xp pro activation

[Wilfred Crawley]

We own 5 Dell computers. 3 came with Windows XP
Professional and 2 came with Windows XP Home. I used one
of the XP Pro disks to upgrade one of the XP Home
machines. Now, it will not do windows update and says my
version is illegal.
What must I do to have XP Pro on them all. Must I buy the
XP pro upgrade? IF so, How do I reactivate the improperly
upgraded machine? Where can I purchase XP Pro upgrade?
Thank you for any assistance

Wilfred

 

[Nicholas]

You need to purchase "retail upgrade versions" of Windows XP
Professional for each Windows XP Home Edition computer you
wish to upgrade.

You can install Windows XP Pro on different computers as long as you
have an individual license (Product Key) for each installation.

Installing Windows XP Pro on different computers, using the
same Product Key (license), is a direct violation of the EULA
and Product Activation will fail with the subsequent installations.

The Windows XP End-User License Agreement (EULA) states you
can install one copy of XP on one computer. So you'll need
to purchase a second copy (Product Key - license) for each
installation.

Read your Windows XP End-User License Agreement:

Start > Run and type: WINVER , and hit enter.

Also, open XP's "Help and Support" and type: EULA
and click on "Questions and Answers about the
End-User License Agreement".


--
Nicholas

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| We own 5 Dell computers. 3 came with Windows XP
| Professional and 2 came with Windows XP Home. I used one
| of the XP Pro disks to upgrade one of the XP Home
| machines. Now, it will not do windows update and says my
| version is illegal.
| What must I do to have XP Pro on them all. Must I buy the
| XP pro upgrade? IF so, How do I reactivate the improperly
| upgraded machine? Where can I purchase XP Pro upgrade?
| Thank you for any assistance
|
| Wilfred
|

 

[Willit]

try this:

http://www.labmice.net/WindowsXP/articles/changeID.htm

 

[Willit]

or this

http://ryan.ript.net/xppid/

 

[Alex Nichol]

We own 5 Dell computers. 3 came with Windows XP
Professional and 2 came with Windows XP Home. I used one
of the XP Pro disks to upgrade one of the XP Home
machines. Now, it will not do windows update and says my
version is illegal.
What must I do to have XP Pro on them all. Must I buy the
XP pro upgrade?

Yes. One copy of Windows for each machine. You cannot use that Pro key
for another machine

And because your present installation is an OEM one that will not match
the new retail key, you will need to start by running that legitimate
upgrade over the present one. You *may* find you need to use the Dell
restore to their Home version before the upgrade will accept it. Give
some thought as to whether you really *need* Pro on that machine.

 

[Barry R. Ford]

This is only partially true. You can install with the same Product Key
on several machines if you buy a multi-seat corporate license key.
However, it might be cheaper to go ahead and buy two new copies of WinXP
for your other two machines. Then you can reactivate the improperly
installed machine with one of the new keys (call Microsoft for
instructions).