Upgrading your computer hardware and windows product key

[Guest]

I have a question. It involves upgrading motherboards and other hardware and
being able to do a fresh install of xp and activate it without any problem.


What are the terms in which my windows xp professional can be installed and
activated on a computer that I upgrade the motherboard, ram, cpu, and video
card?

With those parts being upgraded, can I still activate windows xp if I need to?

 

[Lanwench [MVP - Exchange]]

I have a question. It involves upgrading motherboards and other
hardware and being able to do a fresh install of xp and activate it
without any problem.


What are the terms in which my windows xp professional can be
installed and activated on a computer that I upgrade the motherboard,
ram, cpu, and video card?

With those parts being upgraded, can I still activate windows xp if I
need to?

Yes - if you run into trouble activating over the Internet, choose activate
by phone.

 

[Bruce Chambers]

I have a question. It involves upgrading motherboards and other hardware and
being able to do a fresh install of xp and activate it without any problem.


What are the terms in which my windows xp professional can be installed and
activated on a computer that I upgrade the motherboard, ram, cpu, and video
card?

With those parts being upgraded, can I still activate windows xp if I need to?

If you have a retail license for the OS, certainly. If, however, you
have an OEM license that locked to a specific BIOS, then quite possibly
not.

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

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[Guest]

What happens when you change a motherboard or move a hard drive depends on
the accumulated changes made within a 120 day period since initial
activation. As a precaution the windows\system32\WPA.DBL and WPA.DBL should
be copied to a floppy before doing a repair install.

It also depends on the version of Windows XP intended for the move.

Retail versions of XP
Retail versions of XP can be moved from and reinstalled as many times as you
want as long as it is in compliance with the EULA. In brief the EULA states:
You may install, use, access, display and run one copy of the Software on a
single computer, such as a workstation, terminal or other device
("Workstation Computer")

OEM versions of XP
1.OEM versions of XP preinstalled on systems according to the OEM EULA
cannot be transferred to another computer. This is defined in the EULA.
2.OEM versions sold with a piece of hardware are thought to be tied to the
original computer it is installed on. Hardware can be upgraded such as audio
card, but the change of mother board, higher performance CPU etc will
qualify as a non-original computer.

For clarification: Contact
Microsoft Corporate and Legal Affairs
Microsoft Corporation
One Microsoft Way
Redmond, WA 98052-6399
USA


What information you are required to give?
Don't panic about your privacy being compromised, as long as it is installed
on only one computer, nothing needs to be said other than it was uninstalled
from one computer and installed on another or the hardware was upgraded on
the same computer. You do not need to or have to provide more information.

Why was activation added to XP?
The purpose of Activation is to make the general public aware it is a
violation of the Windows XP EULA agreement to install a single licensed copy
to more than one computer at a time.

 

[Alex Nichol]

What are the terms in which my windows xp professional can be installed and
activated on a computer that I upgrade the motherboard, ram, cpu, and video
card?

See www.aumha.org/win5/a/wpa.htm. Broadly you can upgrade the original
machine as much as you like (with the exception of the motherboard on
many machines that came with the system installed, OEM) though if you
make too many changes you may need to reactivate which may involve a ten
minute phone call.

Retail copies can be removed from one machine to install on another -
you will probably have to activate by phone, though if more than 120
days since last time it will go through on the net

OEM ones (including the standalone OEM CDs you can buy) may not be
transferred - hence the lower price