Putting previously purchased copy of XP on another laptop

[Guest 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--

[Guest throwitout]

Re: Putting previously purchased copy of XP on another laptop

 

On Mar 1, 8:47 pm, army25B <melvill...@hotmail.com> wrote:

> 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/

[Guest Patrick Keenan]

Re: Putting previously purchased copy of XP on another laptop

 

"army25B" <melville74@hotmail.com> wrote in message

news:fd95bd79-5e31-41d5-8f52-314732542bb2@x30g2000hsd.googlegroups.com...

> 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

[Guest Patrick Keenan]

Re: Putting previously purchased copy of XP on another laptop

 

"throwitout" <throwitout@dodgeit.com> wrote in message

news:59eea650-b3c7-4996-9bec-e29054dcfbd9@k2g2000hse.googlegroups.com...

> On Mar 1, 8:47 pm, army25B <melvill...@hotmail.com> wrote:

>> 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.

 

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

> 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/