> I wanted to format and reinstall XP on a friend's Compaq desktop with XP Home so
> I used a key extractor to get her key thinking I was going to re-use it with an
> XP Home SP2 ISO I downloaded. WRONG. It wouldn't accept the key I pulled from
> the working installation but it took some junk key I grabbed from a serials
> website. I just tossed that junk, formatted it again and installed XP Pro with
> a volume license key. I wanted to do the right thing, but nooooooooooo, fuck
> you MS!
>
> Anyway, did I need some Compaq-branded version of XP Home to re-use the key that
> was in that computer? She doesn't have a restore disc, I wouldn't use that shit
> anyway. Talk about defeating the purpose of cleaning-up a PC.
>
>

Your on the right track. Having the serial # is part one. Part two is locating XP Home OEM - You can get it with most versions of XP 8in1 floating around the internet. The OEM version is the only version that will take that key. The problem with the stolen keys is they are marked as bad. If you attempt to install MS software such as live - it will fail. Good luck

n2