Swap HD effect on XP authorization

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I have two computers, both with their own separate, authorized, verified, and
validated copy of XP installed. I want to swap the hard drives between them,
which will mean that each operating system will not recognize the hardware
that it will now be seeing and no doubt will complain that the OS needs to be
authorized. Will Microsoft allow this change? Will it be that Microsoft will
allow the authorization, validiation, etc. to be performed online, or will it
have to be performed over the phone? If it must be done by phone, will two
phone calls be necessary or can both be authorized with just one call?
 
Changing a Motherboard or Moving a Hard Drive with XP Installed
http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/moving_xp.html

--
Carey Frisch
Microsoft MVP
Windows - Shell/User
Microsoft Community Newsgroups
news://msnews.microsoft.com/

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| I have two computers, both with their own separate, authorized, verified, and
| validated copy of XP installed. I want to swap the hard drives between them,
| which will mean that each operating system will not recognize the hardware
| that it will now be seeing and no doubt will complain that the OS needs to be
| authorized. Will Microsoft allow this change? Will it be that Microsoft will
| allow the authorization, validiation, etc. to be performed online, or will it
| have to be performed over the phone? If it must be done by phone, will two
| phone calls be necessary or can both be authorized with just one call?
 
jsmithers said:
I have two computers, both with their own separate, authorized, verified, and
validated copy of XP installed. I want to swap the hard drives between them,
which will mean that each operating system will not recognize the hardware
that it will now be seeing and no doubt will complain that the OS needs to be
authorized. Will Microsoft allow this change? Will it be that Microsoft will
allow the authorization, validiation, etc. to be performed online, or will it
have to be performed over the phone? If it must be done by phone, will two
phone calls be necessary or can both be authorized with just one call?
Click to expand...

If either or both of your Windows XP licenses are OEM versions then
moving that license to a different computer is contrary to the terms
and conditions of the End User License Agreement. OEM licenses are
permanently locked to the first computer that they are installed on
and cannot be legitimately transferred to another computer under any
circumstances.

Additionally if your OEM licenses are BIOS locked then this will be
even more complicated.

Retail or volume licenses for Windows XP may be moved from computer to
computer to computer as the owner sees fit.

However if an installed Windows XP is moved to different hardware then
a Repair Install followed by reactivation is almost always necessary.
See http://michaelstevenstech.com/moving_xp.html for detailed
instructions.

To determine if your installed Windows XP is an OEM version open
Control Panel - System - General and look at the 20 character product
i.d. code that is shown as the last line of the "Licensed to:"
section. If the second, 3 character, segment of this code reads OEM
then your installed Windows XP is an OEM version. If this segment is
numeric then your XP is either a Retail or a Volume License version.

To determine if your OEM Windows XP is BIOS Locked look on the Start
Menu under Accessories - System Tools for an "Activate Windows" menu
item. If there is no "Activate Windows" item then your OEM Windows XP
is BIOS Locked. Note that Volume License versions of Windows XP also
do not have the "Activate Windows" item on the System Tools menu.

If what you are planning is a permanent swap and neither of your
licenses are OEM then it may be worth pursuing. However if this is
not the case (e.g. it is only a temporary swap and/or licenses are
OEM) then you will probably be better off looking for some other way
of accomplishing your objectives.



Good luck

Ron Martell Duncan B.C. Canada
--
Microsoft MVP (1997 - 2006)
On-Line Help Computer Service
http://onlinehelp.bc.ca

"Anyone who thinks that they are too small to make a difference
has never been in bed with a mosquito."
 
I have two computers, both with their own separate, authorized, verified, and
validated copy of XP installed. I want to swap the hard drives between them,
which will mean that each operating system will not recognize the hardware
that it will now be seeing and no doubt will complain that the OS needs to be
authorized. Will Microsoft allow this change? Will it be that Microsoft will
allow the authorization, validiation, etc. to be performed online, or will it
have to be performed over the phone? If it must be done by phone, will two
phone calls be necessary or can both be authorized with just one call?
Click to expand...

If you are going to swap the drives once only and that the licenses are not
OEM version then you should be able to do a repair install when the drives are
on their "destined" PCs. You will of course have the re-activate them.
On-line activations now seem to only work for Retail versions of XP and only
after 120 days since the last activation.
 
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