Windows XP Professional and activation code questions

[Guest]

Sorry I'm new at this so I have a couple questions concerning the windows
operating software and the product activation code .

I understand I cannot instal windows XP on more than one computer right? So
does that mean I have to buy a new copy of Windows XP when I buy a new
computer?

Can I reinstall the XP OS on my computer again if I want to reformat my hard
drive or if I have a hard drive that crashes and needs replacing?

 

[Guest]

legally yes you have to buy a copy of XP with every computer, but you can
install XP on the one PC as many times as you want. but if you gut the PC and
put some of the parts in another Pc such as the mobo, call microsofts
activation people and tell them your trying to install it again and its the
same PC u got with it, and they will read you a key. dont do this too many
times though. =P

 

[Guest]

Thank you very much. Boy, somebody is making out like a bandit and it's not
the consumer. Is there not like another activation code you could buy for the
new computer that wuld be chaeaper than buying the whole operating software
again?

J.

 

[Alias]

MS sells additional licences but it would be cheaper to by a generic OEM at
a place like Walmarts.

Alias

 

[Guest]

Very interesting I'm up in Canada and I don't think we have the generic OEM
in the Walmarts up here, least ways I've never heard of them before. This
generic OEM works just like XP? This is great info so please elaborate a
little if you could.

 

[Alias]

Very interesting I'm up in Canada and I don't think we have the generic
OEM
in the Walmarts up here, least ways I've never heard of them before. This
generic OEM works just like XP? This is great info so please elaborate a
little if you could.

Generic OEMs and Retail are the same thing except MS "allows" you to move a
Retail to another computer and will not "allow" you to move an OEM (course
they never specify if and when upgrading a computer consitutes a new
computer, much to their credit). An OEM cannot be used to upgrade from
98/Me/2000 but it can do a repair install.

I don't know where you can get them in Canada.

Alias

 

[Rock]

Sorry I'm new at this so I have a couple questions concerning the windows
operating software and the product activation code .

I understand I cannot instal windows XP on more than one computer right? So
does that mean I have to buy a new copy of Windows XP when I buy a new
computer?

Can I reinstall the XP OS on my computer again if I want to reformat my hard
drive or if I have a hard drive that crashes and needs replacing?

Depends on the type of XP. For retail versions it can be reinstalled on
the same computer as many times as you want and it can be moved to
another computer as long as it is removed from the first one.

OEM versions can be reinstalled on the same computer as many times as
you want, but they are tied to the first computer on which they are
installed and can't be transferred.

Read the EULA to get more information.

 

[Guest]

Sorry, what is the EULA?

Depends on the type of XP. For retail versions it can be reinstalled on
the same computer as many times as you want and it can be moved to
another computer as long as it is removed from the first one.

OEM versions can be reinstalled on the same computer as many times as
you want, but they are tied to the first computer on which they are
installed and can't be transferred.

Read the EULA to get more information.

 

[Jone Doe]

IMPORTANT-READ CAREFULLY: This End-User License Agreement
("EULA") is a legal agreement between you (either an individual
or a single entity) and Microsoft Corporation for the Microsoft
software product identified above, which includes computer
software and may include associated media, printed materials,
"online" or electronic documentation, and Internet-based ...

and so it goes, on and on and on...

 

[Bruce Chambers]

Sorry I'm new at this so I have a couple questions concerning the windows
operating software and the product activation code .

I understand I cannot instal windows XP on more than one computer right? So
does that mean I have to buy a new copy of Windows XP when I buy a new
computer?

Assuming a retail license (OEM licenses are not legitimately
transferable), simply remove WinXP from the computer it is currently on
and then install it on the new computer. If it's been more than 120
days since you last activated that specific Product Key, the 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.

If you plan to own multiple computers, you'll need to purchase a
separate WinXP license for each computer on which you install it.

Just as it has *always* been with *all* Microsoft operating
systems, it's necessary (to be in compliance with both the EULA and U.S.
copyright law http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/117.html), if not
technically) to purchase one WinXP license for each computer on which it
is installed. (Consult an attorney versed in copyright law to determine
final applicability in your locale.) 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.

One can buy additional licenses, assuming one already has a retail
license. Naturally, Microsoft cannot sell additional OEM licenses. Be
aware, however, that you'll probably pay more this way than you would if
you were to buy a second copy of WinXP from a discount retailer;
Microsoft will only offer you a 15% discount off their MSRP.

Additional Licenses for Windows XP Home Edition
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/home/howtobuy/addlic.asp

Additional Licenses for Windows XP Professional
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/pro/howtobuy/addlic.asp

Can I reinstall the XP OS on my computer again if I want to reformat my hard
drive or if I have a hard drive that crashes and needs replacing?

There's no limit to the number of times you can reinstall and
activate the same WinXP license on the same PC. If you have a retail
license, there's no limit to the number of times you can remove it from
one PC and install it on another. Nor is there ever a charge. Nor does
a Product Key (so long as it's not an evaluation license) ever expire.
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.

