XP Pro machine <>XP Home Machine software swap - licences

[Guest]

Hi,

OK, I have just set up two machines, one XP Pro (retail), one XP Home
(retail). The slight problem being that the one I set up for Home
should have been Pro and vice versa. Both are fully installed, including
online validation, or whatever it is called these days, and patched up
to date. The machines are, of course, dissimilar - different processors,
mobos, nic, hdd, everything. Even different cases - I had assumed that
the customer wanted Home installed on the small, pretty, less powerful
machine and Pro on the 8 bay monster with 2GByte and 10/100/1000 NIC..
Silly me.

Any thoughts? I am just about to simply start again - unless anyone can
suggest an alternative?

Presumably the licences wont online validate anymore? As they are full
retail, AFAIK I can move them between the two machines quite legally.
Do I just phone Microsoft, each time?

 

[Robert Moir]

Any thoughts? I am just about to simply start again - unless anyone
can suggest an alternative?

If the hard drives holding the c:\ partitions are the same, swap them (or
ghost things around) and see if you are gonna be a winner? Invest a bit of
time to see if you can save a lot of time, I guess!

Presumably the licences wont online validate anymore? As they are full
retail, AFAIK I can move them between the two machines quite legally.
Do I just phone Microsoft, each time?

'fraid so. Annoying isn't it?

--
--
Rob Moir, Microsoft MVP for Security
Blog Site - http://www.robertmoir.com
Virtual PC 2004 FAQ -
http://www.robertmoir.co.uk/win/VirtualPC2004FAQ.html
I'm always surprised at "professionals" who STILL have to be asked:
"Have you checked (event viewer / syslog)".

 

[Guest]

If the hard drives holding the c:\ partitions are the same, swap them (or
ghost things around) and see if you are gonna be a winner? Invest a bit of
time to see if you can save a lot of time, I guess!




'fraid so. Annoying isn't it?

Thanks for the reply.

I find myself wishing that Microsoft just based their licence
limitations on usb crypto dongles...

 

[Robert Moir]

Thanks for the reply.

I find myself wishing that Microsoft just based their licence
limitations on usb crypto dongles...

Well whatever option they choose will annoy somebody. At least with
activation and WGA they've achieved consistency and equality by causing a
genuine disadvantage to all their customers.

--
--
Rob Moir, Microsoft MVP for Security
Blog Site - http://www.robertmoir.com
Virtual PC 2004 FAQ -
http://www.robertmoir.co.uk/win/VirtualPC2004FAQ.html
I'm always surprised at "professionals" who STILL have to be asked:
"Have you checked (event viewer / syslog)".