Moving XP to all-new hardware

[Steve Conover]

I'm building an all-new system (MB, HD, memory, CPU, video &
sound cards).

My original, now-obsolete plan was to clone the XP hard drive
(for safety) using Norton Ghost, then move the original drive to
the new motherboard, carefully following the instructions at this
web page:
http://www.theeldergeek.com/replace_motherboard.htm

However, I decided to upgrade to a serial ATA hard drive for the
new machine. Old MB can't handle serial ATA, therefore I had to
ditch the cloning plan.

New plan: Use original (last year's) XP CD and do a from-scratch
install to the new SATA drive on the new MB, including whatever
time it takes (hours?) to update XP for all the patches issued in
the last year -- while maintaining full access to the internet
via the old machine.

Problem: XP activation unknowns. Although I plan to toss the old
hardware once I'm up and running on the new machine, I'll need
the old machine for internet access (eg, to get to this
newsgroup) while I'm getting the new machine up and running.
Therefore, for a short time, I'll have my one-and-only copy of XP
Pro running on two machines.

At a minimum, I'll have to connect to the internet during the XP
install to get the updates -- at which time I fully expect
Microsoft's cyber police "catch me red-handed" with the same copy
of XP running on two machines -- and I'm sure they won't care
that it's just a transitory situation.

Any suggestions about the best way for me to handle that
transitory phase?

Thanks,
Steve


Delete the ZZZ.
It keeps spam
off the server.

 

[Jerry]

If your copy of XP is a full copy bought at a store somewhere and it's been
over 120 days since you first installed and activated then doing a new
install on the new system will not be a problem. You will activate just like
you did the first time.

You could save a little time by downloading the full SP2 install package,
270+Mb, and having it ready to install immediately after installing XP
itself.

 

[Colin Nash [MVP]]

Activation doesn't check if you have two copies online at the same time. It
only cares if your copy of XP has been activated before (if you install it
on Computer A, activate on A, Computer A blows up and so you go to install
on Computer B, you will have problems with activation regardless of the fact
that Computer A no longer exists.)

Like Jerry said, if it has been 120 days since you activated on the first
computer, you will probably be ok. Otherwise, choose the "activate by
phone" option and speak to a MS rep. Explain what you are doing and they
will hopefully give you a code to manually activate it. Although
technically speaking you really should be removing it from your first
computer before you start the install. Microsoft doesn't "lend" temporary
licenses Keep that in mind if you call them.

Also you don't need to activate right away when you install Windows. It
does give you 30 days.

Finally, if your original copy of XP was an "OEM" copy that came sold with a
computer, I believe Microsoft's licensing policy is that its tied to the
hardware you bought it with. Not sure how they deal with that in terms of
activation.

 

[Barry Watzman]

Althought there are some concerns, they are not, I don't think, what you
expect, and far less than you expect.

First, let me suggest a possible alternate new strategy: True, the old
computer doesn't support SATA, but the new computer probably does
support IDE. Install both old (IDE) and new (SATA) drives, and CDROM.
BOOT from a PowerQuest Drive Image 2002 CD (which is bootable). It
should let you move the old drive's contents to the new SATA drive,
similar to your original plan.

As to activation, first, they don't continuously check activation. An
activated computer won't contact MS again unless it's hardware is
changed. And if it's been more than 4 months since the last such change
(to the old computer), you probably won't have any activation issues at
all, of any kind. Further, of course, you can use the computer for 30
days without activating. So, my guess (unless you've made some pretty
major changes to the old computer in the last 4 months) is that
activation will be a total non-issue in whatever you do. I'm not
absolutely sure of that, but that's my guess.

 

[Alex Nichol]

Problem: XP activation unknowns. Although I plan to toss the old
hardware once I'm up and running on the new machine, I'll need
the old machine for internet access (eg, to get to this
newsgroup) while I'm getting the new machine up and running.
Therefore, for a short time, I'll have my one-and-only copy of XP
Pro running on two machines.

At a minimum, I'll have to connect to the internet during the XP
install to get the updates -- at which time I fully expect
Microsoft's cyber police "catch me red-handed" with the same copy
of XP running on two machines -- and I'm sure they won't care
that it's just a transitory situation.

They won't. But before the end of the 30 days after install you will
have to activate, and by that time must be able to say you have removed
it from the other machine. If it is then more than 120 days since you
last did it, you will find it will go through on the net just like
first time. If not, you will have to phone a toll-free number that will
be given, to explain and swap one long number for another to check back
as you type it in

This presumes it is a retail copy, and not one of the cheaper 'OEM' ones
sold with a piece of hardware, which are licensed solely to the first
machine and may not be transferred

 

[Steve Conover]

Thanks; it's a retail copy, and it's been over a year since the
initial install, so it sounds like it will be easier than I
thought.

Thanks to all for the advice.

Steve

They won't. But before the end of the 30 days after install you will
have to activate, and by that time must be able to say you have removed
it from the other machine. If it is then more than 120 days since you
last did it, you will find it will go through on the net just like
first time. If not, you will have to phone a toll-free number that will
be given, to explain and swap one long number for another to check back
as you type it in

This presumes it is a retail copy, and not one of the cheaper 'OEM' ones
sold with a piece of hardware, which are licensed solely to the first
machine and may not be transferred

Delete the ZZZ.
It keeps spam
off the server.

 

[Greg R]

Thanks; it's a retail copy, and it's been over a year since the
initial install, so it sounds like it will be easier than I
thought.

Thanks to all for the advice.

Steve



Delete the ZZZ.
It keeps spam
off the server.

Tip you might want to hold off until you get xp sp2 cd from Microsoft.
Unless you have already downloaded it.

Greg R