moving xp from one pc to another

  • Thread starter Thread starter Jon
  • Start date Start date
J

Jon

Hey there,

I'm wondering if it is possible to swap a hard drive
(with XP home installed) from one PC to another and have
it boot properly, or whether I have to reformat the drive
and reinstall XP. If the latter is the case, does my
license for XP Home allow me to "move" it to a 2nd PC if
it is removed from the first one?
 
Changing a Motherboard or Moving a Hard Drive with XP Installed
http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/moving_xp.html

How to Perform a Windows XP Repair Install
http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/XPrepairinstall.htm

[Courtesy of MS-MVP Michael Stevens]


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

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


| Hey there,
|
| I'm wondering if it is possible to swap a hard drive
| (with XP home installed) from one PC to another and have
| it boot properly, or whether I have to reformat the drive
| and reinstall XP. If the latter is the case, does my
| license for XP Home allow me to "move" it to a 2nd PC if
| it is removed from the first one?
 
Jon said:
I'm wondering if it is possible to swap a hard drive
(with XP home installed) from one PC to another and have
it boot properly, or whether I have to reformat the drive
and reinstall XP. If the latter is the case, does my
license for XP Home allow me to "move" it to a 2nd PC if
it is removed from the first one?
Click to expand...

Jon,

last question first: yes, that's OK. You may have to reactivate,
and if that doesn't work over the Internet, you may have to call
Microsoft on the phone (number shown in dialog box), but when
you explain what you did, they will read a key to you that will
activate your moved installation.

As to how to move it, you already got very good advice. Some
additional info can be found at
http://www.michna.com/kb/WxMove.htm.

Hans-Georg
 
Greetings --

Assuming a retail license (OEM licenses are not transferable),
simply remove WinXP from the computer it is currently on, and install
it onto the new one. 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.

Here are the facts pertaining to activation:

Piracy Basics - Microsoft Product Activation
http://www.microsoft.com/piracy/basics/activation/

Windows Product Activation (WPA)
http://www.aumha.org/a/wpa.htm

Normally, unless the new motherboard is virtually identical to the
old one (same chipset, same IDE controllers, same BIOS version, etc.),
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 may 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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