Windows 7 - Limitations on OEM usage?

An XP Pro w/SP3, OEM version, costs about $100.  For someone who does not do
this sort of thing every day, that is a pretty inexpensive price compared
with the time and effort to build a slipstream disk, downloading files,
updates, etc., etc.

But, can someone please tell me what are the usage limitations on an OEM
version?

And, for example, could I use it to do a repair on my existing system that
I think I have suspicions might be becoming flakey?

Thank you very much,
David

OEM licenses stick to the first computer on which they are installed.
If you lose that computer, it is lost in a divorce settlement, it is
stolen, it burns up in a fire, you toss it into a volcano for a
sacrifice, or whatever then the OEM license goes with it.

OEM is cheaper than full version but it is tied to
the motherboard, so you cannot move it to a second
PC. The full version costs almost twice as much,
but can be moved from one PC to another. The
seems to be Microsoft's way of saving face over the
fact that people would still rather buy XP than 7.

If you shop for XP you will find all sorts of things.
Often sites refer to "full OEM". Really, there is just
upgrade, OEM and full.


| An XP Pro w/SP3, OEM version, costs about $100.  For someone who does not
do
| this sort of thing every day, that is a pretty inexpensive price compared
| with the time and effort to build a slipstream disk, downloading files,
| updates, etc., etc.
|
| But, can someone please tell me what are the usage limitations on an OEM
| version?
|
| And, for example, could I use it to do a repair on my existing system that
| I think I have suspicions might be becoming flakey?
|
| Thank you very much,
| David

This is what a "system builder", unbranded OEM disc looks like.
Microsoft stopped shipping these some time ago, and Newegg ran out
about two months after Microsoft stopped shipping. This is the
kind of disc I used, when I built my current computer. You're
unlikely to find any of these at retail, as they sold out long ago.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116515

There are plenty of "recycled, branded OEM" discs for sale,
but they come with risks. Some actually work. Many are
BIOS locked, to a particular brand of computer. And all the
risk, is on your shoulders when you buy one of those discs.
The discs are a *lot* cheaper than the $150.00 or so that the above
Newegg product used to cost. They're priced for suckers.

You'd be better off buying $50 worth of lottery tickets.

At the very least, if you find such a product, talk to a
previous purchaser to find out whether it worked, and
what hoops had to be jumped through to do so. If you cannot
get any feedback on the seller or the product, then
it is a "pure risk" transaction, like the lottery ticket.

Paul

Are you referring to a Repair Install? Those are rarely necessary. So,
too, are Clean Installs for that matter.

Are you referring to using the XP Recovery Console? If so, you can make
your own and it is not really that hard. Post back if you would like to
learn how.

Since XP CDs are no longer being sold as "new," there is no guarantee
you will get an authentic one.

What is the make and model of your PC? There is a decent chance it has a
hidden recovery partition on it.

Limitations? As far as INSTALLING goes (but not using the Recovery
Console), if you install an OEM version of XP on a PC, it is tied to
that PC. You cannot ever (legally) move it to another PC. (The Retail
version does not have that limitation.) But this presumes you are able to
find a legit UNUSED OEM version of XP. They are not that easy to find
these days!

Thank you -- you all have certainly cleared up for me the limitations on
OEM usage.

You have also convinced me that this is not what I want.  I would like a
full authentic  XP Pro SP3.  My fault for not being aware that these are a
disappearing resource!

Does anyone know where I might obtain one?

Daave, to respond to your question:  My PC is/was literally an OEM build,
so no make and model; but due to disk problems it has already been wiped
and reloaded more than once (not by me), and I am sure that there is no
recovery partition.  What I suspect has happened, from what I am learning
from you all, is that the last O/S reload may have been one of those
tinkered versions.  This why I would like to purchase the real thing, and
do it myself.  I would like to have an authentic CD anyway.

I will post back re your Repair and Recovery Console questions after the
dust settles on my above question -- thank you very much.

There is two parts to the question.

Do you have a valid license key ?

Can you find a matching CD to use with that key ?

If your computer is home built, then at some point
you would have had a 25 character license key. The COA
sticker that comes with the CD, would have had the key printed
on it. If you placed the sticker on the PC (peel off and adhere),
you would  still have the key.

If the hard drive has not been erased, in theory you could dig up the key.
There is a tool for extracting the key used, from an existing install.

