Trannsfer of XP Home to new computer

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Guest

Hello,

I have XP Home Edition and would now like to transfer it to a new computer.
The old one will no longer be used.

Can anyone tell me whether this is feasible? I believe it has te be
deactivated before being installed on the new machine so that the key is not
lost?

Thanks for your help,

Thierry
 
Thierry said:
Hello,

I have XP Home Edition and would now like to transfer it to a new computer.
The old one will no longer be used.

It depends on what kind of XP Home Edition you have, retail, generic
OEM, branded OEM (preinstalled by HP or Dell, etc.) or upgrade.

Alias
 
Thierry said:
Thanks for the fast answer!

It is a generic OEM.


Generic or not, the fact that it is OEM means that you may not do this.
Unfortunately, the terms of the OEM license prevent you from doing this. OEM
versions are less expensive than retail versions because they come with
certain restrictions. You've just run into the most severe of those
restrictions. The OEM license ties that copy of Windows permanently to the
first computer it's installed on. It can never be legally moved to another
computer, or sold or given away. If the original computer dies, the license
to use Windows dies with it.

This is the main reason why I almost always recommend buying an Upgrade
version (which usually costs only slightly more than an OEM one) instead.
And contrary to what most people think, an Upgrade version *can* do a clean
installation, as long as you have a CD of a previous qualifying version to
show it when prompted to.
 
Thierry said:
Hello,

I have XP Home Edition and would now like to transfer it to a new computer.
The old one will no longer be used.

Can anyone tell me whether this is feasible? I believe it has te be
deactivated before being installed on the new machine so that the key is not
lost?

Thanks for your help,

Thierry


There is no "de-activation" or "de-registration" process, as such.

Assuming a retail license (OEM licenses are not legitimately
transferable), simply remove WinXP from the computer it is currently on
and then install it on the new computer. If it's been more than 120
days since you last activated that specific Product Key, the 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.

Here are the facts pertaining to activation:

Piracy Basics - Microsoft Product Activation
http://www.microsoft.com/piracy/basics/activation/

Windows Product Activation (WPA)
http://www.aumha.org/a/wpa.htm


--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:



They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. -Benjamin Franklin

Many people would rather die than think; in fact, most do. -Bertrand Russell
 
Thierry said:
Thanks for the fast answer!

It is a generic OEM.

Then you cannot legitimately transfer it to another computer.

--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:



They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. -Benjamin Franklin

Many people would rather die than think; in fact, most do. -Bertrand Russell
 
Thierry said:
Thanks for the fast answer!

It is a generic OEM.

You're not supposed to transfer it to a "another" computer but you can
update the old one to the point that the only thing left is the case or
some other hardware. That way, you've upgraded your computer, not
transferred it to "another" computer.

Alias
 
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