Moving XP Pro from a dead PC

  • Thread starter Thread starter Willy
  • Start date Start date
W

Willy

I've a PC that died (will not turn on, old laptop not worth fixing) & has XP
Pro on it I purchased back in April of this year from MS. I've the original
CD from MS.
How can I legally move it to another PC?
 
Worst case it that you have to call MS and reactivate.
In actual fact, what you propose is quite legal.
Unless you purchased an OEM copy, that is, and that might also be OK, since
you would likely be the OEM.
MS will usually give users some slack when they grovel properly. <G>
 
Willy said:
I've a PC that died (will not turn on, old laptop not worth fixing) & has
XP Pro on it I purchased back in April of this year from MS. I've the
original CD from MS.
How can I legally move it to another PC?
Click to expand...

It depends. If Windows was pre-installed on the PC then it is probably an
OEM version, which is not transferrable. If you purchased a "Retail" version
of Windows then it can be transferred.
 
Purchased Retail from MS.
--
Thanks, Bill
Post replies back to News Group

Chuck said:
Worst case it that you have to call MS and reactivate.
In actual fact, what you propose is quite legal.
Unless you purchased an OEM copy, that is, and that might also be OK,
since you would likely be the OEM.
MS will usually give users some slack when they grovel properly. <G>
Click to expand...
 
I purchased it from MS, not OEM, so what is process?
Click to expand...

Install the disk in another computer and use a third-party disk cloning
program to move the contents of the old disk to the new.
 
Willy said:
I've a PC that died (will not turn on, old laptop not worth fixing) &
has XP Pro on it I purchased back in April of this year from MS. I've
the original CD from MS.
How can I legally move it to another PC?
Click to expand...

It doesn't matter where you purchased the CD. All that matters is that
it is a Retail version of Windows XP.

Assuming this is the case...

What do you want to move exactly? Just the license? That is, do you want
to perform a fresh Clean Install of XP on the new PC? If so, just
install it. It may or may not automatically activate over the Internet.
If it doesn't, just call the phone number listed on the screen and
activate over the phone. It's easy.

Do you have a PC in mind? Do you know if there are XP-specific drivers
for its hardware components? If not, you'll have BIG problems!

Or...

Do you want to move the entire contents of the laptop (including all the
installed programs) to the new PC's hard drive? If so, this can probably
be done, but it could be tricky.
 
Laptop died, won't power up, want to put the XP on a desktop thus hard drive
movement impossible.
 
The PC I want to put the XP on, currently has Win 98 SE on it so basically
want to replace it. Nothing to move from dead laptop as I'd already cleaned
off files I wanted when it started acting strange. Have checked hardware on
Desktop I want to put XP on & it's compatible as it was moved from another
desktop I had with XP on it.
So basically a Clean Install I think would be what I'm wanting to do.
 
Make sure that you can get hardware drivers for XP that work for that computer.
Also double check to see if your have enough hardware power on the 98 PC.
 
If there is nothing wrong with the 2.5" hdd from the laptop, you could
pull it and use it with a USB external adapter (about $20-30) for a
back up disk or extra storage. I'm just sayin'.
 
Not quite. Laptop disks *are* removable. With some laptops it is a matter of
removing a few screws at the bottom of the laptop, with others it's like
open heart surgery. After removing it, you could theoretically use an
imaging program to clone the laptop disk onto the desktop disk. Practically
it won't work because Windows XP will almost always fail when ported to
different hardware.

However, it's still worth your while removing the laptop disk. Put it into a
$10.00 USB case, then use it as a backup medium for your desktop. If the
disk is still intact then this would be a very practical thing to have!
 
Then you're good to go. :-)
The PC I want to put the XP on, currently has Win 98 SE on it so
basically want to replace it. Nothing to move from dead laptop as
I'd already cleaned off files I wanted when it started acting
strange. Have checked hardware on Desktop I want to put XP on & it's
compatible as it was moved from another desktop I had with XP on it.
So basically a Clean Install I think would be what I'm wanting to do.
Click to expand...
 
Willy said:
Laptop died, won't power up, want to put the XP on a desktop thus hard drive
movement impossible.
Click to expand...

Why? Remove the drive and put it into a USB enclosure.
The machine not powering up usually means a dud power supply, not a dud
HDD...
 
I've a PC that died (will not turn on, old laptop not worth fixing) & has XP
Pro on it I purchased back in April of this year from MS. I've the original
CD from MS.
How can I legally move it to another PC?
Click to expand...


This is a retail copy, not an OEM copy?

You can do it, and do it as many times as you want. The only
restriction is that it may not be on two computers at once.

How to do it? Nothing special; simply install it. When you activate
you may be prompted to do it by telephone. If so, no problem; just
follow the prompts.
 
The Laptop hard drive is kinda molded to match front of Laptop (old Compaq
Armanda) contours and really has nothing put the XP on it I need, but I have
the Original XP CDs from MS. I mainly used it for Yahoo Messenger to chat
with my son in Afghanistan.
 
Back
Top