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The reason why it does not work with a regular XP media is that they (HP, DELL, etc.) install OEM-versions of Windows which: 1) checks for branded BIOS (HP, DELL, etc.) 2) installs from a special OEM-media

If you have DELL you might have luck downloading the image of their OEM-media (Pro or Home) and installing from it.

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Why bother? The pirated version works right out of the box, and since he legitimately owns a copy, his ass is covered morally.

He may not be getting the Windows "Genuine Advantage", but as far as I can tell this "advantage" is about as real as cold fusion.

no wait...the genuine advantage is actually sort of important for XP. if you dont have it, you dont get security updates. if you get security updates, you get annoying nagware. if you don't get security updates...

uhhh.

yeah. it isn't that great. I'd make this simpler: switch to linux or call windows and complain if you're up to it. both win without having to sacrifice any actual performance.

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