[Rikki]

Hey folks,

Long time since I posted here as my Mini 9 has been great but it died last week. I ran SSDLife to check my SSD and it killed it!!! 0MB in BIOS so had to use the STEC utility to get things going again.

Problem is Im now without an OS and although I have an XP Home CD here from a PC I built, I dont have the key from the Mini 9 as the sticker on the bottom of the unit has been rubbed away to nothing over the past 3 years.

Any idea what I can do ? :S

Many thanks,

Rikki

[holmes4]

Even if you did have the key from the sticker it most likely would not work. I assume you don't have the Dell restore CD.

[Rikki]

Afraid not, it never came with the system when I bought it

[rrfranczak3]

well, you can do a couple of things

1. go into your BIOS and get your Service Tag # and contact Dell (you must be the registered owner)...they should be able to give you the key for your system...there might be a charge though

2. you can wait until Windows 8 comes out in a couple of months and purchase that, Windows 8 is better/faster and I think smaller than XP anyway

BTW: what I did when I got my system was to cover the sticker with a piece of clear tape to prevent it from wearing away, But it doesnt really matter now anyway because I am dual booting Windows 7 Ultimate and Windows 8, but if I ever do want to sell my system I can use my restore CD and my original XP key is still on the bottom of the system.

[holmes4]

I doubt Dell would give you the product key - they may be able to send you the Dell restore CD for the Mini 9 which doesn't need a key. The issue with using some other copy of XP is that Microsoft includes the "distribution type" in the product key and using, say, a "Volume License Key" with an OEM install CD might not work.

Windows 8 is not smaller than XP, though in other regards it may be better. But the released version of Windows 8 forces you to boot to the UI formerly known as Metro, which does not work at all well on a Mini 9 due to insufficient vertical resolution. I think Win7 is a better choice.

[cbrguy]

I bought a Dell laptop off of a forum. It came wiped and no disk. I called Dell and they shipped me a CD for $10. I thought that was very reasonable.

Not sure if this helps you with your lost key though.

[holmes4]

The Dell restore disc doesn't need a key when installed onto a Dell PC.

[cbrguy]

Originally Posted by holmes4

The Dell restore disc doesn't need a key when installed onto a Dell PC.

I did not know that. It has been a few years since I did this. My Mom is still using that laptop.