Need help sorting out license/activation/registration issues

[Hamad bin Turki al Salami]

I'm unfamiliar with Windows license and activation issues and I'd
appreciate if people could help me with some basic questions.

1. Is it possible to install a retail copy of Windows XP on a computer,
then later remove it from that machine and legally reinstall it on
a different computer?

2. If a copy of Windows is registered to someone and you purchase
the machine with Windows on it, can you re-register the OS in your
own name?

3. If a copy of Windows is installed on a computer from a site license
at a business and the computer is sold to someone outside the business,
does the Windows license become invalid, or does the business lose
a seat from its site license?

4. I purchased a computer with Windows XP on it from someone in town.
The control panel shows that the OS is registered in the seller's name.
There is also a code formatted:
xxxx-xxx-xxxxxxx-xxxxx
where the x's are digits. Is this code the license key? If so, is that
code all I need to be able to reinstall Windows XP on this machine?

5. The computer I bought did NOT have Windows preinstalled at the
factory. I know that for certain. However, I did not receive the install
discs when I purchased it. Can I use any install discs to legitimately
reinstall Windows?

I'm hoping Windows was installed from a retail copy of XP, but it's
possible it was installed using a company site license. If I find
some XP install discs somewhere, can I reinstall Windows XP on this
machine?

(I'm having trouble getting in touch with the seller, who moved out
of town, so I may not be able to ask him about these things.)

 

[GHalleck]

Replied in-line ---

I'm unfamiliar with Windows license and activation issues and I'd
appreciate if people could help me with some basic questions.

1. Is it possible to install a retail copy of Windows XP on a computer,
then later remove it from that machine and legally reinstall it on
a different computer?
Yes.

2. If a copy of Windows is registered to someone and you purchase
the machine with Windows on it, can you re-register the OS in your
own name?

Yes. However, the sale must include all of the Windows XP cdroms,
manuals, documentation, proof of ownership, Product Key, etc.

3. If a copy of Windows is installed on a computer from a site license
at a business and the computer is sold to someone outside the business,
does the Windows license become invalid, or does the business lose
a seat from its site license?

This is a gray area and depends on the contractural arrangements of the
sale. Generally, businesses will not accept the liability of supporting
the computer and would normally wipe the computer clean.

4. I purchased a computer with Windows XP on it from someone in town.
The control panel shows that the OS is registered in the seller's name.
There is also a code formatted:
xxxx-xxx-xxxxxxx-xxxxx
where the x's are digits. Is this code the license key? If so, is that
code all I need to be able to reinstall Windows XP on this machine?

See answer to Question No. 2. To re-install, one needs the Product Key,
which is a 25 character alphanumeric string and not the Product ID, which
is 20 characters long. The exception to using a Product Key might be a
bios-locked, OEM install to a computer from the same OEM.

5. The computer I bought did NOT have Windows preinstalled at the
factory. I know that for certain. However, I did not receive the install
discs when I purchased it. Can I use any install discs to legitimately
reinstall Windows?

Any qualifying Windows XP installation discs can be used. But beware
of the limitations of buying an OEM product vs. retail.

I'm hoping Windows was installed from a retail copy of XP, but it's
possible it was installed using a company site license. If I find
some XP install discs somewhere, can I reinstall Windows XP on this
machine?

Sure. Wipe the hard drive and do a clean install. But remember that
an OEM version of Windows XP must not have been previously installed.

(I'm having trouble getting in touch with the seller, who moved out
of town, so I may not be able to ask him about these things.)

When in doubt, just buy the hardware and Windows XP separately.

 

[Ken Blake]

I'm unfamiliar with Windows license and activation issues and I'd
appreciate if people could help me with some basic questions.

1. Is it possible to install a retail copy of Windows XP on a computer,
then later remove it from that machine and legally reinstall it on
a different computer?

Yes. But note that you may not do that with an OEM copy.

2. If a copy of Windows is registered to someone and you purchase
the machine with Windows on it, can you re-register the OS in your
own name?

Yes. However, note that registration is meaningless, and there's no need at
all to do this. Registration is solely for Microsoft's marketing purposes,
and conveys no advantage to you.

It's activation that's required, but activation is anonymous, and isn't
associated with your name. Activation ties the license to the hardware, not
the person.

3. If a copy of Windows is installed on a computer from a site license
at a business and the computer is sold to someone outside the business,
does the Windows license become invalid, or does the business lose
a seat from its site license?

I've leave this question for someone more familiar with volume licenses than
I am.