If you had a third party install Windows, and they used a VLK swiped
from somewhere, then at some later time, you might have received
some kind of "Not Genuine" indication while doing updates or the like.
Maybe that was your first indication the key was no good.

If you think the key is in fact valid, all you are really looking
for is matching media. You'd need a very good idea, what kind of
key it was that you were using, in order to look for the right kind
of media. Perhaps a local computer store, that does installs, has
retail and OEM (unbranded) CDs that they use for installs for example.
The (valid) key is the item that has the value, while the media
is secondary.

(Scroll to the bottom, for info on how the CD is constructed with "PID")
http://www.infocellar.com/winxp/oem-recover-retail.htm

Note that there is no Microsoft website for "testing" keys, and
if there were, hackers would be pounding on it like crazy (running
it like a keygen).

If the media is damaged, you may be able to contact Microsoft
and get replacement media. And for a lot less than what it would
take to get a key.

So the key is the thing that has value, and if your key is valid
(has not already been flagged), then that is half the battle. If
you know the key is bad, then you are looking for a full package
of media and valid unused key.

When you get a Dell, it comes with two keys. The installed OS is
key. And then Windows does not need to be activated. But they also put
a COA sticker on the Dell, with a *different* key value. That key
can be used with a regular OEM CD to do an install. If the hard
drive was wiped, but the COA sticker was still readable, that
could be used for an install. That's an example of the options
on a branded PC. If you have a home built PC, there is only
one key, and each install you did, would have required
activation (normally, over the network). And in that case,
the valuable item, is the COA sticker with key on it.

(Pictures of stickers etc)
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/howtotell/Software.aspx#Packaging

Good luck,
Paul

It sounds like you are, indeed, out of luck if you
do not have a disk image or the original CD. That's
the hidden cost of Microsoft's Product Activation.
They've made a fortune by double/triple charging
people who have already paid for a Windows
license.

If you decide to buy a new copy of XP then you probably
*do* want OEM, but not brand-name. What MS means by
OEM is any company except MS. If you buy a full version
CD then Microsoft allegedly provides support. If you buy
OEM the system builder is responsible for support. OEM is
legal to use yourself, but you get no support and you cannot
move it later to another motherboard.

Paul's warning about branded OEM CDs is an important
point. If you buy via Craiglist or EBay you do not know what
you are getting. And the seller might not know either. People
might try to resell a disk for a system that is already been
activated. Or someone might have got a free upgrade
disk with a late-model WinME buy, and then they never
used it, so they try to make a buck on the disk. That
*might* work if the buyer has WinME. But in your case an
upgrade CD is useless unless you can find an old Win9x
CD to install first.

I am currently building a new system for a friend and sent him
to buycheapsoftware.com. I was buying the parts via
Tigerdirect, but they do not sell XP. Buycheapsoftware.com
has an OEM CD for about $120. it is officially for "refurbished
PCs". That's the first time I have seen that term. As I said
yesterday, I think MS is trying to save face, while still cashing
in on XP, by pretending that the only current usage would
be for a 10-year-old PC with a new motherboard that cannot
support the bloat of Vista/7.

The descriptions and prices for XP -- and for all Windows
versions -- is dizzying. If you look online you will see every possible
combination of terms like full, pro, OEM, etc. -- at every possible
price. But buycheapsoftware's XP for refurbished PCs is a true,
usable OEM version. I did not do a lot of looking around, as I have
used buycheapsoftware before and found them dependable.
But to the extent I did look I did not find a copy of XP full. That
is, the real full version as opposed to "full OEM". (Are we confused
yet? :) The original pricing had a full version about $100 more
than an OEM version.

So... you get an OEM/refurbished CD for $120.... are you
going to put that onto an old PC? What if the motherboard
dies next year? You might want to consider upgrading the
box with a new power supply, motherboard, CPU, RAM. You
can keep the hard disk. Graphics/audio/ethernet are now
built into the board. You could upgrade the box for less than
$300. (I just got a board/CPU for about $85. it is crazy to
pay more unless you are a teenager who wants "power".
Computer hardware has become so advanced that the
speed of the cheapest CPU is still far more than is necessary
for most things. After all, if you get instant response with
a single core and 500 MB RAM, the instant response you get
by adding 3 more GB RAM and a quad-core CPU will not be any
faster. You cannot beat instant.)

