Clone of WinXP Hard Drive

  • Thread starter Thread starter jimbo
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jimbo

I have a PC with WinXP and a couple of Linux distros. My boot manager
is Lilo. Everything works just fine. Recently, I cloned my first hard
drive to my second hard drive. Then I had occasion to do do some
reconfiguration of Lilo and I noticed that the second hard drive WinXP
and the other Linux distros show as boot options. Well, I had to give
it a try and guess what? I can boot the WinXP clone with no problems.

Now a question: What are the implications regarding having two copies
of WinXP with only one license?

Thanks for any thoughts, jimbo
 
You need to own an individual license for each installation
of Windows XP on the same computer...no exceptions!

Go to Start >Run box type: WINVER , and hit enter. Then click on the
"End-User License Agreement" and read it. Your answer
lies in that agreement.

You can also open XP's "Help and Support" and type: EULA
and hit enter. Click on "Questions and answers about the EULA".

How to obtain additional licenses for Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;814175&Product=winxp

--
Carey Frisch
Microsoft MVP
Windows XP - Shell/User

Be Smart! Protect Your PC!
http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/protect/default.aspx

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

:

| I have a PC with WinXP and a couple of Linux distros. My boot manager
| is Lilo. Everything works just fine. Recently, I cloned my first hard
| drive to my second hard drive. Then I had occasion to do do some
| reconfiguration of Lilo and I noticed that the second hard drive WinXP
| and the other Linux distros show as boot options. Well, I had to give
| it a try and guess what? I can boot the WinXP clone with no problems.
|
| Now a question: What are the implications regarding having two copies
| of WinXP with only one license?
|
| Thanks for any thoughts, jimbo
 
jimbo said:
I have a PC with WinXP and a couple of Linux distros. My boot manager
is Lilo. Everything works just fine. Recently, I cloned my first hard
drive to my second hard drive. Then I had occasion to do do some
reconfiguration of Lilo and I noticed that the second hard drive
WinXP and the other Linux distros show as boot options. Well, I had
to give it a try and guess what? I can boot the WinXP clone with no
problems.

Now a question: What are the implications regarding having two copies
of WinXP with only one license?
Click to expand...
You can run as many copies of xp as you wish on the same computer.
Click to expand...

While technically 100% correct, it would be against strict interpretation of
the EULA.
As a side note - no one has really strictly interpretted the EULA and made
it stick on an individual basis. *grin*
 
As an aside, in the UK most software EULA's would be unenforceable if ever
bought before a court
 
The Microsoft Windows XP End-User License Agreement
is a legal document and is indeed "enforceable" in every
country the software is sold.

Please refrain from misleading others who are seeking honest answers!

--
Carey Frisch
Microsoft MVP
Windows XP - Shell/User
Microsoft Newsgroups

Get Windows XP Service Pack 2 with Advanced Security Technologies:
http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/protect/windowsxp/choose.mspx

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

:

| As an aside, in the UK most software EULA's would be unenforceable if ever
| bought before a court
 
US "fair use laws" not mentioned in EULA, does allow one to make a copy
of "both" the installation media and the installed results, this is called a
"backup" and "recovery" copy . In the OP's case it so happens his recovery
copy is bootable, which is normal with disk cloning/imaging software - they
were designed that way on purpose for quick recovery and reduced loss of
downtime.
Also note, many of MS's own KB's instruct one to make a parallel
installation to allow recovery of personal data files when the original
installation becomes unbootable and nonrepairable or to remove offending
drivers, files or updates to make said original installation bootable again.
Here MS themselves have instructed one to violate their own EULA, unless
they be so naive to believe one would be required to purchase another
license just for said purpose of backup and/or recovery.


--

Star Fleet Admiral Q @ your Service!

http://www.google.com
Google is your "Friend"
 
Jimbo,
If you are going to use the cloned copy for backup/recovery purposes,
then don't worry about it, you can do this via "fair use laws", but if you
are going to boot to it, configure it differently, say run one for day to
day use and the other you have configured for development, then
"technically" you need another license, but again "technically" WPA can't
tell the difference as it still has the same Hardware Hash results, as it is
on the same machine. So basically, let your conscience be your guide.

--

Star Fleet Admiral Q @ your Service!

http://www.google.com
Google is your "Friend"
 
Thanks for your reply Admiral,

That is about what I was thinking. I suppose MS could write the EULA
to require a second copy if a person booted up more than five times a
day or some such nonsense. But practical enforcement is another matter.

jimbo
 
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