COA number?

Sorry for not being specific enough.

I actually need to know the COA NUMBER, not what the
Product Key, Not the PID, not the FCC, not the FDA, nor
the FBI, nor the CIA.

I have a claim form. On the claim form it asks
specifically for the COA number OR the Product key (it is
a legal form that is from MS).

I need to know what the COA looks like. I already know
what a Product key looks like (I tend to reinstall my
WinXP every 40-120 days rather than defrag, so I think I
can recognize the 25-character product key).

I just need to know what they are referring to when they
ask for my COA. Is the COA the product key? Is it a
different number? How do I identify the COA and how is it
different from the Product Key?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

>-----Original Message-----
>Tony wrote:
>

>>Have a question that may be easy to resolve.
>>
>>Which part of the COA is the actual Certificate Of
>>Authenticity number located on? Is this the Product Key?
>>Is it the number below the barcode?

>
>
>The part that matters to you, that you need for a

reinstall, is the

>Product Key - this is the 25 characters in five groups,

like

>
>BH67Y-VMB8G- etc
>
>If you have a machine with XP preinstalled, this will be

on the COA

>label stuck to the back of the machine.
>
>If you bought a retail boxed XP, they are separate - the

COA is on the

>box, the Key on a yellow label stuck to a card inside,

marked 'Do Not

>Lose this Number
>
>
>--
>Alex Nichol MS MVP (Windows Technologies)
>Bournemouth, U.K. Alexn@mvps.org
>.
>