Transfering XP License to a new computer

[Guest]

I have bought a new computer and would like to know if I can transfer my old
hard drive to this new computer (as the master drive) with everything
installed on it. Or do I have to make a clean install and does the new
computer accept my Windows XP license

 

[Guest]

you can put the hard drive into a new build no problem..what you might find
is that windows sees all new hardware and it will probably ask you to
re-activate your copy ...as long as you have a legal copy theres nothing to
worry about..just re-activate it over the net....after 2 or 3 times doing
this though you will not be able to over the net but will have to phone a CSR
(customer services rep) and get a new license key....to check you have got a
legal copy of xp from where u bought it you should have the code on a sticker
somewhere on your base unit..if not..go back to them and demand 1...also the
disk as well as it can be a life saver sometimes...

 

[Guest]

Copy of XP is retail bought and legal. So there should be no problem in
transfering my existing hardrive to the new computer and setting this as the
master and setting the hard drive of my new PC as slave

 

[Bob Knowlden]

That's a fairly complicated question.

http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/moving_xp.html

"Changing a Motherboard or Moving a Hard Drive with XP Installed"

In short, unless the new system has a mainboard that is essentially the same
as the old one, you'll at least need to do a repair installation. (A clean
install is always safest, but you may be able to get away with a repair
install.)

This assumes that your XP license is a retail one, rather than an OEM
license (the sort often provided with appliance PCs like those sold by Dell,
Gateway, HP, etc.), which is not supposed to be transferable.


Address scrambled. Replace nkbob with bobkn.

 

[Jupiter Jones [MVP]]

Paul;
Since the other computer has retail, you can transfer to new computer.
A Repair Installation may be required to properly detect the new hardware:
http://www3.telus.net/dandemar/repaxp.htm

 

[kurttrail]

Paul;
Since the other computer has retail, you can transfer to new computer.

<snip>

And even if it wasn't retail, you know damned-well that it can be
physically transferred and made operational. MS doesn't want people to
do it. But it CAN be done, and the only way MS has to stop it is if the
person phyically tells MS that they moved it to a completely different
computer!

And in this case the says he has retail, but even if he had OEM, it
wouldn't be a completely new computer, since he is using his old
harddrive.

--
Peace!
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"Trustworthy Computing" is only another example of an Oxymoron!
"Produkt-Aktivierung macht frei"

 

[Bruce Chambers]

I have bought a new computer and would like to know if I can transfer my old
hard drive to this new computer (as the master drive) with everything
installed on it. Or do I have to make a clean install and does the new
computer accept my Windows XP license

Normally, and assuming a retail license (many OEM installations
and licenses are not transferable to a new motherboard - check yours
before starting), unless the new motherboard is virtually identical
(same chipset, same IDE controllers, same BIOS version, etc.) to the
one on which the WinXP installation was originally performed, you'll
need to perform a repair (a.k.a. in-place upgrade) installation, at
the very least:

How to Perform an In-Place Upgrade of Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/directory/article.asp?ID=KB;EN-US;Q315341

The "why" is quite simple, really, and has nothing to do with
licensing issues, per se; it's a purely technical matter, at this
point. You've pulled the proverbial hardware rug out from under the
OS. (If you don't like -- or get -- the rug analogy, think of it as
picking up a Cape Cod style home and then setting it down onto a Ranch
style foundation. It just isn't going to fit.) WinXP, like Win2K
before it, is not nearly as "promiscuous" as Win9x when it comes to
accepting any old hardware configuration you throw at it. On
installation it "tailors" itself to the specific hardware found. This
is one of the reasons that the entire WinNT/2K/XP OS family is so much
more stable than the Win9x group.

As always when undertaking such a significant change, back up any
important data before starting.

This will also probably require re-activation, unless you have a
Volume Licensed version of WinXP Pro installed. If it's been more
than 120 days since you last activated that specific Product Key,
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.



--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:



You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don't ever count on having
both at once. - RAH

 

[Michael Stevens]

In

you can put the hard drive into a new build no problem..what you
might find is that windows sees all new hardware and it will probably
ask you to re-activate your copy ...as long as you have a legal copy
theres nothing to worry about..just re-activate it over the
net....after 2 or 3 times doing this though you will not be able to
over the net but will have to phone a CSR (customer services rep) and
get a new license key....to check you have got a legal copy of xp
from where u bought it you should have the code on a sticker
somewhere on your base unit..if not..go back to them and demand
1...also the disk as well as it can be a life saver sometimes...

