Two Windows XP installations on same box

[Joern Schou-Rode]

I have two questions, about installing multiple instances of Windows XP on
seperate hard drive partitions on the same PC. I have not been able to
find answers for any of the questions on the web.

1) Are there any technical issues in installing Windows XP twice on the
same machine (ie. will the installer try to prevent me from doing so)?

2) Are there any legal issues in installation Windows XP twice on the same
machine (ie. will the activation scheme prevent me from doing so)? Note:
the PC in question is equipped with an OEM license for Windows XP.

I hope that someone here is able to answer my questions.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Pegasus \(MVP\)]

I have two questions, about installing multiple instances of Windows XP on
seperate hard drive partitions on the same PC. I have not been able to
find answers for any of the questions on the web.

1) Are there any technical issues in installing Windows XP twice on the
same machine (ie. will the installer try to prevent me from doing so)?
No.

2) Are there any legal issues in installation Windows XP twice on the same
machine (ie. will the activation scheme prevent me from doing so)? Note:
the PC in question is equipped with an OEM license for Windows XP.

Opinions appear divided on the subject. Purists say that the wording of the
licensing agreement does not allow you to have more than once instance of
Windows, even if it's on the same machine. Pragmatists say "who cares",
because it's on the same machine and because you cannot possibly run more
than one copy at any one time. Anyway, the activation mechanism does not
appear to care.

 

[Joern Schou-Rode]

Anyway, the activation mechanism does not appear to care.

Thanks for the quick reply.

Just to be sure: the activation machanism will (most likely) allow me to
activate both installations?

 

[Ken Blake]

Opinions appear divided on the subject. Purists say that the wording of
the licensing agreement does not allow you to have more than once instance
of Windows, even if it's on the same machine.

I think you're saying what I understand to be correct, but saying it in a
confusing way. The issue is not with having more than one installation of
Windows XP, but with having more than one installation with a single
license.

Pragmatists say "who cares", because it's on the same machine and because
you cannot possibly run more than one copy at any one time. Anyway, the
activation mechanism does not appear to care.

 

[Alias]

Thanks for the quick reply.

Just to be sure: the activation machanism will (most likely) allow me to
activate both installations?

The activation program will scan the computer and find the same one it
saw the last time it activated and activate on line no problem. The same
thing would be true if you reinstalled XP on the same computer.

Alias

 

[Xandros]

Don't worry about it. Many MVP's do this all the time.

 

[M.I.5?]

The activation program will scan the computer and find the same one it saw
the last time it activated and activate on line no problem. The same thing
would be true if you reinstalled XP on the same computer.

That's not strictly correct. The second installation will report 2 hardware
changes from the first, namely the primary hard drive type (since it is
being installed on a different drive) and the primary Volume Serial Number
(though these can be made the same with a suitable utility). This
constitutes 2 hardware changes from the first installation which is
allowable as the required 7 out of 10 features will have remained the same
(4 out of 10 if a network card is fitted).