What to do with a blocked Product key?

I have a laptop running XP Professional edition with no service packs, and when I go to download SP2 I get an error stating that my Volume license key(VLK) is blocked.
I asked the owner for the CDs and product key, and he gave me them in the form of burned CD-R discs. The OS was on there, with the product key written on the label. He got the laptop used over a year ago.

Is there anyway to get this key straight or is he going to have to buy a new one? I tried this but didn't have any luck:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/328874

KG

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Comments

boyles23

Here is some information on why and troubleshooting the issue: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/916247

JDMurray

If the Volume License Key is blocked then Microsoft likely believes this to be a pirated VLK. You'll should contact Microsoft as if you were doing a telephone activation and have them confirm if the VLK has indeed been blocked. If so, time to purchase a legit key.

dynamik

Be sure to save a ton and pick up an OEM copy from somewhere like www.buycheapsoftware.com if you have to go that route.

buulam

I'm not an MS licensing expert or anything but I would imagine that VLK either belongs to a company or is just not legit. I think the laptop should have a MS sticker on it with the OEM product key to the OS that it shipped with? I don't think VLK's "come with" a computer, I believe they stay with the company they're assigned to. I don't know if that helps or not... calling MS about that VLK as suggested would probably confirm that

KGhaleon

Oh, so VLKs aren't normal keys? As mentioned, he just gave me some CD-R with the OS on it and a key that had been written down. He purchased the machine from someone else, so it's likely a pirated key or something. I wasn't sure.

The customer came back to me a few days later with a new key which he had me try on the system, and it works. I can download SP2 and so on...but I don't know if it's "legit."

Curse Microsoft.

KG

Slowhand

KGhaleon wrote:

Oh, so VLKs aren't normal keys? As mentioned, he just gave me some CD-R with the OS on it and a key that had been written down. He purchased the machine from someone else, so it's likely a pirated key or something. I wasn't sure.

The customer came back to me a few days later with a new key which he had me try on the system, and it works. I can download SP2 and so on...but I don't know if it's "legit."

Curse Microsoft.

KG

VLK's are keys purchased, usually by large corporations, for the purpose of being able to install Windows without having to activate it as you would with a retail edition. There are also different versions of Windows XP available, (VLM, Retail, OEM) to go with the various keys and needs of the customers. Chances are, if you've got a VLK that you got from a random person, it's pirated. (Hence the reason why the first VLK you got was blocked.) The one you're using now is probably pirated too, since this guy probably didn't contact Microsoft and add you onto whatever VLM agreement he's supposed to have.

If it works, though, I wouldn't stress too much. Yes, it's a pirated key and the guy probably didn't pay for it. As far as Microsoft is concerned though, it's a legitimate install of Windows with a legitimate key, since the whole point of VLK's is to be able to install Windows "the old fashioned-way", where you can burn discs, create deployment images, etc, in order to install Windows in environments with hundreds, (even thousands) of computers. The chances of Genuine Advantage rejecting the key you've got at the moment is slim to none, since Microsoft is moving from the old way of doing Volume Licensing, to some new nonsense for Vista and Longhorn. I wouldn't hold my breath for them to put all too much effort into creating newer and better ways to crack down on Windows XP piracy, other than blocking VLK's that are publically available on bittorrent sites, for example.