The serial number of Windows XP on the laptop and the sticker do not match

Question

Law in IT

Kind.

The Windows XP serial number on the laptop and the sticker do not match on almost all of the company's laptops (more than 15 pieces). This is "normal" because these are OEM SLP keys (the system is installed from a single image)

How will the OBEP react to this?
What explanations would be required if they were tense by such a discrepancy?

Answer 1

A recently purchased Acer Aspire One 751h had Windows XP Home Edititon installed. The key at the bottom was different from the one actually used in the system. A request has been made to Acer support. The answer was:
Good afternoon.
These are features of pre-installed OEM systems.
On our laptops (and not only on ours, but from any manufacturer whose computers are sold with a pre-installed system)
, when they leave the factory, there is a pre-installed system, the so-called “factory Preload”.
This Preload assumes installation on a specific model range and is “tied” to the hardware of the computer,
i.e., such a system will not be activated on a non-ACER computer (and even on ACER, but of a different model range).
By the way, this allows you to install an already activated system.
At the factory, the same system image is “filled” onto hard drives of a specific model range (that is, with the same key!),
And stickers are glued with different keys.
So it's not surprising that the product key you see in Windows doesn't match the one written on the laptop's COA label.
All this is agreed with Microsoft and the sticky stickers (with different keys) are only confirmation that a
genuine licensed Windows system is installed on the computer.
Sincerely,
ACR Hotline

Answer 2

As far as I know, a sign of a licensed Windows on a piece of iron is the presence of a license sticker. Even if the OS is installed and even activated on the computer and there is no sticker, it will be considered that this is a pirated version. Serial numbers are not checked by anyone. in laptops, a special method is used for activation (I didn’t really understand which one).

Answer 3

In other words, if I put a suitable pirated assembly on a laptop with a licensed XP Pro, will everything be all right?

Answer 4

Hack it on your nose, for the OBEP a sign of licensing is the presence of purchase documents in the accounting department. Without them - at least glue from head to toe.
And the question about mismatched serial numbers (maximum) is solved by a request from the office in the MS.

Answer 5

I talked with a forensic specialist who conducts examinations for licensing. We (Volgograd), as I understand it, are looking for a sticker or just a sufficient number of licenses.

Answer 6

need stickers + documents accounting documents on the purchase of licenses. Coincidences are not checked, as a rule, if all this is.

Answer 7

in general, on most new laptops they also do not match) since they are installed and activated at the factory through some kind of certificate for OEMs. There are even utilities that allow you to extract the keys from the installed original Windows and, after installing a clean Windows, restore them and thus avoid the need for reactivation, which would be required if you enter the serial number from the sticker during reinstallation.