Convert illegal XP to legal

[Barium Nitrate]

My employer is now convinced of the evils of software piracy and would like
to convert the OS on their machines.
They are currently using XP Corporate with the "FCKGW" key.

Can they simply use the keys from retail/legal copies of XP Pro in their
current setup? In other words, will XP Corp. accept an XP Pro key?

If they must reinstall the OS, can they install XP Pro on top of XP
Corporate without losing all their current 3rd party software?

BN

 

[Jose Francisco]

Greetings,

You can read this article -
http://labmice.techtarget.com/windowsxp/articles/changeID.htm on how to
change "Windows XP's product ID".

And yes illegal versions of Windows XP would accept legal keys.
Unfortuantely, you won't be able to activate Windows since it's an illegal
copy.. In my opioin I recommend you to backup all your data and programs and
do a clean install of Windows XP. Here's a guide on how to do it -
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/setup/expert/honeycutt_02october07.mspx

Thanks and best of luck!

 

[S.Sengupta]

How to change the Volume Licensing product key on a Windows XP SP1-based
computer

http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=328874

How to Perform an In-Place Upgrade of Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/directory/article.asp?ID=KB;EN-US;Q315341

regards,
ssg MS-MVP
pronetworks.org

 

[Greg R]

Greetings,

You can read this article -
http://labmice.techtarget.com/windowsxp/articles/changeID.htm on how to
change "Windows XP's product ID".

And yes illegal versions of Windows XP would accept legal keys.
Unfortuantely, you won't be able to activate Windows since it's an illegal
copy.. In my opioin I recommend you to backup all your data and programs and
do a clean install of Windows XP. Here's a guide on how to do it -
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/setup/expert/honeycutt_02october07.mspx

Thanks and best of luck!

If illegal version of xp would accept legal keys. He should still be
able to activate it once his key is changed. It would be consider an
legal version. Since he bought xp legally.

Greg R

 

[Jupiter Jones [MVP]]

Jose;
Not necessarily correct in this case
If the new keys are for Volume License, then they will work.

However if the new keys are for Windows XP Pro retail, they are not
compatible and a Repair Installation is necessary.

The site you referenced is a bad copy of the official site:
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=328874
This site makes it clear it is for Volume License (often called
Corporate, there is no such thing)

 

[Jupiter Jones [MVP]]

BN;
If your new copies are Volume License, follow this link:
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=328874

However if the new licenses are Retail Windows XP Pro, you will need
to perform a Repair Installation using the new CD and Product Key:
http://www3.telus.net/dandemar/repaxp.htm

 

[Barium Nitrate]

However if the new licenses are Retail Windows XP Pro, you will need
to perform a Repair Installation using the new CD and Product Key:
http://www3.telus.net/dandemar/repaxp.htm

Thank you, that's the answer I was searching for.

The new licenses will be retail.

We will be doing a backup. However, is it safe to tell them that the Repair
Installation procedure will NOT affect the current software? Do we have to
worry about file permissions, etc.

 

[Jupiter Jones [MVP]]

Data, settings and applications should be safe...

 

[Barium Nitrate]

BN;
If your new copies are Volume License, follow this link:
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=328874

However if the new licenses are Retail Windows XP Pro, you will need
to perform a Repair Installation using the new CD and Product Key:
http://www3.telus.net/dandemar/repaxp.htm

Just want to close the loop on this...

We did a Repair Installation, entered the new key when prompted on reboot,
activated, updated, and everthing is working great! (so far)

Thanks a million