If you sell a laptop online, LOL

[67Dart273]

PLEASE don't show a photo of the Microsoft sticker, LOL.


I know Xtra Putrid is obsolete to some, but it's still useful for a lot of stuff, not to mention the utilities surrounding my Holley EFI, Wideband O2, and G-tech

I was interested in this, until..........missing key.........no or not working charger,..........and of course now the Product Key is "all over" the internet. I edited out the no, but it is "fully readable"

 

[bighammer]

I guess Im not all that savvy with the computer stuff... whats the problem with the "product key" being visible? Hackers, I assume?

 

[67Dart273]

First, this isn't supposed to be legal, even if you own the machine, as so called "OEM" product keys are supposed to (As little Bill himself said) "live and die with the life of the original machine."

HOWEVER, an example.........

I buy two junk machines at the thrift. Maybe the one with the "best" OS has this very XP Pro sticker on the side, but maybe that mother board is fried, maybe even the hard drive is fried.

So I part out the machines, and maybe the dead machine has one great case and power supply, so maybe I put the second machine's motherboard, HD, etc in the first case. Let's assume the second machine had a "lesser desired" OS, like maybe XP home, 'er something.

The fact is, I can install XP Pro using the dead machine's product key, fresh, activate it with MS, and use it all I want and nothing in the MS "pirate search" BS cares. Also bear in mind that even though I OWN both machines, this is still "technically" against MS license policy

BUT............I can harvest the above key, and if it's old enough, install a new copy on a new machine, activate it, and it LIKELY will work. It's exactly like getting XP for free, which MS would just HATE, which is highly illegal, and if someone got the "for sale" laptop after I've "pirated" their key......the new owner might just find that his key has been invalidated.

 

[bOb shingler]

oh, ok.