Licensing - Moving XP to a new Hard Drive

[Les]

I have an older computer which came from Dell with an OEM
Windows 98 on it. Later I purchased (and registered) NT
4.0 Workstation. Recently I purchased (and
registered/activated) and upgraded the system to XP
Professional Upgrade.

I now need a larger hard drive, and have found a used one
which I can get for a reasonable price, that has XP
Professional already installed on it. I don't know if
it's been registered/activated or if the XP CD with
product key comes with it.

Assuming no on both of those issues, can I
register/activate the existing XP installation with the
product key of the XP that I purchased. Or, do I have to
physically install my purchased copy of XP on the new
hard drive?

And if the latter is the case, how do I accomplish that
since my purchased XP is the Upgrade version?

Thanks for your help,

Les

 

[mmm, Pie]

If you stick a hard drive in your computer, that has xp installed and setup
for a totally different hardware configuration
1, it's probably going to require activation
2, the hardware change alone is probably gonna be a hassle, uninstalling the
old hardware, and then installing your current hardwares drivers.

I recommend getting norton system works and cloning your current hard drive
over to the new one..then just swap out the HD's and reformat your old one
for use as a slave drive.

 

[Alvin Brown]

Hello Les

Well even if you have to re-activate I recomened doing
a clean install and do not clone the drive, and you can re-
activate XP online or over the phone, that is what I would
do

Alvin

 

[Les]

I did consider cloning. In fact, I used XXCopy to clone
my Win98 hard drive to a larger hard drive a few months
before I upgraded to XP. But I wasn't aware you could
clone XP systems.

Does norton system works do something special, or do you
think XXCopy might accomplish the same thing.

(In case your not familiar with it, XXCopy is a utility I
got from xxcopy.com)

Les

 

[Guest]

I don't mind re-activating. But I don't see how I can do
a clean install since I only have the XP Pro Upgrade, and
I think it needs to see an older version of Windows (98,
ME, NT) on the drive in order to install.

Les

 

[mmm, Pie]

Well, I don't see why it couldn't clone an xp system from drive to
drive...the option is certainly there in sysworks 2003 and 2004.
I mean, if you can make an image of the drive, why couldn't you clone it? I
made an image of my xp system just recently, went of without a hitch.
However, I haven't done any cloning in a while The last time I did was just
for 2 identical systems on win98, after configuring one, I cloned the drive
for the second so I wouldn't have to install the latest patches and plugins
etc.

 

[mmm, Pie]

All you need is the original media to verify.

 

[Ian Ripsher]

I don't mind re-activating. But I don't see how I can do
a clean install since I only have the XP Pro Upgrade, and
I think it needs to see an older version of Windows (98,
ME, NT) on the drive in order to install.

Les

It doesn't need to see an older version of Windows *pre-installed on the
drive* - you can do a clean installation - all you need to do is to show it
the Win98 CD when it asks for it during installation.

 

[Bruce Chambers]

Greetings --

If the WinXP Pro CD, CoA, and Product Key do _not_ come with the
"new" hard drive, then it won't be a legitimate license.

Additionally:

Normally, and assuming either a retail license or a generic
(non-branded) OEM license, unless your motherboard is virtually
identical (same chipset, same IDE controllers, same BIOS version,
etc.) to the one on which the other WinXP installation was originally
performed, you'll need to perform a repair (a.k.a. in-place upgrade)
installation, at the very least:

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

As always when undertaking such a significant change, back up any
important data before starting.

This will probably also require re-activation. If it's been more
than 120 days since you last activated that specific Product Key,
you'll most likely be able to activate via the internet without
problem. If it's been less, you might have to make a 5 minute phone
call.


Bruce Chambers

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[Ken Blake, MVP]

In (e-mail address removed)

I don't mind re-activating. But I don't see how I can do
a clean install since I only have the XP Pro Upgrade, and
I think it needs to see an older version of Windows (98,
ME, NT) on the drive in order to install.

No, that's not correct. The requirement to use an upgrade version
is to *own* a previous qualifying version's installation CD (not
an OEM restore CD), not to have it installed. When setup doesn't
find a previous qualifying version installed, it will prompt you
to insert its CD as proof of ownership. Just insert the previous
version's CD, and follow the prompts. Everything proceeds quite
normally and quite legitimately.

--
Ken Blake - Microsoft MVP Windows: Shell/User
Please reply to the newsgroup

 

[Alex Nichol]

I have an older computer which came from Dell with an OEM
Windows 98 on it. Later I purchased (and registered) NT
4.0 Workstation. Recently I purchased (and
registered/activated) and upgraded the system to XP
Professional Upgrade.

I now need a larger hard drive, and have found a used one
which I can get for a reasonable price, that has XP
Professional already installed on it. I don't know if
it's been registered/activated or if the XP CD with
product key comes with it.

Assuming no on both of those issues, can I
register/activate the existing XP installation with the
product key of the XP that I purchased. Or, do I have to
physically install my purchased copy of XP on the new
hard drive?

I'd clone the current installation on your present drive onto the new
one, clearing off whatever is on it. You will then continue with the
present software without any need for bothers about matching other
hardware, reinstalling software etc. And almost certainly no new
activation needed - unless yo were already on the edge as a result of
other hardware changes

You would be able to continue using your present installation CD and Key
for any future reinstall. Any legal XP that came with the HD (and
probably any there was would not in fact be legit) would be bonus: don't
consider it in the price.