Windows 7 says wrong Product Key Number

[Hägar]

I installed a new 80Gig solid state drive in my PC because the old C drive
died. So I purchased the Family Pack of the Windows 7 Home Premium Edition.
I inserted the 64 bit CD into the CD-ROM and booted up. It loaded
everything until the window for the product key popped up. When I entered
it, it informed me it was an invalid key. I tried it twice more and then my
wife tried it without success.
It never asked me for proof of my XP CD for a clean install.

Could I have a misprinted product key ??

At a loss ..

Hagen Sahm

 

[Seth]

I installed a new 80Gig solid state drive in my PC because the old C drive
died. So I purchased the Family Pack of the Windows 7 Home Premium
Edition.
I inserted the 64 bit CD into the CD-ROM and booted up. It loaded
everything until the window for the product key popped up. When I entered
it, it informed me it was an invalid key. I tried it twice more and then
my wife tried it without success.
It never asked me for proof of my XP CD for a clean install.

Could I have a misprinted product key ??

You didn't give the EXACT message so I'm going to guess based on what you
did give. The key piece here is you make mention of it not asking for your
XP info. That tells me you have an UPGRADE version of Win7.

If so the trick is... DO a clean install of Win7, do NOT enter a product key
(something to the effect of select "I'll enter key later" or some such).
Once Windows 7 is installed, run the installer again from within Windows 7
choosing upgrade. This time your key should work.

Problem is the upgrade key isn't designed to work on a clean install which
is what you are doing.

 

[JKConey]

I installed a new 80Gig solid state drive in my PC because the old C drive
died. So I purchased the Family Pack of the Windows 7 Home Premium
Edition.
I inserted the 64 bit CD into the CD-ROM and booted up. It loaded
everything until the window for the product key popped up. When I entered
it, it informed me it was an invalid key. I tried it twice more and then
my wife tried it without success.
It never asked me for proof of my XP CD for a clean install.

Could I have a misprinted product key ??

At a loss ..

Hagen Sahm

Had the same problem that drove me nuts. I did a manual phone reg, and
worked fine.

 

[Hägar]

The Windows 7 version is the Home Premium UPGRADE !!
Since I do have the original XP CD, I thought it would just ask me to insert
it, when running a clean install, the same way XP had me insert the Win98 CD
when I upgraded. Don't know if that's relevant ...

Hagen Sahm

 

[Jumbo Jack]

have you tried the XP product key....maybe there are 2 stages. It has to
clear that one first.

 

[Jumbo Jack]

read this carefully

http://www.winsupersite.com/article/windows-7/clean-install-windows-7-with-upgrade-media

 

[Char Jackson]

The Windows 7 version is the Home Premium UPGRADE !!
Since I do have the original XP CD, I thought it would just ask me to insert
it, when running a clean install, the same way XP had me insert the Win98 CD
when I upgraded. Don't know if that's relevant ...

Just follow the suggestion you've already received and all will be
fine. You won't need your XP CD.

 

[Bob I]

No you have an operational error, there wasn't an operating system on
the drive. The Family Pack is an UPGRADE, and Windows 7 Upgrades REQUIRE
that a valid Qualifying operating system be on the PC in the first place.

news.cnet.com/windows-7-upgrade-dos-and-don-ts

 

[Dave \Crash\ Dummy]

You didn't give the EXACT message so I'm going to guess based on what
you did give. The key piece here is you make mention of it not
asking for your XP info. That tells me you have an UPGRADE version of
Win7.

If so the trick is... DO a clean install of Win7, do NOT enter a
product key (something to the effect of select "I'll enter key later"
or some such). Once Windows 7 is installed, run the installer again
from within Windows 7 choosing upgrade. This time your key should
work.

Problem is the upgrade key isn't designed to work on a clean install
which is what you are doing.

I have just completed a clean install on a new hard drive using an
upgrade disk and this double install technique. It's a pain in the ass,
but it works beautifully. I am registered and authenticated. No problem.

 

[Leon Manfredi]

have you tried the XP product key....maybe there are 2 stages. It has to
clear that one first.

Try identifying the replacement, the same as the old that died.
i.e., workgroup, name, and anything else, exactly the same!!!

 

[Jolly polly]

Just follow the suggestion you've already received and all will be
fine. You won't need your XP CD.

which is lucky, because the XP cd looks like an upgrade disc

 

[Justin]

Get out a magnifying glass and pay special attention to whether it is a
B or an 8, a 0 or a O, etc. Zeros will have a inclined line going
through them. The letter O will not.

