Putting previously purchased copy of XP on another laptop

[army25B]

Hey all-

I am wanting to upgrade to a new laptop. The one I want has Vista on
it.

I have already purchased my own copy of XP home, which works great. I
have no desire to upgrade to Vista.

Whats the deal with registering with microsoft when I try to install
the copy of XP I am currently using on the new machine?

I know you have to register, and MS has some type of DRM that keeps
track of what machine its on. Don't know if its the SID or a hardware
footprint, ect. I would want to remove their entry as it pertains from
this laptop and be able to do a clean install on the new one. I would
only want to use the new laptop.

Anyone know if I can do this without having to purchase a new copy of
XP?

Thanks--

 

[throwitout]

Hey all-

I am wanting to upgrade to a new laptop. The one I want has Vista on
it.

I have already purchased my own copy of XP home, which works great. I
have no desire to upgrade to Vista.

Whats the deal with registering with microsoft when I try to install
the copy of XP I am currently using on the new machine?

I know you have to register, and MS has some type of DRM that keeps
track of what machine its on. Don't know if its the SID or a hardware
footprint, ect. I would want to remove their entry as it pertains from
this laptop and be able to do a clean install on the new one. I would
only want to use the new laptop.

Anyone know if I can do this without having to purchase a new copy of
XP?

Thanks--

If you have a retail copy of XP Home and you are removing XP from your
old machine you're set.

Here's a link about activation:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/307890

Microsoft only keeps records about activation for 120 days. If you've
activated Windows on your old computer in that time period it will
prompt you to call when you try to activate. Should be a quick call
and you're back in business. If it's been more than 120 days since
you've activated that copy of Windows you shouldn't have any problems.

Before you downgrade a vista computer to XP make sure you get ALL the
device drivers for the new computer and burn off any Vista restore
discs for the machine. Also understand that the OEM usually won't
provide you with any XP support whatsoever. Some people will try to
scare you by saying your entire warranty becomes void, which is not
true, just any software warranties and software tech support.

One of the most important things is getting SATA drivers since XP
doesn't come with SATA support. The XP disc must also be using SP1 or
greater to recognize hard drives larger than 137GB.

If you have an old XP disc, you can "slipstream" in SP2 using the tool
nLite. You can also slipstream in your SATA drivers.

http://www.nliteos.com/

 

[Patrick Keenan]

Hey all-

I am wanting to upgrade to a new laptop. The one I want has Vista on
it.

I have already purchased my own copy of XP home, which works great. I
have no desire to upgrade to Vista.

Whats the deal with registering with microsoft when I try to install
the copy of XP I am currently using on the new machine?

I know you have to register, and MS has some type of DRM that keeps
track of what machine its on. Don't know if its the SID or a hardware
footprint, ect. I would want to remove their entry as it pertains from
this laptop and be able to do a clean install on the new one. I would
only want to use the new laptop.

Anyone know if I can do this without having to purchase a new copy of
XP?

Thanks--

The issue is not registration. It is activation, and the two are quite
different. Registration is a marketing and support information tool,
activation is intended to limit installations to what's specified in the
license agreement - one system install per license key.

All versions of Windows, except for Volume License versions, have been
licensed this way. VL allows multiple installs using one key, to the limit
specified by the Volume License purchased. This version starts at five
installs.

Registration is entirely optional, and except for Volume License and some
OEM versions, activation is not optional.

So, if you already have your copy of XP Home installed on another system, to
install it on another system, you need to remove it from the first system.

If online activation doesn't work because the MS activation servers have the
"old" system listed, you will need to call. On the activation dialog, you
should be given an option to activate by phone, and given a toll-free
number. This is quick and once you've told the activation staff that you
have moved the license to the new system, you will be given a string of
characters to type in, about 40 of them. Your system should then activate.

If you want to keep using your XP install on the previous system, you do
need to purchase a second license. You can purchase a key only, but the
savings aren't significant.

Finally and first, you must check that the laptop you want has XP drivers
available for it. If they aren't, do not perform the downgrade, as you
will likely just render the laptop unusable. Choose another laptop
instead, one that has XP available already installed.

HTH
-pk

 

[Patrick Keenan]

If you have a retail copy of XP Home and you are removing XP from your
old machine you're set.

Here's a link about activation:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/307890

Microsoft only keeps records about activation for 120 days. If you've
activated Windows on your old computer in that time period it will
prompt you to call when you try to activate. Should be a quick call
and you're back in business. If it's been more than 120 days since
you've activated that copy of Windows you shouldn't have any problems.

Before you downgrade a vista computer to XP make sure you get ALL the
device drivers for the new computer and burn off any Vista restore
discs for the machine. Also understand that the OEM usually won't
provide you with any XP support whatsoever. Some people will try to
scare you by saying your entire warranty becomes void, which is not
true, just any software warranties and software tech support.

One of the most important things is getting SATA drivers since XP
doesn't come with SATA support.

Sorry, but this isn't entirely correct. XP does come with support for some
SATA motherboards. My desktop system uses an ASUS board, it has only SATA
hard disks, and there is no need to provide no SATA drivers during the
install.

What *is* necessary on that board is a BIOS setting that allows both ATA and
SATA drives. Without that, the SATA drives are not seen by the XP install,
but you do not have to install any drivers.

HTH
-pk