There is one big issue to be aware of with XP, though:
In most cases it will not install to an SATA disk. You can
install to IDE and copy over. Or, in many cases the motherboard
driver package provides an option to put the drivers on a
memory stick. (They seem to be part of the RAID drivers
rather than being called SATA drivers.) Note that many
motherboards now do not even have an IDE plug. (Which is
surprising given that there are still plenty of IDE disks in
use. Usually one only expects such behavior from Apple.
Remember a few yars ago when all the AppleSeeds bragged
about how Steve Jobs and his gang had transcended the
pitiful floppy disks that "wintel lusers" are stuck with? Then
they all went out and bought a $100 extrnal USB floppy drive.)
The removal of IDE plugs from the board means buying a
PCI card if you want to use an IDE hard disk or CD/dVD drive.
So that is something to consider in looking at boards.

I do not mean to scare you off with the above. You can get
XP onto an SATA disk. it is just that it can be tricky and you
need to be handy.

If you do install a new copy of XP again, one way or another,
you should really a) Copy the install CD and store that somewhere
safe. b) Write the 25-character key on both CDs. c) Spend
another $40 for something like BootIt and make a disk image
once the sytem is set up. Better yet, make two or more disk
images. Then copy them to CD and store them. You should not
ever have to be in this situation, where you have to pay
Microsoft again for a license you already have, just because
you did not back up or keep track of your software install
materials.

--
--
| Thank you -- you all have certainly cleared up for me the limitations on
| OEM usage.
|
| You have also convinced me that this is not what I want.  I would like a
| full authentic  XP Pro SP3.  My fault for not being aware that these are a
| disappearing resource!
|
| Does anyone know where I might obtain one?
|
| Daave, to respond to your question:  My PC is/was literally an OEM build,
| so no make and model; but due to disk problems it has already been wiped
| and reloaded more than once (not by me), and I am sure that there is no
| recovery partition.  What I suspect has happened, from what I am learning
| from you all, is that the last O/S reload may have been one of those
| tinkered versions.  This why I would like to purchase the real thing, and
| do it myself.  I would like to have an authentic CD anyway.
|
| I will post back re your Repair and Recovery Console questions after the
| dust settles on my above question -- thank you very much.
|

Sounds custom-built. Whoever built this for you is legally bound to
provide you with the means to reinstall Windows XP (usually by giving
you the correct XP installation CD). I would contact this person pronto.

Otherwise, Paul has a good idea in just obtaining a CD without
purchasing it. Not the easiest thing to do, but it is possible. If you
have a generic OEM version of XP Pro installed on your PC, you may
borrow someone else's CD (but it must match!) and make a copy of it. You
already presumably have a license and key. If you do not have your key
handy, you may run Magical Jellybean Finder or Belarc Advisor to get it.

Then again, for all we know, whoever built this for you did so in a
shady way, using an expired VLK or something along those lines. This is
something to explore.

If you still feel you have to buy a Windows XP Pro installation CD AND
if you know you will never transfer it to another PC AND if you can find
someone reputable to purchase it from AND it is never been used, then an
OEM version will still suffice. Otherwise, Retail would be the way to
go. But, again, you probably do not NEED this CD. :-) (Read on...)

Unless your PC has been compromised, there is really no good reason to
reinstall Windows. We'll be happy to help you solve whatever problem you
are having. Then once your hard drive is exactly as you wish, simply
make an image of it. Keep this image archive handy, and in the event of
a disaster, simply restore the image. That's probably better than having
an XP installation CD anyway. :-)

You chaps are so helpful, so generous with your time, and so over my head!

I think I need to provide a little history so that you can better
understand my situation.

The box was custom built about five years ago by a reputable shop.  I have
since moved from the U.S. to a small town in a third-world country.  I am
consequently at the mercy of the locally-available IT resources --
including its tecchies and their hardware and available software.

Subsequent to a blue-screen-level crash, they did a diskwipe and re-install
with XP Pro.  However, with this install I keep getting messages to the
effect, "Windows File Protection ... unrecognized versions of files
required for stability ... please insert your CD ..."  Even though the
system appears to be working acceptably I am not comfortable with this
caveat; but my alternatives are not easy.  And they seem to be getting less
easy by the day.

