transfer of xp professional to new box - possible?

[Guest]

hi.

my current pc came with windows 98. when i decided to upgrade to xp i bought
a full cd of windows xp professional (service pack 1) from a local vendor.

the time has come to buy a new pc but i want to convert my current pc to
linux and install xp on the new machine. (this is all for home use by the
way).

can i use the cd i have to install on the new machine once i've formatted
and linuxed my old machine? they would be no period of overlap where xp was
on both machines. will the original key for the cd work? if not, how do i go
about getting a new key?

many thanks
lottie

 

[Guest]

If it's a retail product, and you haven't re-activated within the last 120
days, then there should be no problem.

The old computer will continue to work for the changeover period, so long
as no hardware is changed.

As a matter of interest I use Linux for webservers, for which it excels, but
I've never seen it as a serious challenge to Windows (or MacOS) for desktop
use - The Linux GUIs are simply too clunky and disorganized.

 

[Guest]

ian,

thanks very much for the swift response.

excuse my density, but what does "re-activated within the last 120 days"
mean? i have only installed xp once on this box, and haven't done anything
other than the usual updates and patch downloads.

so i should just be able to stick the cd in and roll? that's excellent news.

the linux box will just be a toy really. i've not had any experience of
linux at all and it's water i feel i ought to at least dip my toe in a
little!

best wishes,
lottie

 

[Guest]

excuse my density, but what does "re-activated within the last 120 days"
mean? i have only installed xp once on this box, and haven't done anything
other than the usual updates and patch downloads.

If you'd changed hardware that might've happened. Even so it's not a big
issue, just means you need to phone MS if it won't activate.