OEM Licensing & Computer "downgrading"

[Guest]

I found that I will be unable to maintain Windows XP Pro on my PCs at home
because of the cost. I have a Domain server and all that jazz, but I just
cannot justify the extra money just for the network security features and
domain logons and such. So, what is the easiest way to "downgrade" a PC from
Windows XP Professional to Windows XP Home.

Also, I have an OEM license for a PC that is no longer running Windows XP
Home. Can that license be transferred to another PC? I assume it cannot as
they consider OEM licenses as part of the hardware or system. However, it's
a shame that I have an OEM license that I cannot use because the system it
was bought for was my primary PC and now it is my secondary and runs a
different OS. Just curious.

 

[Cari \(MS-MVP\)]

The ONLY way to change from XP Pro to XP Home is to format and clean
install.

An OEM version is licensed to the PC it is first installed on and cannot be
transferred to another PC even if the first PC has died or otherwise taken
out of service.

 

[Bruce Chambers]

I found that I will be unable to maintain Windows XP Pro on my PCs at home
because of the cost.

What cost? If WinXP Pro is already installed, there's no additional
cost involved in using it.

I have a Domain server and all that jazz, but I just
cannot justify the extra money just for the network security features and
domain logons and such.

Other than the original cost of the WinXP Pro OS, which you've already
paid, according to this post, there is *no* additional cost involved in
securing your network. (Well..... No additional cost other than the
time and effort necessary to learn how to do so.)

So, what is the easiest way to "downgrade" a PC from
Windows XP Professional to Windows XP Home.

And buying a copy of WinXP Home to replace the already existing WinXP
Pro seems like a good isea? Doing so certainly won't save you any money.

The only way to change from WinXP Pro to WinXP Home is to format
the drive and start over. There is no supported downgrade path or
technique.

Simply boot from the WinXP Home installation CD. You'll be offered
the opportunity to delete, create, and format partitions as part of the
installation process. (You may need to re-arrange the order of boot
devices in the PC's BIOS to boot from the CD.)

HOW TO Install Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=KB;en-us;316941

http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/cleanxpinstall.html

http://www.webtree.ca/windowsxp/clean_install.htm

Also, I have an OEM license for a PC that is no longer running Windows XP
Home. Can that license be transferred to another PC? I assume it cannot as
they consider OEM licenses as part of the hardware or system.

Correct. An OEM version must be sold with a piece of hardware
(normally a motherboard or hard rive, if not an entire PC) and is
_permanently_ bound to the first PC on which it's installed. An OEM
license, once installed, is not legally transferable to another computer
under _any_ circumstances.

However, it's
a shame that I have an OEM license that I cannot use because the system it
was bought for was my primary PC and now it is my secondary and runs a
different OS. Just curious.

The lack of transferability is one of the primary reasons that OEM
licenses cost so much less than retail licenses.


--

Bruce Chambers

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[Colin Barnhorst]

If you are paying some sort of access fees, can you not simply cancel the
service? There is nothing in Pro that costs more money to use than not.

 

[Guest]

Your complaints do not seem to have any foundation.

Please provide more information as to the 'costs for network security and
domain logons'.

You could manage with Xp Pro and give up any external third party managed or
maintained domains and revert to a basic Peer-to-Peer network at home.

Domains generally are used by corporations in order to maintain their Mail
Servers or Web sites amongst other reasons 'intranet'.

So without this overhead, you should still have a good peer-to-peer network
and do it without the need to replace Pro with Home.

 

[Michael Stevens]

In

I found that I will be unable to maintain Windows XP Pro on my PCs at
home because of the cost. I have a Domain server and all that jazz,
but I just cannot justify the extra money just for the network
security features and domain logons and such. So, what is the
easiest way to "downgrade" a PC from Windows XP Professional to
Windows XP Home.

Also, I have an OEM license for a PC that is no longer running
Windows XP Home. Can that license be transferred to another PC? I
assume it cannot as they consider OEM licenses as part of the
hardware or system. However, it's a shame that I have an OEM
license that I cannot use because the system it was bought for was my
primary PC and now it is my secondary and runs a different OS. Just
curious.

I also do not understand your problem in regard to the downgrading of XP
Pro systems to Home. If they are currently running valid licensed versions
of XP Pro, there is no additional expense to continue running them. If they
are pirated VL versions of XP Pro, then your options are to backup and clean
install using a full XP Home version on each system that needs to be changed
or you can purchase an OEM XP Pro for each system and do a repair install.
See link below for step by steps.
If your systems need to be replaced and they are OEM XP Pro versions, they
cannot be transferred and possibly this if your situation. In this case, you
would need a retail full version of XP Home or OEM XP Home that would
require a clean install. OEM XP Pro can be used to do a repair install a
OEM XP Pro to change the PK as well as a pirated VL.
See repair install in the link below.
Click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into the address box
if using the web based newsgroup.
I need to change my XP Product KEY #18 on the FAQ list
http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/xpfaq.html
--
In memory of, MVP Alex Nichol.

Michael Stevens MS-MVP XP
(e-mail address removed)
http://www.michaelstevenstech.com
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