Loading XP Pro onto 2nd computer

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I have a laptop that came with XP Pro. I have recently purchased a barebones
desktop system to network with it. Am I legally allowed to load my laptop's
XP Pro onto this desktop system? If so, are there any particular's to be
aware of?
 
No.
As with all consumer Microsoft operating systems at least through Windows
95, one license, one computer.
If you want Windows XP on two computers, you need to buy a second copy.
 
randallbc said:
I have a laptop that came with XP Pro. I have recently purchased a barebones
desktop system to network with it. Am I legally allowed to load my laptop's
XP Pro onto this desktop system? If so, are there any particular's to be
aware of?
Click to expand...


Yyou can't. You'll need to purchase a separate WinXP Pro license
for each computer on which you install it.

First of all, your laptop computer has an OEM license for
WinXP. An OEM version must be sold with a piece of hardware (normally a
motherboard or hard rive, if not an entire PC) and is _permanently_
bound to the first PC on which it's installed. An OEM license, once
installed, is not legally transferable to another computer under _any_
circumstances.

Secondly, as it has *always* been with *all* Microsoft operating
systems, it's necessary (to be in compliance with both the EULA and
U.S. copyright law http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/117.html), if
not technically) to purchase one WinXP license for each computer on
which it is installed. (Consult an attorney versed in copyright law
to determine final applicability in your locale.) The only way in
which WinXP licensing differs from that of earlier versions of Windows
is that Microsoft has finally added a copy protection and anti-theft
mechanism, Product Activation, to prevent (or at least make more
difficult) multiple installations using a single license.

--

Bruce Chambers

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JJ, I as an old time DOS user have read many EULAs. If you read the EULA on
the package of MS-DOS 3.1 it also said one copy, one computer. No one ever
paid any attention to it however. All OS EULA from Microsoft since at least
then have said the same thing. JFYI.
 
LVTravel said:
JJ, I as an old time DOS user have read many EULAs. If you read the EULA
on
the package of MS-DOS 3.1 it also said one copy, one computer. No one
ever
paid any attention to it however. All OS EULA from Microsoft since at
least
then have said the same thing. JFYI.
Click to expand...


I think much of the reason no one paid attention to the rule back then was
that the people who owned computers usually only owned one, so there was no
reason to need several copies of the OS.

Even when home computers became more popular, the trend was one computer for
the family. Now it's common for there to be multiple computers in the house.
Instead of trading in or upgrading, people buy a new computer and keep the
older one as well. So there's a new need for several copies of the OS in the
house.
 
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