rebuild XP license question

[Todd]

Hi All,

I will be reusing a hard drive from a customer's old computer to
rebuild her a new (except the hard drive) computer. The old computer
has XP Pro on it. We intend to toss the old machine in a dumpster
she has for her business when we are finished. (It is a ~10 year
old piece of crap that was never nice even when it was new.)

Is the old hard drive enough to meet the build rule or do I have
to buy an W7 pro to get new XP license?

Many thanks,
-T

 

[Paul]

Hi All,

I will be reusing a hard drive from a customer's old computer to
rebuild her a new (except the hard drive) computer. The old computer
has XP Pro on it. We intend to toss the old machine in a dumpster
she has for her business when we are finished. (It is a ~10 year
old piece of crap that was never nice even when it was new.)

Is the old hard drive enough to meet the build rule or do I have
to buy an W7 pro to get new XP license?

Many thanks,
-T

What you do with the old license, is a function of what kind of
license it is.

If it's a single use license, then strictly speaking, it goes
into the dumpster too.

But with WinXP, you can always take a chance, install using the
WinXP unbranded OEM install CD used on the old PC, and then
try activating over the net. When I upgraded my motherboard,
I needed to activate, but didn't need to phone anyone. I had
expected "resistance", as it was an OEM disc, but since many
months had passed since the original install, there didn't seem
to be a problem. And there haven't been any problems since,
even after a recent repair install (requiring activation).

If the install CD was a "retail" disc, then you can transfer
that from one PC to another (using only one copy at a time
of course).

If the install CD was "unbranded OEM" disc, such as a system
builder disc you buy at Newegg, strictly speaking that stays
with the original PC. But in my case, a motherboard change
(normally an OEM killer), didn't cause a problem at activation
time. You may find a later OS, doesn't allow that. It's a function
of how the activation server is set at the time.

If the install CD was a "branded OEM" or "royalty OEM" so-called
disc, that uses SLIC from the BIOS table, to validate usage.
So if you had a Dell disc in hand, and tried to bodge that
into a new home-built PC, that should not work. As the SLIC
table would be entirely different, from the new motherboard,
and won't have the word "Dell" in it. Now, there are people
who work on hacking SLIC, so I suppose just about anything
is possible in some of the darker alleys on the Internet.

*******

As for the comment about "toss it in the dumpster", a PC
is "hazardous waste" and especially an older one with lead-based
solder.

You should ask your municipality about what recycling
path is recommended for PCs. They really should not go into
a dumpster.

There are many individuals who could make a few
dollars off that hunk of junk. In my country, there are apparently
still cases, where container ships are taking old PCs to countries
they should not be sent, like India or China, because apparently
there isn't enough checking of such activities at our ports.
But if you give that PC to someone who is a reputable recycler,
the PC could be sent to a "chipping plan" and be ground into
materials to be processed in your own country, without polluting
India or China. The difference is, when a plant processes a chopped
up PC here, the fumes aren't just launched directly into the
atmosphere. In China and India, they "cook" the stuff in open
fires, and who knows where the molten waste goes afterwards.
The cooking is to separate the metals from the rest, and then
the metals can be further refined. The fumes from that, are
none too healthy.

The idea, is to try to prevent the lead solder, from leaching
into the water table.

Paul

 

[RJK]

I think that MS has been, (partly by necessity), quite forgiving since it
dawned on them, (many years ago),
that after a very short period of time, sometimes just a year or two, ones
motherboard has been superceded, exact replacements often unavailable - not
to mention the often ridiculous cost of buying a new/old mobo if avaialable,
and such a major hardware change that would normally kill ones OEM Windows,
I suspect this is largely seen by MS as forgiveable. Not to mention millions
of disgruntled Windows users if MS's OEM policy had been more rigidly
enforced.

I have three OEM Windows Home edition platforms in three PC's, one has had
mobo replaced/upgraded/ and has been reactivated twice, my main PC has gone
through several upgrades inc. four motherboard changes = 4 reactivations,
....I think the third one had to be reactivated when I changed the cpu in it,
....or was it motherboard, ....I forget.
Also I have W7 Ultimate, on a "swappable" hd / bay, that I haven't stuck in
my main PC for at least two months, ...come to think of it I replaced cpu in
that since playing with W7 !!

regards, Richard

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

Hi All,

I will be reusing a hard drive from a customer's old computer to
rebuild her a new (except the hard drive) computer. The old computer
has XP Pro on it. We intend to toss the old machine in a dumpster
she has for her business when we are finished. (It is a ~10 year
old piece of crap that was never nice even when it was new.)

Is the old hard drive enough to meet the build rule or do I have
to buy an W7 pro to get new XP license?

Is this an OEM copy of Windows XP? If it came preinstalled on the
computer, it's OEM. Or if was separately bought, but as an OEM copy.

Are you asking whether you may use that OEM copy of Windows on a
computer that is completely new except for the hard drive that came
with the old one?

No, you may not. The biggest disadvantage of an OEM version is that
its license ties it permanently to the first computer it's installed
on. It can never legally be moved to another computer, sold, or given
away (except with the original computer). Using the old hard drive
does *not* make it the same computer.

On the other hand, if it's a retail copy of Windows, it doesn't have
to be the same computer. You can move it from computer to computer as
often as you want, as long as it's not on two computers at once.




Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP

 

[Todd]

Is this an OEM copy of Windows XP? If it came preinstalled on the
computer, it's OEM. Or if was separately bought, but as an OEM copy.

Are you asking whether you may use that OEM copy of Windows on a
computer that is completely new except for the hard drive that came
with the old one?

No, you may not. The biggest disadvantage of an OEM version is that
its license ties it permanently to the first computer it's installed
on. It can never legally be moved to another computer, sold, or given
away (except with the original computer). Using the old hard drive
does *not* make it the same computer.

On the other hand, if it's a retail copy of Windows, it doesn't have
to be the same computer. You can move it from computer to computer as
often as you want, as long as it's not on two computers at once.




Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP

Hi Ken and everyone who responded to this thread,

I finally had time to hunt down the XP EULA and it
is really blunt that is has to stay on "the" original
computer. Just reusing the hard drive is not enough.
And, after I am done, the new computer will "so" be a
new/different computer.

So, she gets a license to W7 Pro. Would have been
cheaper the other way, but one must stay honest.

Thank you all for your help!

-T

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

Hi Ken and everyone who responded to this thread,

I finally had time to hunt down the XP EULA and it
is really blunt that is has to stay on "the" original
computer. Just reusing the hard drive is not enough.
And, after I am done, the new computer will "so" be a
new/different computer.

Then it's an OEM copy, and you are saying the same thing I said about
it.

Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP