installing xp on different pc

[phil]

I purchased a copy of xp home back in 2003 and installed and registered it on
a pc that has long since bitten the dust. I have an old pc my kids are still
using that has windows 2000. I would like to install the xp i bought on it,
but i have heard that it may not work since i registered it on a different
pc. What will i need to do?

 

[Shenan Stanley]

I purchased a copy of xp home back in 2003 and installed and
registered it on a pc that has long since bitten the dust. I have
an old pc my kids are still using that has windows 2000. I would
like to install the xp i bought on it, but i have heard that it may
not work since i registered it on a different pc. What will i need
to do?

Is it a retail copy or OEM copy...?

 

[JS]

If it is a Retail copy of XP home,
then you have no problem installing it on the PC.

However I believe XP home can not be used to
upgrade Windows 2000 and you may need to do
a 'Clean Install'.

 

[Pegasus \(MVP\)]

I purchased a copy of xp home back in 2003 and installed and registered it
on
a pc that has long since bitten the dust. I have an old pc my kids are
still
using that has windows 2000. I would like to install the xp i bought on
it,
but i have heard that it may not work since i registered it on a different
pc. What will i need to do?

You need to ring Microsoft and explain the situation. They will give you a
registration code via the telephone.

Note that you might be better off keeping Windows 2000 unless you have all
the required Windows XP drivers for that machine. Which particular WinXP
feature is it that makes you want to upgrade?

 

[BillW50]

In phil typed on Fri, 2 Jan 2009 12:01:02 -0800:

I purchased a copy of xp home back in 2003 and installed and
registered it on a pc that has long since bitten the dust. I have an
old pc my kids are still using that has windows 2000. I would like to
install the xp i bought on it, but i have heard that it may not work
since i registered it on a different pc. What will i need to do?

Hi Phil! I believe it will work for 30 days anyway. And in that 30 days you
have to call Microsoft and tell them you are transferring the license to
another computer. Or maybe you are supposed to do this before you install
it? Instead of calling Microsoft, maybe you can send them an email. I
believe they want your old key number, so send that too.

--
Bill
2 Gateway MX6124 - Windows XP SP2
3 Asus EEE PC 701G4 ~ 2GB RAM ~ 16GB-SDHC
2 Asus EEE PC 702G8 ~ 1GB RAM ~ 16GB-SDHC
Windows XP SP2 ~ Xandros Linux

 

[Daave]

I purchased a copy of xp home back in 2003 and installed and
registered it on
a pc that has long since bitten the dust. I have an old pc my kids are
still
using that has windows 2000. I would like to install the xp i bought
on it,
but i have heard that it may not work since i registered it on a
different
pc. What will i need to do?

Is your copy of XP Home Retail or OEM? If it's Retail, there's no
problem. If it's OEM, then the license does not permit you to install it
on any other PCs.

What are the specs of this old PC? Knowing the specs determine whether
or not the PC can handle XP in the first place.

 

[db ´¯`·.. >]

perhaps, there is another option
open to you, in that you could take
that hard drive from the dysfunctional
pc and install it onto the functioning
pc as a slave drive, thus moving its
o.s. and expanding the overall hard
disk space for that computer as well.

the above is only a thought to
explore, that is if the old drive
is functional.
--

db·´¯`·...¸><)))º>
DatabaseBen, Retired Professional
- Systems Analyst
- Database Developer
- Accountancy
- Veteran of the Armed Forces

 

[phil]

How can I tell? I assume it is retail since I bought it (it wasn't a disk
that came with a pc). I got the green box and the disk, a windows xp op guide
and the product key.

 

[phil]

Who do i call? The reason I want to upgrade is the kids got new digital
cameras for christmas and the software won't load on 2000. Also my daughter
got a new mp3 player and it requires media player 11 and as near as i can
tell, windows 200 won't allow me to load past version 9. Plus, since i bought
the softwrae and it isnt being used and is newer than 2000, I might as well
use it so becuase i think probably more and more of these issues will pop up
in the future.

 

[David B.]

That is a retail copy. You can install it on another PC with no problems and
it will likely activate without having to call Microsoft.

 

[JS]

Looks like it's a retail version that you have.

 

[Pegasus \(MVP\)]

Google is your friend. Type the following words into a Google search box:

Activate Windows Microsoft

and take it from there.