They would get an activation key, not a new license key.
--
Michael Stevens MS-MVP XP
(e-mail address removed)
http://www.michaelstevenstech.com
For a better newsgroup experience. Setup a newsreader.
http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/outlookexpressnewreader.htm

 

[Tom]

Normally, and assuming a retail license (many OEM installations
and licenses are not transferable to a new motherboard - check yours
before starting), unless the new motherboard is virtually identical
(same chipset, same IDE controllers, same BIOS version, etc.) to the
one on which the WinXP installation was originally performed, you'll
need to perform a repair (a.k.a. in-place upgrade) installation, at
the very least:

Show me in any MS XP OEM EULA, where it specifies a "Motherboard".

 

[Donald L McDaniel]

Show me in any MS XP OEM EULA, where it specifies a "Motherboard".

This has nothing to do with the EULA. It is usually necessary to do at
least a "Repair" install of XP if the motherboard is changed. This is
necessary for technical reasons, not legal ones.

When you change motherboards, the Registry is not changed. The Registry on
a machine stays the same when you change the motherboard, and entries
relating to the old motherboard remain the same. For this reason, a
"Repair" install is usually necessary so that the Registry may be changed to
reflect the new motherboard's presence.

As I said, this has nothing to do with legal reasons relating to the EULA.

 

[kurttrail]

This has nothing to do with the EULA. It is usually necessary to do
at least a "Repair" install of XP if the motherboard is changed. This
is necessary for technical reasons, not legal ones.

When you change motherboards, the Registry is not changed. The
Registry on a machine stays the same when you change the motherboard,
and entries relating to the old motherboard remain the same. For
this reason, a "Repair" install is usually necessary so that the
Registry may be changed to reflect the new motherboard's presence.

As I said, this has nothing to do with legal reasons relating to the
EULA.

Bruce said, ". . . . many OEM installations and licenses are not
transferable to a new motherboard . . . ."

"Just where the machine is seen as no longer the same and therefore no
longer qualifying for the license under the OEM EULA is a grey area -
and the EULA itself does not appear to me actually to bear the
interpretation MS representatives here put on it . . . . I see nothing
that
is specific about such a license being tided to a motherboard - the EULA
strictly ties it to whatever item of hardware it was bought with." -
Alex Nichol, MVP -
http://groups-beta.google.com/group/microsoft.public.windowsxp.general/msg/5c692df84077bb74

Alex has moved on, but he will not be forgotten.

 

[Bruce Chambers]

Show me in any MS XP OEM EULA, where it specifies a "Motherboard".

We all know full well that the OEM EULA doesn't specifically bind the
OEM license to any particular hardware component. You're beating a dead
horse, and the subject is completely irrelevant to the OP's question.

Regardless of what the EULA does or does not say, that simple fact
remains that some OEM CDs, particularly Restore/Recovery CDs, are locked
to a specific BIOS by the computer's manufacturer (*not* by Microsoft),
and may well not install on new hardware. Hence my warning to the OP to
investigate this issue *before* starting.


--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:



You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don't ever count on having
both at once. - RAH

 

[Bruce Chambers]

Bruce said, ". . . . many OEM installations and licenses are not
transferable to a new motherboard . . . ."

Which, if you knew anything about computers, you'd understand is a
purely technical issue brought about by some OEMs using BIOS-locked CDs.
This has *nothing* to do with the EULA, as you well know. Can you say
"straw man fallacy?"


--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:



You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don't ever count on having
both at once. - RAH

 

[Tom]

We all know full well that the OEM EULA doesn't specifically bind the OEM
license to any particular hardware component. You're beating a dead
horse, and the subject is completely irrelevant to the OP's question.

Regardless of what the EULA does or does not say, that simple fact remains
that some OEM CDs, particularly Restore/Recovery CDs, are locked to a
specific BIOS by the computer's manufacturer (*not* by Microsoft), and may
well not install on new hardware. Hence my warning to the OP to
investigate this issue *before* starting.

You miss the point!

The fact that the OEM EULA does not specify a particular piece of hardware
as the "tie that binds" makes using the term MOBO useless as the word means
pertinent to the contract understood NOT to the end user. Regardless whether
the MOBO is BIOS locked with the install CD, it still does not make a
particular specification, this is what needs to be detailed in the
agreement. Hell, that means (as you accept it) that anything the MS and the
manufacturer want it to mean they can, regardless of the terms to which were
agreed that do not mention any particulars that are only understood to MS
and the OEM, since it isn't specified.

