Validate Windows XP

[Mike]

I recently installed WinXp on my desktop. It came
prepackaged on with my brand new laptop. On the desktop
it says that I must "validate" windows before the end of
30 days or I will not be able to use it anymore. If
I "validate" it will I not be able to re-install it on my
laptop or my desktop if something happens to it? Any help
is greatly appreciated. Thank you.

Respectfully,
Mike

 

[Chris Jackson]

You can activate Windows XP as many times as you need to on the same piece
of hardware. (It actually sends in a hash of the hardware you have when you
validate.) You will not be able to install it on another machine, which is
intentional.

 

[Michael Solomon \(MS-MVP Windows Shell/User\)]

And just to add to Chris's response, if you don't activate at all, the
operating system will cease to function after 30 days.

 

[Ken Blake]

In

I recently installed WinXp on my desktop. It came
prepackaged on with my brand new laptop. On the desktop
it says that I must "validate" windows before the end of
30 days or I will not be able to use it anymore. If
I "validate" it will I not be able to re-install it on my
laptop or my desktop if something happens to it? Any help
is greatly appreciated. Thank you.

The term is "activate," not "validate." No, there's no such
restriction; you will be able to reinstall it whenever you need
to.

However the above assumes that you have a separate copy for each
of the two computers. If you're trying to install the same copy
on both computers, that's a violation of the licensing agreement,
and you won't be able to activate it on the second computer.

 

[Ron Martell]

I recently installed WinXp on my desktop. It came
prepackaged on with my brand new laptop. On the desktop
it says that I must "validate" windows before the end of
30 days or I will not be able to use it anymore. If
I "validate" it will I not be able to re-install it on my
laptop or my desktop if something happens to it? Any help
is greatly appreciated. Thank you.

What you are attempting to do contravenes the licensing terms for your
Windows XP.

If your Windows XP came prepackaged on your new laptop then that
license is permanently locked to that laptop and cannot be transferred
to any other computer under any circumstances, even if the original
laptop is lost, stolen or destroyed.

In order to comply with the terms of your license you have two
choices:

1. Uninstall XP from your desktop and revert to the previous version
of Windows that was installed on it.

or

2. Purchase a retail copy of Windows XP and do a Repair Install with
that copy as per the instructions at
http://michaelstevenstech.com/XPrepairinstall.htm


Good luck


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."

 

[Bruce Chambers]

Greetings --

What you are attempting is widely known as software piracy.

As it has *always* been with *all* Microsoft operating systems, it's
necessary (to be in compliance with both the EULA and copyright laws,
if not technically) to purchase one WinXP license for each computer on
which it is installed. The only way in which WinXP licensing differs
from that of earlier versions of Windows is that Microsoft has finally
added a copy protection and anti-theft mechanism, Product Activation,
to prevent (or at least make more difficult) multiple installations
using a single license.

Further, OEM versions are _permanently_ bound to the first PC on
which they are installed. An OEM license, once installed, is not
legally transferable to another computer under _any_ circumstances.

If you want WinXP on your desktop, you need to purchase another
license.

Bruce Chambers

--
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