is it possible to change product keycodes without reinstalling my entire operating system????

Question

i have a windows xp pro cd that i reinstalled recently. i have two different keycodes, both seemed to work fine for activation. problem is automatic updates this time around was activated, and it installed service pack 2 as an upgrade. now security says my version of windows is not genuine. when i try restoring with system restore it wont go back past the installation, when i try to uninstall it says i will lose all of my files on my computer. my question is, is there a way, without reinstalling windows and losing all my data, that i could some how change the keycode that i entered and replace it with the other one i have ?????? possibly through the registry, if so where is it???

Answer 1

Yes, it is possible. I'm not going to ask why you have multiple keys. However, if neither are legit, you may be out of luck even if you change it. Nonetheless, Microsoft has released a way to do it. See Source below.

Sean

Answer 2

I'm not an expert, but if it were me I would:

- if you can open your PC at all, get some flashdrives or an external USB portable hard drive and cut or copy then paste your files to them/it.

- as to the product key code, I don't understand why you have two keycodes. Are you using someone else's? If so, MS catches this. When Windows is installed, the product key code and information from the PC on which it is installed, are combined to generate another unique number. (Read that in the WindowsXP Gigabook.)

- if you need to test the legitimacy of the Windows CD:

http://www.microsoft.com/resources/howtotell/en/prepurchase.mspx
or
WinXP: http://www.mvps.org/marksxp/WindowsXP/prodid.php
or
Replace Lost Office Product Keys
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/assistance/HA011508341033.aspx

Answer 3

You can find many hacks that will do, but changing program code is actually not legal. If you own this program call Microsoft on special 800 number they will change it for you over the phone. It takes about 5 minutes.