MS's OEM site states (according to Leythos) that the computer tie for an OEM
version, is the MOBO, but that isn't stated as such in the EULA. Even then,
whether it is tied to the MOBO through the BIOS, it makes no mention that
this is what the terms are in the EULA regarding that tie. you need to
forget about actually trying to do another install, or one's inability to
reinstall if the MOBO dies, or whatever physical action. I am talking about
what terms means, and what is actually specified as such terms.

 

[Bruce Chambers]

You miss the point!

No, you're the one who misses the point. The subject under discussion
in this thread is the *technical* aspects of moving a WinXP installation
to an new motherboard. The EULA is completely irrelevant to this
discussion.


--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:



You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don't ever count on having
both at once. - RAH

 

[kurttrail]

No, you're the one who misses the point. The subject under discussion
in this thread is the *technical* aspects of moving a WinXP
installation to an new motherboard. The EULA is completely
irrelevant to this discussion.

Well, you kinda brought it on yourself, by talking about licenses that
can't be moved. Had you stated that you were talking about what certain
OEMs do with their disk images to tie it to a specific computer model to
begin with, I doubt this thread would have gone down this road.

You explained yourself in reply to my Alex quote, and I accept that's
what you meant, though it wasn't all that readily apparent in your
original reply in this thread.

--
Peace!
Kurt
Self-anointed Moderator
microscum.pubic.windowsexp.gonorrhea
http://microscum.com/mscommunity
"Trustworthy Computing" is only another example of an Oxymoron!
"Produkt-Aktivierung macht frei"

 

[Jupiter Jones [MVP]]

You are not understanding what Bruce is saying.
The EULA is irrelevant in the case as Bruce is stating.

Some computer manufacturers have tied their installation media to their
BIOS.
Those will not install on a motherboard of a different manufacturer.
Since they will not install, the EULA never becomes an issue.

This is an engineering design issue and has nothing to do with the EULA or
anyone's interpretation thereof.
Even if the EULA allowed it and the law and courts specifically stated users
could, the design restrictions would still prevent it.

 

[Tom]

No, you're the one who misses the point. The subject under discussion in
this thread is the *technical* aspects of moving a WinXP installation to
an new motherboard. The EULA is completely irrelevant to this discussion.

No, I did not miss the point, but you are avoiding what I pointed out to
you, in what you said regarding OEM licenses. If you only wanted to remark
to just solely the technical aspect of the OP, then you should have stuck to
that. I followed right in line to what you said, and you conveniently cop
out by making it seem I'm the one who digressed, which you did with your OEM
rules addendum.

 

[Bruce Chambers]

No, I did not miss the point, but you are avoiding what I pointed out to
you, in what you said regarding OEM licenses. If you only wanted to remark
to just solely the technical aspect of the OP, then you should have stuck to
that. I followed right in line to what you said, and you conveniently cop
out by making it seem I'm the one who digressed, which you did with your OEM
rules addendum.

Is English a second or third language for you? I ask this not to be
derogatory, but because of your clear failure to misunderstand what I
wrote. I can think of no other explanation, and I don't want to falsely
accuse you of deliberately reading it wrong.


--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:



You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don't ever count on having
both at once. - RAH

 

[Tom]

Is English a second or third language for you? I ask this not to be
derogatory, but because of your clear failure to misunderstand what I
wrote. I can think of no other explanation, and I don't want to falsely
accuse you of deliberately reading it wrong.

No, those kinds of remarks do not bother me, it only reflects on your
ability to look like a liar, but I will point out what your original post
stated, and my second post (again if you felt only the need to add the
technical aspect in your first post, you failed, and it is because of your
need to promote MS law):

You stated in your zealous post, without need:

"Normally, and assuming a retail license (many OEM installations
and licenses are not transferable to a new motherboard - blah, blah ad
nauseam "

I then asked, "Show me in any MS XP OEM EULA, where it specifies a
"Motherboard".

You then went on to say you were only explaining the technical aspects blah
blah blah, and that I missed the point, while avoiding my initial question
(and Jupiter chimed in without using standard English reading comprehension
also). So, is English your native language? You did not have to add anything
regarding what terms can mean to license and such, you simply could have
explained technical terms to BIOS locking, without having to explain tying
the OEM to a particular piece of hardware (which isn't stated in the OEM
EULA). I then wouldn't have asked my initial question in this thread.

Is the easy enough for you, or should I break this down more into maybe one
syllable words, since your over zealous MS EULA OEM brain seems to prevent
you from comprehending? (I don't mean this to be derogatory!)