Please help me install my Windows XP Pro!
August 4th, 2016
The disc just came in the mail, and I opened it, put it in the disc drive (ready to install a clean legal version), turned my laptop upside down, got the Windows XP product key on the bottom, typed it in (I’m sure it was correct, redid it 3 times) and the installation says that my key is invalid -.-
Is it asking me to put the key in thats currently installed on my laptop? (the illegal key) Because I don’t want to do that! I want to just reinstall it the way it was!!
I got this computer from a university because they rented them out for free to students, kept it so long that by the time I took it back it wasn’t in the system, so they said I could keep it.
Now It got so messed up with a faulty virus protection program that I needed to reformat it, only I couldn’t do the Ctrl+F11 format (Dell) or system restore, so I got desperate and just downloaded a copy of Windows Media Center and used illegal key and went through the process of validating my pirated version, etc…
Now, it won’t let me use my OEM disc with my legal product key.
Can anyone tell me why and if there is a fix? I really need to get this laptop back normal…
And also, if I sent in to Dell or Microsoft and asked why the product key on the bottom of my laptop isn’t being accepted, do you think they’ll ask for my CURRENT product key and see that I have a pirated version of another OS installed on here?
P.S. the OEM disc I got from DELL is Windows XP Professional Sp3, and I have a pirated version of Media Center Edition installed on here currently.
And like I said, I got it from a school.
I’m not sure, but I think you have to call to your local (country) Microsoft Support and ask to reinitialize you that product key.
I would do that and/or email them that, but I don’t know how seriously they take pirated CD keys, will the scold me and call the cops or will they understand my situation and actually help me through the process?
I don’t want to get into even deeper stuff here 
The key needs to match the XP edition..
You either have Windows XP Home OEM or Windows XP Professional OEM
The key should work…The CD is irrelevant as long as you have the correct edition…You can even download a copy of Windows XP from here and your windows will be legit…
The disc DELL sent specifically states on the cover of the disc ” Operating System. Already Installed on your computer, Re-installation CD Microsoft Windows XP Professional Service Pack 3. ” “The software is already installed on your computer. Use this media only to reinstall the operating system on a Dell PC.”
Does this mean that I can’t use this disc to install the XP Pro over any other OS thats not XP Pro?
And that the only way I can reinstall the software from the disc is to already have it on my system?
And the product key on the bottom of my laptop has Windows XP Professional on the COA tag, so they SHOULD match 
you had SP2 and this one is SP3, that may be the problem
talk to dell and see if they will “upgrade” your CD key
and just say you have linux on you PC now