New computer - old drive - activation?

[Cooter]

A friend replaced his hard drive thinking that was his problem. He managed
to load and activate Windows XP Home as well as some other apps. The
computer died again, so he decided to junk the old computer, but use the new
HD drive on the new box. What kind of problems will this cause with Windows
activation, and what are the next steps?

 

[Leythos]

A friend replaced his hard drive thinking that was his problem. He managed
to load and activate Windows XP Home as well as some other apps. The
computer died again, so he decided to junk the old computer, but use the new
HD drive on the new box. What kind of problems will this cause with Windows
activation, and what are the next steps?

If he bought something like a Dell or HP or Compaq or other, that
shipped with an OEM Version of Windows, then he's out of luck according
to Microsoft licensing.

If you have an OEM version of Windows it's tied to the first computer
it's installed on and may only be installed on that computer.

If he had a retail version, with a full box (typically), it can be
reinstalled on any computer as long as you only install it on one
computer.

In most cases, when you change a motherboard, you need to do a
repair/reinstall on the new machine to make it work properly.

 

[Bruce Chambers]

A friend replaced his hard drive thinking that was his problem. He managed
to load and activate Windows XP Home as well as some other apps. The
computer died again, so he decided to junk the old computer, but use the new
HD drive on the new box. What kind of problems will this cause with Windows
activation, and what are the next steps?

Normally, and assuming a retail license (many factory-installed OEM
installations are BIOS-locked to a specific chipset and therefore *not*
transferable to a new motherboard - check yours before starting), unless
the new motherboard is virtually identical (same chipset, same IDE
controllers, same BIOS version, etc.) to the one on which the 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

Changing a Motherboard or Moving a Hard Drive with WinXP Installed
http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/moving_xp.html

The "why" is quite simple, really, and has nothing to do with
licensing issues, per se; it's a purely technical matter, at this point.
You've pulled the proverbial hardware rug out from under the OS. (If
you don't like -- or get -- the rug analogy, think of it as picking up a
Cape Cod style home and then setting it down onto a Ranch style
foundation. It just isn't going to fit.) WinXP, like Win2K before it,
is not nearly as "promiscuous" as Win9x when it comes to accepting any
old hardware configuration you throw at it. On installation it
"tailors" itself to the specific hardware found. This is one of the
reasons that the entire WinNT/2K/XP OS family is so much more stable
than the Win9x group.

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

This will also probably require re-activation, unless you have a
Volume Licensed version of WinXP Pro installed. 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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