Legit XP product ID invalid because XP isnt on primary partition?

i've got a mbp, 2.66ghz 4gigs of ram and the 8600gtm

i used bootcamp assistant to create a partition and ran the windows installer. i formatted using fat32, and i've also tried with ntfs.

when i reach the windows install screen that asks for my product code, it rejects my code. my code that i just confirmed was still valid with microsoft. just to make sure i also tried various publically available as well as generated keys. none worked.

its a legitimate copy of windows xp professional.

i'm at a loss. i dont know what to do.

How did you verify with MS that the key was good? And are you entering the key correctly? If you're entering it correctly and the key is rejected, then the algorithm is wrong or it does not match the key series for the type of copy of XP you installed.

Regards.

yeah, i spoke to microsoft, they said the key was valid. i've typed and retyped it. its being entered correctly and it is the key that came with my copy of windows xp. i even went to far as to double check that the key paired with the disk, and it does when checked on the disk.

the key is valid. its an issue on the mac end.

That's really strange. It can't be caused by the Mac since at the time you are asked to enter the product ID code, the Windows installation program has full control.

Just a thought... make sure your keyboard is functioning correctly. A long shot I know....

I've installed XP Home OEM full, XP Home full, and Windows 7 upgrade without a single glitch with the product ID codes. Anytime I had a problem with a key code it was either because the code was invalid for the type of copy I was trying to install or I made a mistake.

Do you have another copy of XP that you can try?

Regards.

i read somewhere that xp doesnt like not being the non primary partition. could that be the issue?

i have another copy of xp, but its sp1.

for ***** and giggles, i even tried to generated keys aswell as some publically posted keys, to no avail.

this sucks :-/

Is it possible the code has been used previously and inadvertently forgotten or the Windows discs become confused?

no. i called microsoft to verify the code was valid. i pulled the code from the disk aswell just to double check that the code i had for it was the original code paired to the disk.

i read somewhere that xp doesnt like not being the non primary partition. could that be the issue?

i have another copy of xp, but its sp1.

Click to expand...

XP must be placed on a primary partition, but that's exactly what Boot Camp does so that's not your problem.

Your other copy of XP - try slipstreaming SP2 to it and see if it will install. Do you know how to slipstream a service pack to an already existing copy and burn it to another CD? Download "autostreamer" and follow directions to do the slipstreaming. It's a free program. Download from here.

Note: You'll need a working Win machine to do the slipstreaming as autostreamer is a Windows only program.

Regards.

unfortunately i dont have another windows machine

i'm sure i've got another windows disk floating around somewhere. i made the switch a year and a half ago, and never looked back though i'm sure i've got a the very least another burned copy somewhere.

hopefully my disk is the issue.