The 8 and B has fooled me so many times. Especially on COAs that are
worn out.
When I find one that is too worn out, I just go on eBay, search for a
memory panel with an OEM COA on it, order it for a massive $3.00, heat
up the part, peel off the COA and stick it on the customer's laptop;
under the battery of course.
How many laws am I breaking by doing that?

 

[Hacker]

How many laws am I breaking by doing that?

you are not breaking any laws. all you are doing is breaking rules
created by Microsoft. the question now is are they enforceable at a
court of law? the answer is it depends. If you are in a country where
Microsoft is financing public projects then you can be charged under the
Theft Act. In United Kingdom, Microsoft is donating lots of software to
schools and other education establishments for the benefit jobless and
so UK courts are likely to come after you with the full force of the law.

 

[Allen]

The 8 and B has fooled me so many times. Especially on COAs that are
worn out.
When I find one that is too worn out, I just go on eBay, search for a
memory panel with an OEM COA on it, order it for a massive $3.00, heat
up the part, peel off the COA and stick it on the customer's laptop;
under the battery of course.
How many laws am I breaking by doing that?

Worse than the B/8 look-alike, did anyone else who reads/lurks here have
any experience with the first HP LaserJet, introduced in August 1984?
Great printer for its time, but no software supported it. That meant
that you had to write escape codes, which could (and usually did)
include zeros, upper case Os, lower case ls and numeric 1s. The manual
containing these codes used a type face that didn't have slashed Os and
no distinction between 1s and ls. Later HP revised the documentation so
that zeros were slashed and lower case ls were in a script-like font.
But otherwise that was an amazing machine--very durable. We networked
ours and ran it at least twice its rated capacity for over two years and
never ever had a service call on it. We gave it to a smaller department
when later models with all sort of new features came along. I retired in
1993, 9 years later, and there still had never been a service call on it.
Allen

 

[Dave \Crash\ Dummy]

Worse than the B/8 look-alike, did anyone else who reads/lurks here
have any experience with the first HP LaserJet, introduced in August
1984? Great printer for its time, but no software supported it. That
meant that you had to write escape codes, which could (and usually
did) include zeros, upper case Os, lower case ls and numeric 1s. The
manual containing these codes used a type face that didn't have
slashed Os and no distinction between 1s and ls. Later HP revised the
documentation so that zeros were slashed and lower case ls were in a
script-like font. But otherwise that was an amazing machine--very
durable. We networked ours and ran it at least twice its rated
capacity for over two years and never ever had a service call on it.
We gave it to a smaller department when later models with all sort of
new features came along. I retired in 1993, 9 years later, and there
still had never been a service call on it. Allen

The ones I have trouble with still are upper case 'eye' and lower case
'ell' with Arial font, which I mostly use.

 

[charlie]

but no software supported it. That
meant that you had to write escape codes,

"but no software supported it. That
meant that you had to write escape codes,"

We actually wrote some - - but - -
It was for use with HP Mini based "Technical Computer".
The system was a really expensive computer controlled test system, one
off a prototype.
The system used an HP intelligent terminal (Z80 based) 6340, and part of
the functionality was circuit board testing. The 6340 could display a
graphics representation of the circuit board, and flash a point to
probe. In addition, when a part was called out as bad, the Laser Jet
could printout a sheet calling out the part with it's values, part
numbers, etc. and show a part outline and it's position. We eventually
"tied" the system via a fiber optic cable to test software development
systems in an adjacent building.

An aerospace company is still making a small fortune selling later
generations of the system. One instrument in the system, a spectrum
analyzer, cost twice as much as a "luxury car", about $66,000.
Some of the general specs.
Stimulus: DC to ~ 18Ghz
Measurement RMS Power to ~ 18Ghz, and to about 1KW RF at Ghz frequencies.
Frequency Measurement: 10Hz to 18Ghz, with an accuracy as great as the
transfer standard used to transfer references from NBS.
Logic analyzer ~ 200 of two thousand possible points at a time.
Function Generators and Pulse Generators
Programmable voltage, frequency, pulse, and current sources, DC to 40Khz
and beyond.
Sampling and digital oscilloscopes with a DC to several Ghz range.
An added tidbit was that the Minicomp instruction set was also
programmable, and the core instruction set in assembly was a close match
to a 6502.