This happened to me, I did a clean install using my WinXP disk. Then I was asked to enter the Key number. This was a problem, because the number was on the back of the PC. There would have had to be a big upheavel, for me to see it, so I used a mirror. I put the numbers in but they weren't accepted and it asked if I wanted to speak to someone on the phone. I said yes and spoke to a tech, he asked me for the number which i regaled him with. He also said it was incorrect. I didn't say I was reading it with the aid of a mirror. But I stuck to my guns and was adamant that the number was correct. So he gave me another number and all was fine.

Later I checked again using the mirror and realised I had mistakenly confused a 2 and a Z.

The moral of the stoy is: If you believe you are in the right, stand your ground. Who knows what the outcome may be. Afte all they can only accept or reject your statement.