Windows XP Problem With Product Key With Bootcamp

1. You probably only have on Windows license.
2. If you want it only on the Mac then just call up Microsoft to activate it.

 

Unless you purchased separate licenses then your key is only for a single license, single machine.

There are times when even a single license, single machine won't activate over the internet and you need to call Microsoft.

 

Are you sure it's the correct media?

An OEM key will only work with OEM media. The same for retail and volume license keys and media.

 

What kind of Windows disc is it? (OEM, retail, or volume license)

 

And what is the other machine? Is it a brand name or did you build it?

 

I don't think it's a vendor specific installer disc then that'll check the hardware first.

The disc should be working.

 

I don't see why the fact that it's a Mac is the cause of the problem.

 

EFI should be in BIOS mode and the drive translation should be handled just fine. Windows should just see the unpartitioned space, EFI space, and then the HFS+ partition of OS X.

I've installed Windows XP on countless Macs now and I've never encountered this.

 

I had a few problems installing my OEM XP with SP2 in the beginning. Whilst installing using Boot camp it seemed as though Windows didn´t want to recognize my keyboard. After a few attempts I finally made it. However to your problem if you are using an OEM XP Windows disc you are only allowed to install it on one machine. After I had installed Parallels I had to type in the code again, which was not accepted and I had to call up Microsoft to explain the problem and get a new code. The person I talked to was very helpful and was quite willing to give me a new code as long as it was for just one machine. So if you give Microsoft a call tell them that you have only installed it on your Mac. Tell them you are having problems and have had to install it again. Do not tell them you have already installed it on another machine, otherwise they won´t help you.

 

The product key isn't accepted in the installer.

That's the important part.

It's not important to this issue but the EFI space is 200 MB of drive space set aside for EFI.

 

There do offer support for Boot Camp but only if it's the 2.0 version included with Leopard.

 

contact number at Microsoft?

what number would you call?

 

I found out that OEM keys do not always last. I was working for a company that had a modified version of Windows XP that they had licensed; thus every machine we purchased came with it's own OEM license that they just threw away. If you installed these OEM disks right away on a machine (any machine) they always worked. BUT if you waited 6 months to a year, they wouldn't work.

My guess would be that you'd get the same error regardless of the machine you're trying to install it on. Just the way that it is.

Once you've gotten past the EFI bios, a Mac is no different then any other PC, thus Windows doesn't know any better.

 

They give you the number in the activation window and you can select your country.

I just activated an ancient OEM XP SP2 disc just fine. It's over two years old now.