OEM XP Home/Professional (Student version) & New Motherboard - possible problem?

[BillL]

Hello all,

I'm currently using a Gigabyte SLI nforce4 mobo and am thinking of swapping
it for a DFI SLI NF4 one, so I can run 4 sticks of DDR RAM at 400 rather
than 333 and for the greater number of *tweak* options the DFI board has.

Problem is I have two copies of (paid for!) XP. One is OEM version I
currently have installed on the Gigabyte board and the other is a
Educational version of XP Profesional (I'm not a student). Will I be able to
use/activate either of these versions if I swap the motherboard?

TIA

BillL

 

[DL]

The OEM version, it depends 'whose', certain PC manu tie the OEM version to
their hw.
The edu version should'nt be a problem.

 

[Carey Frisch [MVP]]

Windows Product Activation (WPA) on Windows XP
http://aumha.org/win5/a/wpa.htm

--
Carey Frisch
Microsoft MVP
Windows XP - Shell/User
Microsoft Newsgroups

Get Windows XP Service Pack 2 with Advanced Security Technologies:
http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/protect/windowsxp/choose.mspx

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

:

| Hello all,
|
| I'm currently using a Gigabyte SLI nforce4 mobo and am thinking of swapping
| it for a DFI SLI NF4 one, so I can run 4 sticks of DDR RAM at 400 rather
| than 333 and for the greater number of *tweak* options the DFI board has.
|
| Problem is I have two copies of (paid for!) XP. One is OEM version I
| currently have installed on the Gigabyte board and the other is a
| Educational version of XP Profesional (I'm not a student). Will I be able to
| use/activate either of these versions if I swap the motherboard?
|
| TIA
|
| BillL

 

[Ron Martell]

Hello all,

I'm currently using a Gigabyte SLI nforce4 mobo and am thinking of swapping
it for a DFI SLI NF4 one, so I can run 4 sticks of DDR RAM at 400 rather
than 333 and for the greater number of *tweak* options the DFI board has.

Problem is I have two copies of (paid for!) XP. One is OEM version I
currently have installed on the Gigabyte board and the other is a
Educational version of XP Profesional (I'm not a student). Will I be able to
use/activate either of these versions if I swap the motherboard?

If your OEM version of Windows XP is one of the SLP ("BIOS Locked")
versions then it will not be able to be activated on a different
motherboard unless that motherboard is from the same OEM who supplied
the original system + Windows.

If your OEM Windows did not come bundled with a new computer then it
is almost certainly not a "BIOS Locked" version.

Use Start - All Programs - Accessories - System Tools and look for the
"Activate Windows" entry on the menu. If there is no Activate
Windows entry then your OEM version is BIOS locked. (Note that some
non-OEM versions will also not have an Activate Windows item)

If there is an activate Windows entry and if the motherboard has not
been previously changed then your OEM version is not BIOS locked and
can therefore, at least for now, be activated on a different
motherboard.

Note that prior to 1 March 2005 it was possible to change the
motherboard on a BIOS locked OEM version and at that point the
installed Windows would revert to be a normally activated version with
the Activate Windows entry in the Accessories - System Tools menu. As
of 1 March 2005 Microsoft will no longer activate these versions
either online or by telephone.

Hope this explains the situation.

Good luck


Ron Martell Duncan B.C. Canada
--
Microsoft MVP
On-Line Help Computer Service
http://onlinehelp.bc.ca

In memory of a dear friend Alex Nichol MVP
http://aumha.org/alex.htm