Reactivate license after uninstall

[Baley]

Slow system response is forcing me to uninstall Windows CP
Pro from a laptop. I know how to perform the uninstall
and plan to install XP Pro on a PC with more horsepower.
My problem is that the license was activated on the laptop.

1) Does anyone know if there will be a problem de-
activating the license on the laptop and re-activating it
on the PC?

2) What info do I need from the laptop before I uninstall
XP?

3) Do I contact the activation # to re-activate on the PC?

4) Has anyone done this and does Microsoft give you a hard
time about it?

I have one valid license key and don't want to lose it
after removing from the laptop.

Thanks.

 

[Tim Slattery]

Slow system response is forcing me to uninstall Windows CP
Pro from a laptop. I know how to perform the uninstall
and plan to install XP Pro on a PC with more horsepower.
My problem is that the license was activated on the laptop.

1) Does anyone know if there will be a problem de-
activating the license on the laptop and re-activating it
on the PC?

Depends. If the laptop was running an OEM version of the system, then
you're stuck. The OEM license is valid *only* for the machine it comes
with and cannot be transferred.

2) What info do I need from the laptop before I uninstall
XP?

If it's not an OEM version, just install from the CD to the new
machine, and follow the instructions to activate. In the worst case
you'll have to talk to somebody and explain what you've done. Most
likely, you won't even have to do that.

 

[D.Currie]

If it's retail you could transfer, no problem. If it's OEM, you will likely
run into problems.

 

[Ken Blake]

In [email protected], Baley wrote:

Slow system response is forcing me to uninstall Windows CP
Pro from a laptop. I know how to perform the uninstall
and plan to install XP Pro on a PC with more horsepower.
My problem is that the license was activated on the laptop.

1) Does anyone know if there will be a problem de-
activating the license on the laptop and re-activating it
on the PC?

If this is an OEM version (if, for example, it came with the laptop), the terms of the EULA ties it permanently to the first computer it's installed on. So no, you could *not* move it to another computer.

 

[Mike Truitt [Microsoft]]

Baley,

Before going through the trouble of re-installing the Operating System due
to slow system performance, might I suggest that we look at the cause of
the slowness. There are two action items that I would suggest prior to
doing any formating.
1. Install a spyware removal application. Two that I have heard about are
Ad Aware and I personally use SpybotSD on my home systems.
2. Perform clean boot trouble-shooting with msconfig. Try disabling
third-part services and removing items out of the run key.

Best regards,

Mike Truitt
Microsoft Corporation