Now a new twist: Today, searching thru the packing boxes, I have just
discovered that I have the original hologram XP SP2 OEM disk, with
authorization code.  BUT it is the Home version, not Pro.  :(     So if
this discovery has any value to my present predicament, it is not apparent
to me.  (My original goal was to do a "repair" of my present XP Pro system
by using a genuine blessed CD).

However, now, with all the expressed uncertainties of OEM disks, and the
few remaining full retail versions running at nearly $400, Mayayana now
informs that even if I do have one I will likely have trouble loading to
SATA drives.  I have removeables, and they are all SATA.

So finally, I think I am about ready to give up, admit defeat, and just
stick with what I have.  I can continue to do backups to the RHDs, until
everything falls apart, then I will just start over, I guess with Windows 7.

I will be happy though to hear any alternative suggestions.  But please
do not offer very complicated or lengthy ones because realistically  I
probably just will not be able to implement them.  If I was as smart as you
guys it would be a different story.

Thank you for your patience.

I am just a home user, and not an "IT guy".

My recommendation would be, to look through your collection of
spare disks. Disconnect the working disk, connect a spare disk,
install WinXP Home SP2 OEM. Then activate it. Now, you have a
bootable solution, if you need it or want it. By keeping it
totally independent of the working disk, you are reducing the
risk of having nothing working.

I am not as pessimistic about SATA, as Mayayana. The
basic idea is this:

1) In your computer BIOS, the disk interface has a variety of
settings. These SATA port settings include

IDE  - Enhanced or Compatible on an Intel chipset
AHCI - Supports Hot Plug for data drives, and Command Queueing
for performance. The queuing option comes in handy for
server workloads, less for desktops. None of my systems
run with the BIOS set to AHCI. If you have an SSD drive,
then AHCI is a great choice (due to TRIM support in some
cases). My systems are generally set to Enhanced IDE.
RAID - used for multiple disks, not important at the moment.

Usually, the default choice in the BIOS, has decent compatibility.
You may not need to change anything. And if you have changed
that setting, chances are you know all about this stuff anyway.

2) The OS has some built-in drivers. And each Service Pack level,
has some rules for large disks. The later Service Packs support
large disks. The easiest way to see this, is say, plug in a
320GB disk. When the install CD is running, if it refuses to
make C: bigger than 137GB (the "size barrier" value), then
you know you have a problem. You can still complete the install,
just not put partitions above 137GB. If you end up this way,
come back for suggestions.

The drivers can include the IDE ones. They're the most likely to
work.

Compatible mode, makes the motherboard look similar to an older
motherboard, with two ribbon cables. Up to four disk drives can
be supported that way, and an old OS thinks the SATA drives are
actually on ribbon cables. But compatible mode, limits the number
of disks. Now, some motherboards only have four SATA ports, so this
may not be a big deal. My motherboard has six SATA ports, and
selecting compatible, and mapping the disks to I/O space, wastes
the other two ports. The other two ports would be disabled if
I ran that way.

Enhanced maps the ports to PCI space. You can support as many disks
as there are connectors in that case. PCI space means, in a way,
that it is like the motherboard ports, were on a PCI SATA card.
They'd look roughly the same, in a sense.

Anyway, check your BIOS. You do that, just after powering up the machine,
and pressing the key that gets you into the BIOS. On my Asus machine,
that would be the <DEL> key. On my Asrock, it is press F2. Look through
the BIOS settings. Chances are, the disk mode is something that
your WinXP CD will just install on.

No big deal if it fails. You can plug the original disk back in,
use the original settings (if you have made changes), and it should
all come back. If you change anything in the BIOS, either take
a picture of the screen with a digital camera, or write down
the original settings.

I do not recommend trying to install WinXP OEM, on the same disk
that has the working but cranky current install. If you keep the disks
separate, you can experiment as time allows.

Depending on your symptoms, hardware details, maybe someone here
will remember something that can help you further.

