Can you ask for a new Windows Sticker at the back of your laptop?

Mine came with partially damaged sticker. Since it was raining for a good week during the delivery the back wasn't stuck very well. Even the security strips in the sticker have been exposed and I'm scared I might damage it more everytime I rub it against my knees.

Question is can I ask for a new Windows sticker from Dell?
You know the one with COA and authenticity?

 

No you cannot get another sticker with that COA unfortunatly.

Rather, you can ask but they won't.

 

Take a look at these photos. If you are talking about the hole where it looks like a part has been torn off, then don't worry. That is the way it is made. A security feature by MS.

 

Its completely normal, if you exchanged the laptop for a new one, the sticker would be in simialr condition. Next time your at a big box store, check out the bottom of the display notebooks, they will be the same also.

 

That's normal.

 

wow Ahzuz Thanks for clearing that up, I always thought mine was messed up too! haha

 

Thanks guys, So that's normal. Mine's just like Ahzuz's sticker but it had a few bubbles but I can only assume that's normal too.

Doesn't that look fragile when you put it on your knees?

 

Yea its pretty normal. What I did was I wrote all the info down just incase the sticker becomes unreadable or damaged

 

And if the sticker ever totally rubs off, look up a program called JellyBean. It can get the code from your install for you. Just run it and it tells you the install code from the machine it's running on.

 

the code on the bottom isnt your key anyways. Your laptop is running an oem key that is crc checked with your laptops hardware config (so it can be installed on the same model laptops, but not on different model computers).

The number on the bottom is a unique identifier so you can get help from MS tech support.

 

Wow, that's crazy! I noticed the same rip on my new HP Vista laptop and and I was worried that something happened in shipping. So I took a clear plastic sticky iPod screen protector and cut it to cover my "damaged" OEM sticker, just in case. I hope I didn't just invalidate the warranty...

 

What are you talking about ? The number on that sticker, product key or serial number or whatever you call it, is needed to reinstall Windows.

 

phoenix, ever tried to reinstall windows with those keys? it don't worky. Well actually, if you use dells reinstall cd's you arn not even asked for the key because it allready knows the OEM key. However if you tried an off the shelf XP installation cd and plugged in the number on the bottom of your laptop, it won't accept it.

Like I said, it uniquely identifies you as a valid xp liscense owner to MS, but your actual key is an OEM key for your model dell laptops.

 

Yes I have, I have installed XP on 3 Inspirons (630m, E1405, E1505) and Vista on a XPS M1210. I used XP OEM (Non DELL) CDs, and Vista retail DVD. On all occasions I used the product key on the notebook. However I once installed XP Pro DELL OEM on a Latitude and it didn't ask for the key.

Ok, if you use the bundled DELL CD, you don't need. . But I rarely use it.