eMachines OEM license question

[Michael A. Covington]

Greetings,

I have an eMachines PC that has an OEM license for XP Home (with its license
key on a sticker), but right now, because of a disk transplant, it is
running XP Home installed from a different disk (an upgrade disk rather than
an OEM full install disk).

I'd like to get it running under its own license so as to free up the other
license for use elsewhere.

As I understand it, the eMachines "restore disk" will not do a normal
Windows installation. However, I have available to me a generic OEM Windows
XP disk.

My questions are:

(1) Could I reinstall from the generic OEM disk using the eMachines product
key?

(2) Is there a way to tell Windows to consider itself installed from a
different disk without actually reinstalling all of it?

Thanks!

 

[Ron Martell]

Greetings,

I have an eMachines PC that has an OEM license for XP Home (with its license
key on a sticker), but right now, because of a disk transplant, it is
running XP Home installed from a different disk (an upgrade disk rather than
an OEM full install disk).

I'd like to get it running under its own license so as to free up the other
license for use elsewhere.

As I understand it, the eMachines "restore disk" will not do a normal
Windows installation. However, I have available to me a generic OEM Windows
XP disk.

My questions are:

(1) Could I reinstall from the generic OEM disk using the eMachines product
key?

That may or may not work. If the original eMachines OEM version was
BIOS Locked (self-activating on a machine with a motherboard BIOS from
eMachines) then it will not work as the product key has been blocked
from being activated over the Internet or by telephone.

(2) Is there a way to tell Windows to consider itself installed from a
different disk without actually reinstalling all of it?

Not really.


Your "best" solution is to simply reinstall the eMachines OEM Windows
XP and then clean it up by removing any other software that installs
along with the eMachines Windows version.

What specific concerns do you have about doing this? There should be
zero difference in functionality or usability once the install is
completed and updated.

Good luck

Ron Martell Duncan B.C. Canada
--
Microsoft MVP (1997 - 2006)
On-Line Help Computer Service
http://onlinehelp.bc.ca

"Anyone who thinks that they are too small to make a difference
has never been in bed with a mosquito."