I have 3 old laptops, all have COA stickers with brand and product key on the bottom.
I used (tried to use) an OEM ISO to "repair" instal one, and to reinstall the 2 others.
In all 3 cases, the Microsoft OEM ISO refuses to recognize the VALID OEM Certificate of Authorization product keys!
On account of this, I had to "hack" my own systems to instal ISO's from elsewhere, which is NOT my idea of a good time. I do not appreciate Microsoft treating my 3 paid-for laptops with included Windows as cheats!
And the irony is, I had to patch the half-baked ISO instal with a hack tool... and the HACK tool RECOGNIZED the COA product keys as being the VALID ones!
So, what is up with Microsoft NOT recognizing these valid product keys as valid?
Is there a legal FIX for this that will make the SP3 OEM recognize my legal XP's?
Thank you.