So really, the biggest part of the deal, is your ability to handle
unplugging the current disk, and fitting another. And of course,
verifying that the new disk, to be used for the install, has
enough room, and does not have any valuable data on it. Sure,
you can install on a disk that has data, make a new partition
and so on. But also remember, that the installer CD can trash
the partition table - I had that happen last week, while playing
with a Win2K installer CD. I exited from the installer, after
examining what the partitioning options might be, and thought it
could not possibly have made any changes. But it had, and it
zapped the partitions on the disk. I used TestDisk to put back
the partition table (a tool that scans the disk, then rebuilds
the table). But as that is a damn scary tool to use, you really
do not want to be in that situation. If you grab a disk with
nothing of value, to do your OEM install, then you will have no
regrets later.

I have not a clue what would happen, if a Home installer disc
was used to Repair Install a Pro version on C:. I expect it
would be ruined, but stranger things have happened.

*******

One other tiny note. When you buy a disc in North America,
the Microsoft Activation server will have an expectation
that the disc will be used in North America. If via geolocation,
they see you activating from PangoPango, that naturally rings
alarm bells, just like if a credit card charge was filed
in Germany, on my Canadian credit card. You may end up,
needing to phone a human, to complete activation. And I do not
know if they will make a nuisance of themselves or not. I am
only mentioning this, so you will be mentally prepared. Since
you are playing around with a second, unused disk, if you
meet any kind of resistance, it is not the end of the world.

Paul

| I am not as pessimistic about SATA, as Mayayana. The
| basic idea is this:
|

I have not tried your options, but my understanding is
that XP simply does not have generic drivers, so it does not
see an SATA disk. A popular method is to "slipstream"
the drivers into a custom install disk.

http://www.maximumpc.com/article/How-To--Slipstream-your-XP-installation

Also, as I mentioned before, it may work to put the
drivers on a memory stick. I once did that with Vista.
(It did not recognize a second CD, but did see a USB stick.)

So one would need to find the motherboard drivers
and unpack them before starting.

This is beginning to sound like a geeky spy novel. :)

required for stability ... please insert your CD ..."

I get that message when I delete things because I
remove "System File Protection" AKA "Windows File Protection".
In general the message is a lie, to put it bluntly, which is part
of the problem with SFP: It is designed not only to protect
system files but also to clandestinely thwart even any
*deliberate* control you might assert over the OS. It appears
to allow you to replace/remove files...then it puts them back
without telling you!

There is a command line to uninstall SFP, along with
PCHealth. I am not certain that it still works in SP3, but I run
that and then I delete the SFP backup files.

I forget the name of the backup folder...
driver cache, dll cache.... it is recognizable because
it is very big -- maybe 500 MB. The Windows or system
folder typically has two big folders on a normal install.
There is one for backup of drivers, etc., which I think has
the i386 subfolder in it. (That can safely be moved to
another partition to save space.) Then there is the hidden
folder used by SFP. (I am sorry but I just do not remember
all the folder names offhand.)

When you delete anything from MS under SFP (they will not
even let you remove the games!), after a few seconds the
files come back. The backups are coming from that giant
storage folder. If you delete the content of the storage
folder you get the message that you are seeing upon the
deletion of protected files. I see that message when I delete
all the MS shovelware that I did not ask for and do not want.
(Movie Maker, NetMeeting, games, Messenger, Media Player,
etc.) I then click Cancel; Windows warns that calamity will
surely ensue if I keep the present "new files"; I say "OK,
thanks. See'ya." And that is the end of that.

If you are seeing that message it is likely that the storage
folder and/or its content has been removed. Maybe you
clicked a link that now goes nowhere? At any rate, it is harmless
as long as it is not just happening out of the blue.

Here is the SFP removal command line:

rundll32.exe setupapi.dll,InstallHinfSection DefaultUninstall 132
C:\WINDOWS\INF\PCHealth.inf

As I said, I am not certain it still works, but
I do know that I run it on a new install, then delete
the SFP backups, and after that I only see warnings
when I delete "protected" files.

