JR said:
is there a way i can change a bad hard drive with a new one and use
the same key with out having to buy a new disk cause i dont have
the old disk.I bought the computer used.
Assuming "disk" is "Compact Disc containing the installation files for
Windows XP" and not another reference to the bad hard "disk" drive you
mention...
Swapping out a hard disk drive with a newer one is not a license
invalidating thing in *any* case. Your hard disk drive is not your
computer - it is merely the storage device for your computer. Even if you
have an OEM copy/license of Windows XP - you can reinstall that same license
on whatever disk drive you end up with in that single computer as often as
you like and activate it as often as you like/need to.
Now - if you are saying you do not have the installation media for Windows
XP and the hard disk drive that came with the computer has become unbootable
and you will be replacing it - but you cannot get a good copy of the old
drive so you can put it on the new drive and make it bootable... Then you
may have a problem. Without the installation media - you are probably out
of luck. Not saying you could not borrow someone elses installation media
of the same version (Home, Pro, etc) and type (OEM, retail, etc) and use
that with the license product key (usually on a sticker on the computer for
OEMs, you might have it written down elsewhere in your case) to do the
install - as you may be able to do that...
