windows xp on multiple computers

[Guest]

i purchased a student edition of windows xp pro with sp2 recently for a
little laptop that i inherited from a family member. this copy is registered
on the laptop and all is go. however, my desktop computer has been running
windows xp home edition for about 3 1/2 years now and last night i
reformatted my hard drive. i'd like to actually install xp pro on the
desktop since it's actually my primary computer but wasn't sure if it was
legal to do so (i'd like to get my updates and whatnot). a quick answer
would be appreciated!

thanks!

 

[peter]

its legal to do so if you uninstall it from the laptop
peterk

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

i purchased a student edition of windows xp pro with sp2 recently for
a little laptop that i inherited from a family member. this copy is
registered on the laptop and all is go. however, my desktop computer
has been running windows xp home edition for about 3 1/2 years now
and last night i reformatted my hard drive.

Why? It'e very seldom a good thing to do.

i'd like to actually
install xp pro on the desktop since it's actually my primary computer
but wasn't sure if it was legal to do so (i'd like to get my updates
and whatnot). a quick answer would be appreciated!

No. The rule is quite clear. It's one copy (or one license) for each
computer.

There's nothing new here. This is exactly the same rule that's been in
effect on every version of Windows starting with Windows 3.1. The only thing
new with XP is that there's now an enforcement mechanism.

Why do you want /Professionalinstead of Home? Are you aware that XP Home and
Professional are identical except that Professional includes a few features
(mostly related to security and networking) missing from Home? Most home
users (even those with home networks) don't need and would never use these
extra features and will see no benefits by upgrading.

For details go to

http://www.winsupersite.com/showcase/windowsxp_home_pro.asp

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/whichxp.asp>

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/home/howtobuy/choosing2.asp

Also note another point, not included in any of the above: Professional
allows ten concurrent network connections, and Home only five.

 

[Cindy Winegarden]

Hi Ken,

Well, not usually a good thing for inexperienced users ..... but my laptop
sure needs it every six months or so, and since I rebuilt my desktop at work
over the weekend it runs about twice as fast!

Cheers!

 

[spiteinyourmouth]

technically you *can* do it, but it is *illegal*