If you want SFP back it may work to reinstall SP3,
but I do not know about that.
--
--
| You chaps are so helpful, so generous with your time, and so over my head!
|
| I think I need to provide a little history so that you can better
| understand my situation.
|
| The box was custom built about five years ago by a reputable shop.  I have
| since moved from the U.S. to a small town in a third-world country.  I am
| consequently at the mercy of the locally-available IT resources --
| including its tecchies and their hardware and available software.
|
| Subsequent to a blue-screen-level crash, they did a diskwipe and
re-install
| with XP Pro.  However, with this install I keep getting messages to the
| effect, "Windows File Protection ... unrecognized versions of files
| required for stability ... please insert your CD ..."  Even though the
| system appears to be working acceptably I am not comfortable with this
| caveat; but my alternatives are not easy.  And they seem to be getting
less
| easy by the day.
|
| Now a new twist: Today, searching thru the packing boxes, I have just
| discovered that I have the original hologram XP SP2 OEM disk, with
| authorization code.  BUT it is the Home version, not Pro.  :(     So if
| this discovery has any value to my present predicament, it is not apparent
| to me.  (My original goal was to do a "repair" of my present XP Pro system
| by using a genuine blessed CD).
|
| However, now, with all the expressed uncertainties of OEM disks, and the
| few remaining full retail versions running at nearly $400, Mayayana now
| informs that even if I do have one I will likely have trouble loading to
| SATA drives.  I have removeables, and they are all SATA.
|
| So finally, I think I am about ready to give up, admit defeat, and just
| stick with what I have.  I can continue to do backups to the RHDs, until
| everything falls apart, then I will just start over, I guess with Windows 7.
|
| I will be happy though to hear any alternative suggestions.  But please
| do not offer very complicated or lengthy ones because realistically  I
| probably just will not be able to implement them.  If I was as smart as you
| guys it would be a different story.
|
| Thank you for your patience.

What would constitute proof to you ?

OK, let us take my machine as an example. Asus P5E Deluxe with Core2
processor. Intel Southbridge. Six SATA ports. Separate IDE chip
from Jmicron for my CDROM drive.

Next, I use a copy of "devcon", downloaded from Microsoft. In
a command prompt, I run

devcon driverfiles *

Editing the redirected output, this is what I got. When I installed
WinXP Pro SP3 (OEM) on the machine, I did not need to press F6. And
the files in question, are standard files. I do not see anything
out of the ordinary. Typical files used are PCIIDE and PCIIDEX
(the latter being the library for the former). As far as I know,
all of these files are property of Microsoft. The files are not
the property of Intel.

******* devcon driverfiles * > output.txt **************************

My CDROM and two Seagate SATA drives.

IDE\CDROMMSI_CD-RW_CR52__________________________3.90____\6&360A8F2&0&0.0.0
Name: MSI CD-RW CR52
Driver installed from c:\windows\inf\cdrom.inf [cdrom_install]. 4 file(s) used by driver:
C:\WINDOWS\system32\DRIVERS\cdrom.sys
C:\WINDOWS\system32\DRIVERS\redbook.sys
C:\WINDOWS\system32\DRIVERS\imapi.sys
C:\WINDOWS\system32\storprop.dll
IDE\DISKST3500418AS_____________________________CC46____\5&5C4DDEF&0&0.0.0
Name: ST3500418AS
Driver installed from c:\windows\inf\disk.inf [disk_install]. 1 file(s) used by driver:
C:\WINDOWS\system32\DRIVERS\disk.sys
IDE\DISKST3500418AS_____________________________CC46____\5&CF4D2B6&0&0.0.0
Name: ST3500418AS
Driver installed from c:\windows\inf\disk.inf [disk_install]. 1 file(s) used by driver:
C:\WINDOWS\system32\DRIVERS\disk.sys

Storage interfaces... You can find pciidex.sys on the installer CD.
Mine is inside "SP3.cab" on the CD. it is possible the first
item here, is the Jmicron chip.

PCI\VEN_197B&DEV_2368&SUBSYS_824F1043&REV_00\4&332B0EE8&0&00E4
Name: Standard Dual Channel PCI IDE Controller
Driver installed from c:\windows\inf\mshdc.inf [pciide_Inst]. 3 file(s) used by driver:
C:\WINDOWS\system32\DRIVERS\pciidex.sys
C:\WINDOWS\system32\DRIVERS\atapi.sys
C:\WINDOWS\system32\DRIVERS\pciide.sys

PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_2920&SUBSYS_82771043&REV_02\3&11583659&0&FA
Name: Intel(R) ICH9R/DO/DH 4 port Serial ATA Storage Controller 1 - 2920
Driver installed from c:\windows\inf\oem16.inf [pciide_Inst]. 3 file(s) used by driver:
C:\WINDOWS\system32\DRIVERS\pciide.sys
C:\WINDOWS\system32\DRIVERS\pciidex.sys
C:\WINDOWS\system32\DRIVERS\atapi.sys

PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_2926&SUBSYS_82771043&REV_02\3&11583659&0&FD
Name: Intel(R) ICH9 Family 2 port Serial ATA Storage Controller 2 - 2926
Driver installed from c:\windows\inf\oem16.inf [pciide_Inst]. 3 file(s) used by driver:
C:\WINDOWS\system32\DRIVERS\pciide.sys
C:\WINDOWS\system32\DRIVERS\pciidex.sys
C:\WINDOWS\system32\DRIVERS\atapi.sys

PCIIDE\IDECHANNEL\4&2B025FD5&0&0
Name: Primary IDE Channel
Driver installed from c:\windows\inf\mshdc.inf [atapi_Inst_primary]. 2 file(s) used by driver:
C:\WINDOWS\system32\DRIVERS\atapi.sys
C:\WINDOWS\system32\storprop.dll

PCIIDE\IDECHANNEL\4&2B025FD5&0&1
Name: Secondary IDE Channel
Driver installed from c:\windows\inf\mshdc.inf [atapi_Inst_secondary]. 2 file(s) used by driver:
C:\WINDOWS\system32\DRIVERS\atapi.sys
C:\WINDOWS\system32\storprop.dll

PCIIDE\IDECHANNEL\4&C98DF0A&0&0
Name: Primary IDE Channel
Driver installed from c:\windows\inf\mshdc.inf [atapi_Inst_primary]. 2 file(s) used by driver:
C:\WINDOWS\system32\DRIVERS\atapi.sys
C:\WINDOWS\system32\storprop.dll

PCIIDE\IDECHANNEL\4&C98DF0A&0&1
Name: Secondary IDE Channel
Driver installed from c:\windows\inf\mshdc.inf [atapi_Inst_secondary]. 2 file(s) used by driver:
C:\WINDOWS\system32\DRIVERS\atapi.sys
C:\WINDOWS\system32\storprop.dll

PCIIDE\IDECHANNEL\5&15F80DBE&0&0
Name: Primary IDE Channel
Driver installed from c:\windows\inf\mshdc.inf [atapi_Inst_primary]. 2 file(s) used by driver:
C:\WINDOWS\system32\DRIVERS\atapi.sys
C:\WINDOWS\system32\storprop.dll

PCIIDE\IDECHANNEL\5&15F80DBE&0&1
Name: Secondary IDE Channel
Driver installed from c:\windows\inf\mshdc.inf [atapi_Inst_secondary]. 2 file(s) used by driver:
C:\WINDOWS\system32\DRIVERS\atapi.sys
C:\WINDOWS\system32\storprop.dll

*******

You'd have to look on the SP2 disc, to see if there
was a PCIIDE and PCIIDEX file, like the ones above.
it is possible they are missing from SP1. I do not have
images of all three vintages of discs, to check that,
which is why there is still some uncertainty.

All I can tell you is:

1) Intel chipset
2) WinXP SP3 disc
3) No F6 driver install
4) All interfaces working.

The level of support changed, from one Service Pack
to the next. The Gold CD is the most useless, as it
does not handle large disks, and would likely only
handle Compatible mode. But checking out the CD,
will give you some idea.

The mshdc.inf file, controls installation. The Intel
INFINST chipset driver file, has a line like this in
it. This is to ensure, that the Intel driver, uses
the Microsoft files. For this particular driver,
Intel chooses to use the Microsoft built-in driver.
And "including" the INF is how you do that.

[intelide_Inst.Services]
Include=mshdc.inf

The Intel driver file, contributed this string to Device
Manager, for labeling. Otherwise, the disk interface
would not have a name. The Intel USB driver does
something similar, just calls the Microsoft INF file.

PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_2920.DeviceDesc="Intel(R) ICH9R/DO/DH 4 port Serial ATA Storage Controller 1 - 2920"

The Intel INFINST is typically installed after the
basic installation is finished. Some INFINST files
are already incorporated into the various Service
Packs, so you do not necessarily need to install the
file. It might already be done for you. People install
them, to be on the safe side.

I think I even installed WinXP on my VIA chipset based
board, and did not need to press F6. It just worked.
That's why I am saying, it is worth a try, and see what
happens.

*******

I am not saying that every motherboard works that way.
There are plenty of chipsets, where the interface
does not work that way, and you need F6. Even flipping
to AHCI mode, would cause problems, and you would  need
the Intel AHCI/RAID driver to handle that.

The so-called IDE modes work, because they look like
IDE and not SATA. This is where I formed my impressions
of how it works on Intel - see PDF page 11. The
Legacy item, is in I/O space. The Native is in
PCI space. Both use what look like IDE registers.

(Click a "blue button" here, to start a download. The Intel
site is using some kinda weird Flash tool, and will not give
a download any more! This download will give the original
PDF file, offered when ICH5 came out.)

http://wayback.archive.org/web/*/http://www.intel.com/Assets/PDF/manual/252671.pdf

Paul

t do
t

I am not a guru but I thought I'd throw this into the mix:

I bought my OEM xp pro from newegg ($95 back in 2002 I think) with a
ide HD, installed it in my old PC with no problem. A few yrs later, I
installed again into a new entirely different hardware sata scenario
(new build) and installed the same XP pro again.. no problem.

I assume I was lucky after reading the above posts.

I dual boot the mentioned XP and Win 7 right now !!

You might be interested in this thread, then:

http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_xp-system/windows-file-protection-query/815b1143-c3e3-4340-806c-efa82df812b3

You will see Jose offers a novel approach to solve this issue. That is,
rather than run the predictably problematic sfc/ scannnow, he instructs
folks to look into Event Viewer and identify the problematic files that
way. You can always grab one from the i386 folder (I believe you need to
source location to the c:\windows\system32 folder). In the web forum I
have seen Jose upload the file so the user can download it.

Here is another thread worth reading:

http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_xp-system/still-no-answer-to-windows-file-protection-note/b689776c-0b71-41ce-b17e-8ca853f2acd9

This is a good tutotial video on how to replace files:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h31zIUVhjoo



The overwhelming majority of regular (non-enterprise) users of XP have
absolutely no need of the XP "Pro" features. If you decide you are one
of them, you can simply use XP Home instead.

What about XP Pro do you believe is beneficial?

Hi Daave, if your asking me "What about XP pro do I believe is
beneficial"  !!!

Gads, dang if I know.... at the time I guess I could have bought the
Home version if Newegg had popped the ad up first. I think I have bought
every Windows version from Win95 to date --- but not ME.

I like the Win 7 home premium (64bit) but i'm not sure why---- except
that if's quicker than my XP OS.

Thank you Daave for your links (below).  I will check them out!

Re your question:
I personally am not "Pro" enough to see the difference.  The reason that I
have it is that my aforementioned third-world tecchie put it on there
because that was all he had.   (In fact, I now wish that he would have put
on the Home version -- then this whole problem would have been more easily
solved.)

***************************************************************************

David <invalid@socrates.edu> wrote in


you cannot use the oem serial to install xp in a virtual machine, i.e.
formatting the hdd, installing linux and eventually installing xp in the VM

the activation fails

--
/-\ /\/\ /\/\ /-\ /\/\ /\/\ /-\ T /-\
-=- -=- -=- -=- -=- -=- -=- -=- - -=-
........... [ al lavoro ] ...........

I have disabled achi and installed on sata many times.

email.me:



Err.. it is tied to the first COMPUTER it is installed on. The motherboard is
a part of that computer.

compared
tha

You were not lucky, if it is installed on only one box at a time, it will
install an activate on line if there is more than 6 months between
installations.

it is not legal according to the EULA but it will work.

69.16.185.252:

OEM

All above true.


OT SIDE COMMENT:

Where I work we do DoD Sub-Contract Software Engineering.

We are REQUIRED by Mil-Spec standards to have software run on WinXP
ONLY.  So any system we ship MUST have WinXP Pro installed.

We do OPK WinXP Pro SP3 OEM install.  OPK = install of WinXP from a
OPK Workstation to a target system, *branded* to the government.

To keep things legal with MS, we buy a Win7 media & EULA but install
WinXP.  We do not have to use a EULA key, we just use the
phone-activation method and have had no problems since MS stopped
producing (and supplying) WinXP.



--
=========== Tecknomage ===========
Computer Systems Specialist
ComputerHelpForum.org Staff Member
IT Technician
San Diego, CA