Here are the facts pertaining to activation:

Piracy Basics - Microsoft Product Activation
http://www.microsoft.com/piracy/basics/activation/

Windows Product Activation (WPA)
http://www.aumha.org/a/wpa.htm


--

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

 

[Bruce Chambers]

Thank you very much. Boy, somebody is making out like a bandit ....

Like your employer, do you mean? Are you content to work 5 days a week
as longer as you're paid only for Monday?

Simple common sense says that, regardless of price, if you buy and pay
for only _one_ item, _one_ is all you get. Nothing could be plainer.
This principle remains the same whether you're buying a physical
product, a service, or a software license. Anyone who expects it to be
otherwise is not fully partaking of reality. Does your local grocer let
you walk out of the market with three loaves of bread when you've paid
for only one? Can you drive two cars home from the dealership if you've
paid for only one? Does your local clothier allow you to leave the shop
with two shirts if you've purchased only one? Have you noticed a trend,
yet? In the simplest of terms, you get what you pay for. If you want
to install the same OS on multiple computers, either purchase multiple
licenses, a volume license, or an OS whose license permits multiple
installations, such as Linux.



--

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

 

[Alias]

You mean kind of like a hooker? You only pay to use her/him, not own
her/him?

The thing is that the marketing and computer stores all say you're buying
software when you're not. Ye Olde Bait and Switch technique that relies on
almost no one reading the EULA or even knowing what an EULA is. Today, for
example, someone asked what an EULA is.

Alias

 

[Bruce Chambers]

You mean kind of like a hooker? You only pay to use her/him, not own
her/him?

The thing is that the marketing and computer stores all say you're buying
software when you're not. Ye Olde Bait and Switch technique that relies on
almost no one reading the EULA or even knowing what an EULA is. Today, for
example, someone asked what an EULA is.

It's no one's fault but your own if you blindly accept everything a
sales clerk tells you, without doing any product research of your own.


--

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

 

[Alias]

It's no one's fault but your own if you blindly accept everything a sales
clerk tells you, without doing any product research of your own.

The store says "software". MS says "software". Most people do not read EULAs
and MS and the rest know it and take complete advantage of that fact.

Alias

 

[Bruce Chambers]

The store says "software". MS says "software". Most people do not read EULAs
and MS and the rest know it and take complete advantage of that fact.

Alias

Ignorance may be bliss, but it's never an excuse.

--

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

 

[Mistoffolees]

Ignorance may be bliss, but it's never an excuse.

It certainly won't be when it gets to the point that all
memoranda, contracts and agreements must be written in
plain English ...and comprehensible by persons with the
reading and cognitive skills at the Grade 8 (or lower)
school level. <:-}}

 

[Asher_N]

Not quite so. If you have the retal version, you can reformat the drive
in the old computer and install XP on the new. OEM becomes dicey.

 

[Stan Brown]

Simple common sense says that, regardless of price, if you buy and pay
for only _one_ item, _one_ is all you get. Nothing could be plainer.
This principle remains the same whether you're buying a physical
product, a service, or a software license. Anyone who expects it to be
otherwise is not fully partaking of reality. Does your local grocer let
you walk out of the market with three loaves of bread when you've paid
for only one?

These are _really_ flawed analogies.

A better one is, would you accept a CD that can only be played in one
player? Is it legitimate to have to buy a second CD for playing in
the car, and a third one for the stereo you take to the gym? Of
course not. You can't play the CD on more than one device at a time,
so you are free to use it in any device that will play it. Why things
should be different for operating systems escapes me.

--
Stan Brown, Oak Road Systems, Tompkins County, New York, USA
http://OakRoadSystems.com/
"To put it bluntly but fairly, anyone today who doubts that the
variety of life on this planet was produced by a process of
evolution is simply ignorant -- inexcusably ignorant, in a world
where three out of four people have learned to read and write."
--Daniel Dennett, /Darwin's Dangerous Idea/ (1995), page 46

 

[Stan Brown]

It's no one's fault but your own if you blindly accept everything a
sales clerk tells you, without doing any product research of your own.

Legally, that's not correct.

There is a warranty of fitness for a particular purpose, which means
that if a salesman tells you a product will do something, and you
rely on the salesman's representations and buy the product, and it
doesn't do the thing promised, you're entitled to return it for a
refund.

In other words, the law recognizes that it is not practical for
people to do comprehensive research on every buying decision. Would
it be better if they did? Sure, but that's not the same thing.

--
Stan Brown, Oak Road Systems, Tompkins County, New York, USA
http://OakRoadSystems.com/
"To put it bluntly but fairly, anyone today who doubts that the
variety of life on this planet was produced by a process of
evolution is simply ignorant -- inexcusably ignorant, in a world
where three out of four people have learned to read and write."
--Daniel Dennett, /Darwin's Dangerous Idea/ (1995), page 46

 

[Z]

Very interesting I'm up in Canada and I don't think we have the generic OEM
in the Walmarts up here, least ways I've never heard of them before. This
generic OEM works just like XP? This is great info so please elaborate a
little if you could.

You can buy from here:

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=335900&CatId=672