Activation question, puzzling me!

[Guest]

I bought a laptop with XPHome.
I activated XPHome on my laptop over the phone.

I then installed the same copy of XPHome on my desktop, and activated it over the internet, and it worked.

Is this ok?

 

[John Barnett MVP]

No it isn't ok you are breaking your licence agreement. If you have two pc's
then you should have two 'seperate' copies of xp.

 

[Guest]

if i'm not allowed then shouldn't windows not allow me to activate the 2nd "copy?"

 

[Rick \Nutcase\ Rogers]

Hi Ryan,

No, it's one installation on one machine. But, if it worked.........your
only problem may be if you need to reinstall on the primary

--
Best of Luck,

Rick Rogers, aka "Nutcase" - Microsoft MVP

Associate Expert - WindowsXP Expert Zone

Windows help - www.rickrogers.org

I bought a laptop with XPHome.
I activated XPHome on my laptop over the phone.

I then installed the same copy of XPHome on my desktop, and activated it

over the internet, and it worked.

 

[Frank Jelenko]

It's really two licenses - can really use the same copy of the install CD.

 

[Alex Nichol]

It's really two licenses - can really use the same copy of the install CD.

If the same Product Key is used twice then the second activation (on the
Net) should have come up with 'this has been installed too many times'.

It is of course possible that this is a volume or multiply licensed copy
(like for example those obtainable on an MSDN subscription)

 

[Bruce Chambers]

Greetings --

No, it's not really OK. It shouldn't have worked, but no
anti-theft mechanism is 100% fool-proof.

You'll need to purchase a separate WinXP license for each computer
on which you install it.

First of all, you probably have an OEM license for WinXP on
the laptop. An OEM version must be sold with a piece of hardware
(normally a motherboard or hard rive, if not an entire PC) and is
_permanently_ bound to the first PC on which it's installed. An OEM
license, once installed, is not legally transferable to another
computer under _any_ circumstances.

Secondly, as it has *always* been with *all* Microsoft operating
systems, it's necessary (to be in compliance with both the EULA and
U.S. copyright law http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/117.html), if
not technically) to purchase one WinXP license for each computer on
which it is installed. (Consult an attorney versed in copyright law
to determine final applicability in your locale.) The only way in
which WinXP licensing differs from that of earlier versions of Windows
is that Microsoft has finally added a copy protection and anti-theft
mechanism, Product Activation, to prevent (or at least make more
difficult) multiple installations using a single license.


Bruce Chambers
--
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I bought a laptop with XPHome.
I activated XPHome on my laptop over the phone.

I then installed the same copy of XPHome on my desktop, and

activated it over the internet, and it worked.