windows 98 second edition product key

zap27

I know fook all about comps.

If you've lost this is the only way to get it again to buy a new cd? Ive heard of folks (on other forums) ringing up Microsoft in the States and them sending a product key by email. Basically my older pc has snuffed it I have my cd but the key is lost.

Ive seen people selling the cd on ebay for various amounts but the amounts are so varied that its hard to know what to get! Anyone bought windows 98 SE from an ebay seller or know how I can get the prodcut key? tks

Fredrick

Should be able to help you out there mate will have a root in the morning and will PM you if that suits. You should really be thinking along the lines of Windows XP though, easier to install than 98 and much more secure! Also don't think MS support 98 any more regarding updates n stuff, but then you would have to spend dollars of course.

irlrobins

zap27 wrote:

know how I can get the prodcut key? tks

It's usually stuck on the bottom of the case.

Tom Dunne

Fredrick wrote:

You should really be thinking along the lines of Windows XP though, easier to install than 98 and much more secure! Also don't think MS support 98 any more regarding updates n stuff, but then you would have to spend dollars of course.

XP won't run properly on a Windows 98 era machine - not enough horsepower or memory.

tom dunne

tom dunne wrote:

XP won't run properly on a Windows 98 era machine - not enough horsepower or memory.

I beg to differ . My ol' PC had 98 running on it and I installed XP pro there recently and its running fine.

kippy

Please read this thread for a very similiar predicament......
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2054906978


Otherwise I am sure someone can assist.
Kippy

Karoma

irlrobins wrote:

It's usually stuck on the bottom of the case.

Not for Win98x - it should be with the CD / manual.

Windows 98 is end of line regarding updates. However, there are unofficial 'service packs' floating around. I cannot vouch for 'em though.

Re: Key: Contact Microsoft.

Tom Dunne

Deleted User wrote:

I beg to differ . My ol' PC had 98 running on it and I installed XP pro there recently and its running fine.

`

Would you say performance is top notch? I wouldn't imagine so.

What is the spec of your machine? An average Win98 machine had a whole 64Mb of Ram with feck all Mhz, hardly enough for XP.

Id say it was fairly solid. It was an AMD athlon 700mhz with 256MB of ram, which turned out to be plenty for XP.

Capt'n Midnight

unfortunatly a CD is not a license - CD's with circular hologrammed COA stickers on them would have just been too easy. It would have prevented a lot of casual copying once people realised that lending a CD was the same as handing someone the "pink slip" for a car (as in the filums )

Windows 98 would have come with a cert or a sticker on the machine.
If it's a "brand name" pc then it would have come with an OEM sticker.
If it's an OEM then microsoft will fob you back to the PC vendor, this is why OEM is cheaper than retail windows.

Magic Jelly bean may recover it.

For windows 95 you can do a text search on the SYSTEM.DAT file for "ProductID" - may work for 98 too, but IIRC it will give you the numeric value you see in system in control panel not the alphanumeric one.

If it's a DELL you can pop the tag number in on the web site and get a parts list, looking through that should list win 98 or office CD or sticker/COA etc. And it's not as if you can separate the license from the PC, so maybe you could ring up M$ after all, but a CD does not prove a license unfortunatly.

It's a problem that will become more common since many people don't get CD's with the OS anymore, and it's not like HDD's are any more reliable than they were 20 years ago !

The only real solution for the future is backup, backup, backup.

Remember the bit about Serialz in the charter.

zap27

cheers. i actually spotted it on sale on amazon and picked it up for €15 and it worked. this is the second pc in the house and just want broadband on it. However I'm having a few other weird problems-see new post shortly!