I wonder if someone can answer me how much hardware I can change in my
computer and still be able to re-register my copy of windows XP.
You mean re-activate, not re-register. Registration is always
completely optional, and is used by Microsoft for marketing purposes.
It's activation that's mandatory.
I´m thinking
of upgrading both the cpu and the hdd.
With one caveat (see below), you can change as much hardware as you
want, as often as you want. You can even take Windows XP off the
existing computer and reinstall it on a completely different computer.
The caveat is that if yours is an OEM copy, as opposed to a retail
one, there's an additional rule: the OEM EULA states that the license
is valid only for the original computer it's installed on, and it may
never be moved to another.
The problem is that the Microsoft OEM EULA does not precisely define
exactly what constitutes the "computer." Some people claim that the
motherboard constitutes the computer. However logical that might seem,
the EULA does not state that, and the EULA is the document that
defines the rights of both parties to the agreement.
Some of those people point to a web site for System Builders, where
Microsoft defines the computer as the motherboard. However it's not
what it says on some web site that defines the customer's rights, it's
the EULA; besides, that web site is not even available to the general
public. I'm not a lawyer, but my guess is that if it ever came to a
court case and someone cited that web site, he'd be laughed out of
court.
So, can you replace a motherboard, consider the result the same
computer, and reuse your OEM copy of Windows? Regardless of what I
think, you think, or anyone else thinks, or even what a court might
rule if it came to that, the real issue is whether Microsoft will
permit you to reactivate if you do. Unfortunately the answer is again
not clear-cut, and we have heard here from people who have had both
experiences--some were reactivated and others were not. If they refuse
to reactivate you and you take them to court, you might win, but who
of us would be willing to undergo that trouble and expense to find
out?
So the answer regarding changing the motherboard, with an OEM version,
is that there is no real answer.
Changing the HD, or even the CPU, on the other hand, should never a
problem.
