On of the clients I work with has an old sony laptop which she wants to use for basic net surfing via a dongle.
Problem is, the dongle wont install without SP1, and when I tried to install SP1 from a memory stick it wouldn’t let me cos of a problem with the product key. She got no discs or anything when she brought it, and just to complicate things further the CD drive is a tiny non-standard one.
Can anyone give me any ideas on getting her connected?

Ubuntu.

+1 for Ubuntu.

The only computer not running it in my house is the wife’s laptop cos she doesn’t find it as easy to save every single bloody thing she downloads to the desktop as she does on Vista.

I did think of that, but im a bit trepidatious as i’ve never tried anything other than windows before, and despite my clients being grateful for any help like this, if things don’t go well they can get a bit ‘complainey’

If it had genuine windows installed before there should be a sticker somwhere on the machine with the product key.
Many pc companies dont give you the installation disc anymore.
Otherwise connect it to the internet and do a windows update.

brought it

where did she bring it from?

BROUGHT! ITS BOUGHT!

I never thought of looking for a sticker 😳
Cant connect to the internet without the dongle but I spose we could go somewhere with wifi and use a wifi dongle.

In what way is she a client? If she complains, shop her to the feds for illegal software 😈

If the product key is dodgy, then you will have the same problem with updates as installing a service packs.

Don’t load linux unless you know the dongle will work with it first, most will these days but not everything is compatable.

Fair cop Greeble

If you’ve got the product key on the bottom and it matches the installed OS there is an older version, maybe 1.6 IIRC of Majical jellybean keyfinder that allows you to change the product key. Quite often though if it’s a non genuine install it would be a corporate XP install, it would need to be OEM to work. You can use the current version of keyfinder to find out what version and what product key is on there.

The other way is if you go to the control panel then system. At the bottom of that it should tell you what version of windows is installed and the product key.

where did she bring it from?

BROUGHT! ITS BOUGHT!

The Law says this must be highlighted 😉

I work in a rehab unit, she isn’t likely to worry overly about legal sanctions.
Thanks Schrick, but I didn’t understand much past the word version there 🙂 this really isnt my strong suit.
Ill give that a try Hugor.

I think I also missed a bit of punctuation, and ‘complainey’ isn’t a real word either 😀

It’s probably a hooky copy of XP. I’d reinstall it, personally; working around WGA is doable but a royal PITA.

Also, stop buggering about with SP1 and take it straight to SP3.

Ah but how do I reinstall it with no disc or key?

Well, I wasn’t saying you should, I was saying what I’d do. (-:

Have a look on Sony’s website, see if they offer ‘recovery discs’ for that model maybe?

If your clients can get a bit “complainy” over free help sorting out an illegal copy of Windows that hasn’t been updated in ten years, I’d advise steering well clear and leaving them to it.

You’re probably right there Cougar but what can I say, I aim to please 🙂

Yeah, IME that’s generally our first mistake. (-:

It’s all about managing expectations. “Well, I can take a look, but it’s an illegal copy of ten year old operating system so my options are limited.”

You could try changing the key as others have suggested. Whether it’d work or not I wouldn’t like to speculate; OEM keys can be tricksy.

But if its a sony laptop it should have had a genuine version of windows on it when it was purchased. I don’t think they sell them bare.
Why would you install a dodgy version on it?