Sp2 from MSDN and the key is fresh. System keeps telling me "Invalid Key" when it's quite obviously not! any thoughts? am perplexed...

BlueBadge
If Parallels installed Win XP SP 2, but Windows itself won't accept your registration key, it sounds like a Windows problem rather than a Parallels problem. Have you verified with MS that you do in fact have a valid reg key?
 
It shouldn't be the dell xp product key.
You must have done something wrong during installation.
Reinstall it again.
 
It shouldn't be the dell xp product key.
You must have done something wrong during installation.
Reinstall it again.

OEM Windows keys tie themselves to the machine that they are initially installed on. If you change the hardware too much, you have to revalidate the key; this means calling them up. I had an OEM copy installed on a PC and upgraded the machine, the key failed so I called MS. I explained what happened (upgrade was a new Mobo, CPU, HD and video) and they said, "Sorry, you have to buy another copy." :(
 
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