Windows XP license

[Guest]

If selling a windows xp disk and laptop(bought separately) how do i
deregister my name with windows before selling

 

[Ron Badour]

Are you asking about taking your name off of the registration at MS or are
you asking about cleaning up your laptop? If the latter, there is a lot
more to do than erasing your name if you have any kind of personal data on
the laptop.

 

[Uncle Grumpy]

If selling a windows xp disk and laptop(bought separately) how do i
deregister my name with windows before selling

Are you asking how you can sell both to the same person so that buyer
can activate the copy of XP?

If the answer is yes, don't worry about it. As long as you don't try
to use that copy of XP again after selling it, both you and the person
you sold it to will be fine.

 

[Guest]

I would need to do both, the laptop and MS disk will be sold to the same
person if that helps with taking my name off the registration at MS.

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

I would need to do both, the laptop and MS disk will be sold to the same
person if that helps with taking my name off the registration at MS.

*If* you have registered (it's optional and many people do not), you
can't take your name off. But it's not necessary anyway. Registration
is just used for marketing purposes, and has no real significance.

You are perhaps thinking of activation, rather than registration (it's
activation that's mandatory). Activation ties the copy of Windows to
the *computer*, not to you. It's completely anonymous, and your name
isn't there. There's also no way to un-activate, nor is it needed. If
the new owner reinstalls Windows, he will need to reactivate, just as
you would.

 

[Ron Badour]

Ken gave you the info about registration and activation. If you have a
bunch of personal information on your laptop, you cannot depend on just
deleting or uninstalling programs to protect you--the data can still be
retrieved with free or inexpensive software. What I recommend is that you
format the drive on the PC and then reinstall the system and any software
you are selling with it. When all the tweaks, updates, etc., are done
installing, defrag the drive. Then use a program like the one below to
overwrite all the "blank" space on the drive. That is the process I use
when I clean up a PC for sale. I also install all the updates (I have a
cable modem) since that makes for a selling point for most people: fresh
installation of system and all updates.

Eraser: http://www.heidi.ie/eraser/ Freeware that overwrites the "blank"
data on a
hard drive.