My computer was running on an XP Pro upgrade I purchased at retail. I
have had a massive hardware failure, rendering the machine useless.
Can I utilize the upgrade on the replacement machine even though it
was registered on the failed one? Do I have any registration issues
to negotiate with Microsoft?
The Microsoft Retail license for XP gives us the right to transfer the
OS from machine to machine, as needed, as long as it is only
installed, activated, and running on one machine at a time.
There is no need to "deactivate" your OS with Microsoft before
transferring it to a new machine. Just
You have a very good chance of having to activate your OS after it is
transferred to a new machine, if you just trransfer the HD of the old
computer into the case of the new one. At this time, you will have to
perform a Repair install (install over top of in-place OS, electing to
keep file structure intact). I personally do not feel that this is
quite in line with our EULA. I am more comfortable with wiping the HD
if it is still healthy, then installing XP "cleanly".
If you install XP "cleanly", your chances of having to reactivate your
OS are virtually 100%. Transferring the network card of the old
computer into the new case will increase your chances of not having to
re-activate. Hopefully, your massive hardware failure was only
confined to the motherboard and CPU.
You may have to activate the new installation by phone and explain the
circumstances of the new activation. Remember that you do not have to
give the Activation support person any personally-identifiable
information.
Donald L McDaniel
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so that conversations may be kept in order
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