4. I purchased a computer with Windows XP on it from someone in town.
The control panel shows that the OS is registered in the seller's name.
There is also a code formatted:
xxxx-xxx-xxxxxxx-xxxxx
where the x's are digits. Is this code the license key? If so, is that
code all I need to be able to reinstall Windows XP on this machine?

No. You can find the Product key with any of these:


ViewKeyXP www.webtree.ca/windowsxp/ViewKeyXP.exe (for Retail versions only,
and for pre-SP2 versions only)



AIDA32 http://www.aumha.org/freeware.htm



Everest http://www.lavalys.com/index.php?page=product&view=1



Magical Jellybean www.magicaljellybean.com/keyfinder.shtml

Belarc Advisor www.belarc.com/free_download.html

5. The computer I bought did NOT have Windows preinstalled at the
factory. I know that for certain. However, I did not receive the install
discs when I purchased it.

Then you really weren't properly sold the license to use Windows. If the
seller kept the CD so he could reuse it, you now both have use of a single
copy--a licensing violation.

Can I use any install discs to legitimately
reinstall Windows?

No. However you can any CD that matches your version with respect to Home
vs. Professional, Retail vs. OEM vs. VL, Full vs. Upgrade. Otherwise your
product key will not work.

I'm hoping Windows was installed from a retail copy of XP, but it's
possible it was installed using a company site license. If I find
some XP install discs somewhere, can I reinstall Windows XP on this
machine?

See above. Probably not, unless you also get a new product key

(I'm having trouble getting in touch with the seller, who moved out
of town, so I may not be able to ask him about these things.)

It sounds like he may have cheated you.

 

[Bruce Chambers]

I'm unfamiliar with Windows license and activation issues and I'd
appreciate if people could help me with some basic questions.

1. Is it possible to install a retail copy of Windows XP on a computer,
then later remove it from that machine and legally reinstall it on
a different computer?

Yes.


2. If a copy of Windows is registered to someone and you purchase
the machine with Windows on it, can you re-register the OS in your
own name?

There's no mechanism in place for doing so, nor is there any real need
for one. "Registration" is little more than a marketing tool.

3. If a copy of Windows is installed on a computer from a site license
at a business and the computer is sold to someone outside the business,
does the Windows license become invalid, or does the business lose
a seat from its site license?

The business retains ownership of the license, and should remove it
from the computer before selling it. The Volume License is valid only
while the computer is owned by the owner of the license.

4. I purchased a computer with Windows XP on it from someone in town.
The control panel shows that the OS is registered in the seller's name.
There is also a code formatted:
xxxx-xxx-xxxxxxx-xxxxx
where the x's are digits. Is this code the license key? If so, is that
code all I need to be able to reinstall Windows XP on this machine?

That number is the Product ID. The Product *ID* is created during the
installation process and is prominently displayed on the General
Properties tab of the My Computer icon. It's primary use, with a retail
license, is in registering for and facilitating support from Microsoft
(for whatever that's worth). For an OEM license, such as you have, the
Product ID's purpose would be to tell Microsoft that you're not entitled
to any free support, but must instead contact the computer manufacturer
or vendor who sold you the OEM license.

The Windows 25-character Product Key (required to perform the
installation) is not on the installation CD in any way, shape, or form.
It is stored on the CD packaging on a bright orange sticker that says
"Do not lose this number." If it was an OEM (factory installed)
license, it's stored on a label that the PC manufacturer affixed to
the exterior of the PC case, or on the bottom of a laptop.

To recover a lost Product Key:

If your system still runs, you should be able to use Belarc Advisor
from http://www.belarc.com/free_download.html to find the Product Key.
(If you have a factory-installed OEM license, and haven't since
reinstalled the OS, the revealed Product Key is probably of the drive
image used at the factory and not your specific Product Key; therefore,
it probably cannot be -- and definitely should not be -- used for a
re-installation.)

If it was a retail license and you have proof of purchase:

How to Replace Lost, Broken, or Missing Microsoft Software or Hardware
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=KB;en-us;326246

If it was an OEM license, you should contact the computer's
manufacturer; although very few manufacturers/vendors keep records of
the Product Keys they've sold, it's worth a try before you have to buy a
new license.

5. The computer I bought did NOT have Windows preinstalled at the
factory. I know that for certain. However, I did not receive the install
discs when I purchased it. Can I use any install discs to legitimately
reinstall Windows?

As long as you have a retail license and Product Key that's not
installed on any other computer, yes.



--

Bruce Chambers

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