Transfer XP Home License

[JohnP]

Hello,
A neighbor of mine had bought a HP Pavillion PC with
Windows XP pre-installed and the holographic Windows XP
Home product key label on the side. That PC was apparently
hit by a power surge because the Hard Drive, Main Board
and CPU were toasted. Since he was going to buy a faster
PC anyway so he gave the burned one to me. My question is:
After replacing the burned components, can I install
Windows XP Home Edition back onto the system using the
Product Key on the lable attached to the case? Thanks for
your assistance!

 

[Carey Frisch [MVP]]

You'll have to replace the "burned components", such as the motherboard,
with identical model HP components. Otherwise, the HP CD will not recognize
the specific BIOS and refuse to install. HP CDs required the hardware to be
the same as the day it left the factory.

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

Be Smart! Protect your PC!
http://www.microsoft.com/security/protect/

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| Hello,
| A neighbor of mine had bought a HP Pavillion PC with
| Windows XP pre-installed and the holographic Windows XP
| Home product key label on the side. That PC was apparently
| hit by a power surge because the Hard Drive, Main Board
| and CPU were toasted. Since he was going to buy a faster
| PC anyway so he gave the burned one to me. My question is:
| After replacing the burned components, can I install
| Windows XP Home Edition back onto the system using the
| Product Key on the lable attached to the case? Thanks for
| your assistance!

 

[PottsNet2]

I did not intend to re-install from a restore CD. Is that a problem?

 

[Ron Martell]

I did not intend to re-install from a restore CD. Is that a problem?

Yes. Product keys are locked to the specific version of XP that they
were originally issued with.

A product key from an OEM version of XP Home will not work with a
retail upgrade or retail full install version of XP Home and may not
work with an OEM CD from a different computer brand. It will also not
work with any version of XP Pro.


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

"The reason computer chips are so small is computers don't eat much."

 

[PottsJ]

Thanks Carey and Ron for the quick responses. Sorry I was not able to reply
as quickly with further info. It had been my experience that OEM product
keys actually had the letters OEM in them. Not knowing if this was the case
with XP and since the one on this case did not, I wanted to verify. I
started a test installation on another PC a little while ago. It accepted
this CD key and completed the installation. Does that mean that it is a
Retail Full Install version product key?