XP Home License Issue

[Guest]

Hi,

I have an HP XT983 PC (purchased in 2002) that recently fried the system
board. The hard drive containing the operating system is still good but HP
advises me that the operating system that came with this machine can't be
used with a new system board or loaded to another bare bones machine without
obtaining a new product key from Microsoft.

Can anyone tell me if an HP system recovery disk can be used to load the XP
operating system onto a entirely different system? If not, why?

Also, will my current hard drive and operating system work and boot with the
addition of a new system board to my present case?

Any info is appreciated. Thanks!

 

[Michael D. Alligood]

No, your HP Recovery Disc cannot be used on a different system. The HP
Recovery Disc is an OEM product. Meaning that the license for that
product is tied to the computer it was installed on. This has always
been the case with OEM software. If you were to purchase a retail
version of Windows XP, that license could be transferred to another
computer if the original crashed. However, your license being OEM is
tied to the boat anchor formally known as your computer. Sorry.

 

[Bruce Chambers]

Hi,

I have an HP XT983 PC (purchased in 2002) that recently fried the system
board. The hard drive containing the operating system is still good but HP
advises me that the operating system that came with this machine can't be
used with a new system board or loaded to another bare bones machine without
obtaining a new product key from Microsoft.

That's essentially correct; you'll have to get a replacement
motherboard from HP, if you want to continue to use that same OEM
license and Recovery CD.

Can anyone tell me if an HP system recovery disk can be used to load the XP
operating system onto a entirely different system? If not, why?

No, it can't, for two reasons:

1) You have an OEM license for WinXP. An OEM version must be sold with
a piece of hardware (normally a motherboard or hard rive, if not an
entire PC) and is _permanently_ bound to the first PC on which it's
installed. An OEM license, once installed, is not legally transferable
to another computer under _any_ circumstances. This lack of
transferability is of the primary reasons an OEM license costs so much
less than a transferable retail license.

2) HP designs their Recovery CDs so that they cannot be installed on
any motherboard other than ones bearing HP's proprietary identification
method. This is a copy/theft protection mechanism.

Also, will my current hard drive and operating system work and boot with the
addition of a new system board to my present case?

Probably not.

Normally, and assuming a retail license (many factory-installed OEM
installations are BIOS-locked to a specific chipset and therefore are
*not* transferable to a new motherboard - check yours before starting),
unless the new motherboard is virtually identical (same chipset, same
IDE controllers, same BIOS version, etc.) to the one on which the WinXP
installation was originally performed, you'll need to perform a repair
(a.k.a. in-place upgrade) installation, at the very least:

How to Perform an In-Place Upgrade of Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/directory/article.asp?ID=KB;EN-US;Q315341

Changing a Motherboard or Moving a Hard Drive with WinXP Installed
http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/moving_xp.html

The "why" is quite simple, really, and has nothing to do with
licensing issues, per se; it's a purely technical matter, at this point.
You've pulled the proverbial hardware rug out from under the OS. (If
you don't like -- or get -- the rug analogy, think of it as picking up a
Cape Cod style home and then setting it down onto a Ranch style
foundation. It just isn't going to fit.) WinXP, like Win2K before it,
is not nearly as "promiscuous" as Win9x when it comes to accepting any
old hardware configuration you throw at it. On installation it
"tailors" itself to the specific hardware found. This is one of the
reasons that the entire WinNT/2K/XP OS family is so much more stable
than the Win9x group.




--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:



They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. -Benjamin Franklin

Many people would rather die than think; in fact, most do. -Bertrand Russell

 

[Guest]

Thanks! I was afraid of that. (

Do you know what happens if I buy a new system board and install it in the
current case...will the system boot up that way? I suspect it won't based on
what HP is telling me. If it will, then maybe I can go that route??

BK

 

[Bruce Chambers]

Thanks! I was afraid of that. (

Do you know what happens if I buy a new system board and install it in the
current case...will the system boot up that way? I suspect it won't based on
what HP is telling me. If it will, then maybe I can go that route??

Normally, and assuming a retail license (many factory-installed OEM
installations are BIOS-locked to a specific chipset and therefore are
*not* transferable to a new motherboard - check yours before starting),
unless the new motherboard is virtually identical (same chipset, same
IDE controllers, same BIOS version, etc.) to the one on which the WinXP
installation was originally performed, you'll need to perform a repair
(a.k.a. in-place upgrade) installation, at the very least:

How to Perform an In-Place Upgrade of Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/directory/article.asp?ID=KB;EN-US;Q315341

Changing a Motherboard or Moving a Hard Drive with WinXP Installed
http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/moving_xp.html

The "why" is quite simple, really, and has nothing to do with
licensing issues, per se; it's a purely technical matter, at this point.
You've pulled the proverbial hardware rug out from under the OS. (If
you don't like -- or get -- the rug analogy, think of it as picking up a
Cape Cod style home and then setting it down onto a Ranch style
foundation. It just isn't going to fit.) WinXP, like Win2K before it,
is not nearly as "promiscuous" as Win9x when it comes to accepting any
old hardware configuration you throw at it. On installation it
"tailors" itself to the specific hardware found. This is one of the
reasons that the entire WinNT/2K/XP OS family is so much more stable
than the Win9x group.

As always when undertaking such a significant change, back up any
important data before starting.

This will also probably require re-activation, unless you have a
Volume Licensed version of WinXP Pro installed. 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.


--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:



They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. -Benjamin Franklin

Many people would rather die than think; in fact, most do. -Bertrand Russell

 

[Nina DiBoy]

Hi,

I have an HP XT983 PC (purchased in 2002) that recently fried the system
board. The hard drive containing the operating system is still good but HP
advises me that the operating system that came with this machine can't be
used with a new system board or loaded to another bare bones machine without
obtaining a new product key from Microsoft.

Can anyone tell me if an HP system recovery disk can be used to load the XP
operating system onto a entirely different system? If not, why?

Also, will my current hard drive and operating system work and boot with the
addition of a new system board to my present case?

Any info is appreciated. Thanks!

One option you have is to locate a generic oem CD. Install your HDD
with XP Home into another system, then use the generic oem cd to do a
repair install. Once you have all of the drivers straightened out and
it is booting OK, it will be asking for activation. Try it over the
internet. If that does not work, then call in to the MS PA center. If
you are connected to a live operator, the only information they require
for activating the product is and I quote:

"The only information that is required for activation is an Installation
ID. For Office XP and Office XP family products, such as Visio 2002, the
name of the country where the product is being installed is also required."

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/302878#5a

If their questions go anywhere beyond that, tell them politely that you
feel that it is an invasion of your privacy and you would rather not
answer. If they persist, remind them of their own privacy policy (as
listed above) and if necessary, as to speak with one's supervisor.
Escalate it until they listen.

Good luck.