Windows XP home licence

[Terry]

I have a compaq laptop with windows home xp. I want to
install it on my desktop. Computersystems2go.com sells a
Windows xp Home , License Only along with a audio cable to
comply with OEM software requirements. They say it will
work with my existing disk. Is this OK? and legal? Is
there any reason I should not buy this License (COA)for
windows xp home (no cd)

 

[Willit]

Sure it's legal, why wouldn't it be ???

 

[Mike Brannigan [MSFT]]

I have a compaq laptop with windows home xp. I want to
install it on my desktop. Computersystems2go.com sells a
Windows xp Home , License Only along with a audio cable to
comply with OEM software requirements. They say it will
work with my existing disk. Is this OK? and legal? Is
there any reason I should not buy this License (COA)for
windows xp home (no cd)

Your Compaq supplied Windows XP CD (if they supplied you a full CD and not a
restore CD) is an OEM product - you would need to purchase an OEM license
and Key.
You need to check exactly what type of CD Compaq supplied to you. Unless it
is a full Windows XP CD you may need to just purchase a license and CD pack
from your store.
You may also want to check with Compaq/HP about the legitimacy of using
their OEM supplied CD with another OEM key.

--
Regards,

Mike
--
Mike Brannigan [Microsoft]

This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no
rights

Please note I cannot respond to e-mailed questions, please use these
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[Rick \Nutcase\ Rogers]

Hi Terry,

Are they telling you that they will sell you an additional license to use
with your Compaq version of WinXP Home? I doubt that it will work, the
Compaq version is probably locked to the system it came with and will not
install on any other machine. What you need for the desktop is a regular
retail version (do not get an OEM full version if you want to do an upgrade
to an existing installation, it will probably not work) or a version of
WinXP designed for that system (best obtained from the manufacturer of the
pc).

There is nothing illegal about selling an OEM license with a bit of
hardware, but I suspect there is a bit of deception on the part of the
vendor here.

--
Best of Luck,

Rick Rogers aka "Nutcase" MS-MVP - Win9x
Windows isn't rocket science! That's my other hobby!

Associate Expert - WinXP - Expert Zone

 

[Guest]

This is not a "Compaq" version of xp that I have. It is a
regular Microsoft XP home cd in the same package as you
buy in the store

 

[Bruce Chambers]

Greetings --

The COA won't do you any good if you don't have an installation CD
of a matching type. IOW, you need to buy an OEM Compaq COA, and, even
then, this will work only if your second PC is identical to the one
with which the CD came.

Bruce Chambers

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[D.Currie]

Hey Bruce, aren't the additional licenses only good for retail product, and
not OEM?

And as far as I know, there are very few legal sources for licenses-only, in
any case.

 

[Alex Nichol]

I have a compaq laptop with windows home xp. I want to
install it on my desktop. Computersystems2go.com sells a
Windows xp Home , License Only along with a audio cable to
comply with OEM software requirements. They say it will
work with my existing disk. Is this OK? and legal?

Such an OEM disk will not do an Upgrade - only a clean install. And I
would not try upgrading a laptop, or a Compaq machine, and ESPECIALLY a
Compaq laptop with a generic disk, whether OEM or retail. The hardware
of these machines has proprietary components that need custom system
components to work.

 

[Bruce Chambers]

Greetings --

Microsoft sells only retail licenses, but I don't know for certain
whether or not other distributors are prohibited from selling OEM
licenses. I do seriously doubt that OEM licenses are legitimately
available for retail sale, which was kind of the point I was trying to
get across, in a round-about, sarcastic way. I guess I'll have to
work on that. ;-}

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