I was given a pc w/minor problems, now fixed, and works great... except for a few minor glitches.
One is that I'm unsure of the OS's genuinity.
The pc came w/Windows XP Professional Version 2002 installed, but no Service Pack 2. Unfortunately, I have no CD.
Many times I'm confronted w/the need to have SP2 (i.e. cannot dwnld certain anti-virus protection programs).
I recall reading a thread not long ago discussing the annoyances ran into after checking online and discovering their OS was not genuine. I don't know if mine is or not, but am hesitant to try to find out.
Can someone tell me maybe the pros & cons of testing it out???
(almost biting my nails)
Thx!
Rosa~

Hello rosenbeto,well you have seen or read about most of the pros and cons.In the end there is only one thing you can do and it is to go online and hope for the best.........

The most obvious 'Pro' would be you'll know for sure it's genuine. The most obvious 'Con' is that using a pirated copy of XP (or any licensed software) is illegal.

You can go to Microsoft Update and you'll find out in short order whether or not your O/S is genuine.

Hi

It use to be, that you can activate your Windows XP installation-if it does not happen automatically- (read why from Microsoft here) by running:
%systemroot%\system32\oobe\msoobe.exe

This is just another LEGITIMATE way to activate your copy of Windows XP, in case your system has not been automatically activated.

This is something that can happen for a number of reasons (unattended setup is one reason, click on the link above to see more).

As was stated by others, you seem to have the option of either Activating Windows, or keep using an illegal copy.

In the latter case we can no longer assist you.