Registration problem

[Guest]

Hi, I have a customer who bought a laptop that was previously returned. Now
he's found that XP is currently registered under the original owner's name.
My question is: Can XP be re-registered without wiping/restoring?

 

[Guest]

nvm found it.
http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/xpfaq.html#23

 

[Stephen]

You can probably call microsoft to change the registration or
re-register it. I don't think it is really an issue as registration
doesn't really gain you much. If you are talking about activation on
the other hand, Microsoft doesn't care who activates the software, as
no personal information is used anyway. The only information sent
during activation is a hardware checksum; so as long as the hardware
hasn't changed significantly nothing else really needs to be done. You
can also go to the following web site and post the question with MS:

https://support.microsoft.com/common/survey.aspx?scid=sw;en;1214&showpage=1

 

[Peter Foldes]

If it is an OEM then it is tied to the computer

 

[Shenan Stanley]

Hi, I have a customer who bought a laptop that was previously
returned. Now he's found that XP is currently registered under the
original owner's name. My question is: Can XP be re-registered
without wiping/restoring?

Registration is optional and means very little.
Activation is required - and if it is functioning - then it is activated or
did not need to be.

From what I read into what you wrote - you may want to change these things:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/310441

However - it is actually better for your customer to reinstall everything
from scracth - as there is no way of telling what the previous owners did
with it or to it. Who knows what application is installed and sending their
data to someone?

 

[Guest]

Yeah not an option for this customer as he has his own data on it now.
Anyways he is mostly concerned about this other guy's name showing up on his
documents so an "official" registration isn't necessarily needed. Thanks for
info all!

 

[Bruce Chambers]

Hi, I have a customer who bought a laptop that was previously returned. Now
he's found that XP is currently registered under the original owner's name.
My question is: Can XP be re-registered without wiping/restoring?

With second-hand computers, especially if acquired from strangers
but perhaps even if acquired from a family member or friend, your wisest
course of action would probably be to format the hard drives and start
fresh. You don't want to get in trouble because the original owner may
have filled the hard drive with kiddie porn, or have problems because
the original owner downloaded/installed viruses or other malware.

However, to fix the "Registered to" information for WinNT/2K/XP,
you can use Start > Run > Regedit.exe to edit:

HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\Current Version\RegisteredOwner

and:

HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\Current
Version\RegisteredOrganization

How this will affect the name displayed in previously installed
applications will vary depending upon each individual program; some
read the registered owner information dynamically, while others read
it only during installation.

The user profile folders (C:\Documents and Settings\Username)
_cannot_ be renamed, even if the associated user account has been.
So, your best course of action would be to log on using the built-in
Administrator account, create a new user account, with the username
desired. You can then delete the old user account(s).

HOW TO Create and Configure User Accounts in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;279783

How to Copy User Data to a New User Profile
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;811151


--

Bruce Chambers

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