wki1234 said:
I have a WinXP Pro cd from my son that can be used legitimately on
multiple PC's, and I want to use it to do an upgrade from Win2000
on an existing PC.
I don't want to do this and then find there are no more legal
installs left on the cd. Is there a way to determine how many
installs are left?
If not, will the install process let me revert back to Win2000?
The CD has little to do with it's ability to install on more than one PC
"legitimately". It is a licensing issue - not one of the CD type - although
the "volume license" you would have to have *can* come with a different
media type - it really isn't relevant.
In other words - what it sounds like you are describing is a volume license.
Are you sure you have this type of license?
http://www.microsoft.com/resources/howtotell/ww/faq.mspx
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/326904
The only way to really tell is to install it. That and/or ask your son how
many systems it is installed on now and what type of license is it. If the
answer is "corporate license" and the CD you have is a CD-R with "Windows
XP" written with a sharpie <-- yeah - chances are the copy is not
legitimate - downloaded off the internet with the volume license key
integrated into the setup so you don't have to even enter it when
installing. *grin*
Then again - I could be wrong - it could be a legitimate copy and your son
integrated SP2 into the expensive licenced copy of Windows XP he had bought
earlier .. This and more can be integrated into the install. If it is
this - then there is still no way to tell without asking your son how many
licenses he bought and how many computers he installed it on thus far.