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

I purchased a copy of xp home back in 2003 and installed and registered it on
a pc that has long since bitten the dust. I have an old pc my kids are still
using that has windows 2000. I would like to install the xp i bought on it,
but i have heard that it may not work since i registered it on a different
pc. What will i need to do?

A retail copy may be moved from one computer to another as often as
desired. An OEM copy is restricted permanently to the first computer
it's installed on, and it may never be moved to another--not even if
the original one dies.

If your product key has the letters "OEM" in it, you may not move it.
Otherwise you may.


Also note that you can *not* do an upgrade from Windows 2000
Professional to XP Home. You will have to clean install it.

 

[Big_Al]

phil said this on 1/2/2009 3:39 PM:

How can I tell? I assume it is retail since I bought it (it wasn't a disk
that came with a pc). I got the green box and the disk, a windows xp op guide
and the product key.

Sounds like a Retail CD, which should be no issue. You should look for
drivers for your video/nic/modem and any other odd devices you have.
You HD and CD will probably work out of the box, but the other items
might give you problems without XP drivers. I'd do a bit of
investigation while you have a working PC. SIW program or Belarc
Advisor are pretty good at giving you details about what is in the PC.
You should try to hunt down XP drivers for as many items as you can
see in device manager.

I do have to admit that SP3 did a lot for my old machine. I just
reloaded an old home built PC, the motherboard was 2001, with an add-on
USB card, and recent video card and a new network card. All required
CD's / floppies with drivers to get them working with the reloaded of
2002 or so. Even the motherboard drivers. But last weeks load with
a copy of XP Home with SP3 slipstreamed into it, allowed me to load with
no extra CDs or drivers. I was very very pleased to see that everything
came up running on the get go.

That's another item for you too. If you have a CD burner, I'd think
about downloading autostreamer and SP3 if your retail CD already has SP1
install and upgrade the CD before you reload. You need SP1 for SP3,
and if you don't have SP1 on the CD now, you can load SP2 then SP3 with
autostreamer. All these programs can be found with google.

Sorry, for being so long winded, (TV shows are poor this time of the
day), all of this is optional and may or may not be needed. But its
better to think about it now than later. You don't seem to be in a
rush, like a failed system, but I know how children can be too.

 

[Patrick Keenan]

I purchased a copy of xp home back in 2003 and installed and registered it
on
a pc that has long since bitten the dust. I have an old pc my kids are
still
using that has windows 2000. I would like to install the xp i bought on
it,
but i have heard that it may not work since i registered it on a different
pc. What will i need to do?

Install it and see what happens. Either it will activate, which is likely,
or it won't.

If it's an OEM version, and this will be on the disk label, the license died
with the system it was first installed on.

If it's an OEM version, to install you will have to wipe the disk; these
versions won't allow either parallel or upgrade installs. If you're
offered an upgrade, it's not an OEM version and you can install as you wish.

HTH
-pk

 

[Thip]

I purchased a copy of xp home back in 2003 and installed and registered it
on
a pc that has long since bitten the dust. I have an old pc my kids are
still
using that has windows 2000. I would like to install the xp i bought on
it,
but i have heard that it may not work since i registered it on a different
pc. What will i need to do?

This is the 2nd PC I've had this copy on (purchased, not OEM). Didn't have
a problem at all.

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

This is the 2nd PC I've had this copy on (purchased, not OEM). Didn't have
a problem at all.

You apparently think that purchased copies are retail rather than OEM.
That is *not* correct. OEM copies are of two types: those that come
preinstalled on OEM computers, and those can be bought without a
computer.

OEM copies have the letters "OEM" as part of the product key. If those
letter aren't there, it's retail, not OEM.

 

[Thip]

You apparently think that purchased copies are retail rather than OEM.
That is *not* correct. OEM copies are of two types: those that come
preinstalled on OEM computers, and those can be bought without a
computer.

OEM copies have the letters "OEM" as part of the product key. If those
letter aren't there, it's retail, not OEM.

--

Didn't I say "not OEM"? 'Scuse the lack of correct semantics.

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

Didn't I say "not OEM"? 'Scuse the lack of correct semantics.

You said "purchased, not OEM." My point was simply that purchased
copies *can* be OEM, and often are.

If yours isn't OEM, then fine. I just wanted to be sure that you
understood what you had.