A question before I reinstall XP . . .

[Steve Conover]

I'm building a new machine, loaded XP (OEM) onto it yesterday,
then got online and did all the updates including SP2. After
installing PC-cillin antivirus, I've been running into all sorts
of problems, including inability to uninstall PCcillin, "bad
password" message from my email server, "bad password" message
from news server, and a few other annoyances.

Here's my question: Given that I've already registered my new
copy of XP online already, will the XP "registration" process
give me problems if I do a clean install on the same hardware,
then go online to get the updates again? (I'm even thinking
about repartitioning the hard drive before installing XP.)

Thanks,
Steve


Delete the ZZZ.
It keeps spam
off the server.

 

[PA Bear]

An OEM or Retail version of WinXP, please, on a machine you're building?

 

[Harry Ohrn]

Firstly I think you are confusing registration with activation. These are 2
different things. Registration is completely optional but activation is
mandatory. Secondly you can install and activate XP as many times as you
wish on the same system. You should read through this excellent article to
understand activation better http://aumha.org/win5/a/wpa.htm

Please bear in mind that all OEM versions are tied to the first system they
are installed on. Therefore this copy of XP is now only approved to be
installed on the system have previously installed it to. However as
mentioned above you can re-install it as often as you like to this system.
You can also make hardware changes as well.

 

[Steve Conover]

Thanks, Harry. I already registered it, and it will be going
onto the same exact hardware, although I do plan to upgrade the
monitor after I get the new system up and running. Because my XP
is OEM, I'll just forget about the activation issue.

First I'll research antivirus software versus service pack 2.
Although I'm working behind a firewall (Sonicwall SOHO3) already,
I won't be using the SP2 personal firewall, but I think I'll
still need some SP2-compatible av software -- which Trend Micro's
PC-cillin apparently is not (judging from the problems I'm
having).

Steve

Firstly I think you are confusing registration with activation. These are 2
different things. Registration is completely optional but activation is
mandatory. Secondly you can install and activate XP as many times as you
wish on the same system. You should read through this excellent article to
understand activation better http://aumha.org/win5/a/wpa.htm

Please bear in mind that all OEM versions are tied to the first system they
are installed on. Therefore this copy of XP is now only approved to be
installed on the system have previously installed it to. However as
mentioned above you can re-install it as often as you like to this system.
You can also make hardware changes as well.

Delete the ZZZ.
It keeps spam
off the server.

 

[Steve Conover]

OEM.

An OEM or Retail version of WinXP, please, on a machine you're building?

Delete the ZZZ.
It keeps spam
off the server.

 

[Guest]

You can active XP as many times as you wish on the same exact system. Doing
things that make the system look different, like repartitioning the hard
drive, can give you problems because the system info recorded by MS is
different than the new configuration.

Calling MS to do a manual activation will usually fix this problem if you
explain what you did. They will reset your copy of the software in the
activation database and you can then do a reinstall. I have this problem
with MS Office as I usually upgrade to a new PC long before the next copy of
office comes out.

 

[Harry Ohrn]

WPA only concerns itself with select hardware in your system. Peripherals
like monitors, keyboards, mice, printers, scanners, cameras, USB drives,
etc, etc are not affected and can be swapped out as often as you desire
without triggering WPA.

 

[PA Bear]

See Harry's second paragraph:

Please bear in mind that all OEM versions are tied to the first system
they
are installed on. Therefore this copy of XP is now only approved to be
installed on the system have previously installed it to. However as
mentioned above you can re-install it as often as you like to this system.
You can also make hardware changes as well.

 

[Rock]

Thanks, Harry. I already registered it, and it will be going
onto the same exact hardware, although I do plan to upgrade the
monitor after I get the new system up and running. Because my XP
is OEM, I'll just forget about the activation issue.

You're not understanding this. Activation is required whether OEM or
retail. Registration is never required for either.

 

[Mike Kolitz]

Steve,

If you're reinstalling Windows on the exact same hardware, you shouldn't
have any problems *activating*. Registration is totally optional.

 

[Steve Conover]

You're right, I got it backwards. But it sounds like I don't
need to worry about activation, because it's all on the same
hardware.

Related subject: I installed MS Office 2002 from my CD,
registered it, then tried to install the SP3 updates.
Installation failed twice, then I quit trying. Could that have
something to do with the fact that the software is still running
on my old machine?

Thanks,
Steve

You're not understanding this. Activation is required whether OEM or
retail. Registration is never required for either.

Delete the ZZZ.
It keeps spam
off the server.