Win XP Home reinstall will I have to contact MS to re-activate?

[MMJII]

Hello All
I am restoring my dell pc due to HD failure, using all OEM CD's. Will I have
to reactivate Win XP Home, and if so will I have to jump thru any special
hoops with MS, or can I do this over the net for a 2nd time?.
thanks for any input.

 

[Will Denny]

Hi

If you have replaced the HD, you may not be able to reinstall XP if you have
an OEM version. They are 'tied' to the first system that they are installed
onto.

 

[Aussie Bomber]

Hello All
I am restoring my dell pc due to HD failure, using all OEM CD's. Will I have
to reactivate Win XP Home, and if so will I have to jump thru any special
hoops with MS, or can I do this over the net for a 2nd time?.
thanks for any input.

I have reinstalled my Dell a couple of times and found it not
necessary to reactivate.

There is a small file in C:\WINDOWS\system32 which containes the
activation data. It is wpa.dbl I think.

I saved it onto a disk before I reinstalled ready to put it back to
save the bother of reactivating but I found that the installation put
it there, so I guess Dell have it as part of the installation.