Originally posted by: RebateMonger
Originally posted by: pcgeek11
When Dell installed the OS on my laptop they used a CD Key which is different from the one that is on the license sticker on the laptop..
In the recent past, ALL BIOS-locked Dell versions of XP used the same Key number. It's different from the Key on the side of the case.
Dell may be changing their system now, but Dells built over the past few years all used BIOS-locked versions of XP that NEVER had to be activated. That was part of the piracy problem. People were stealing the Keys from the sides of the cases and using those Keys to activate OTHER, non-Dell, computers. Ths worked because those Keys were never actually used by the original Dell PC owners.