gocat2005 said:
One of my customers has bought an XP Professional Upgrade (retail boxed CD)
to upgrade his PC which has OEM XP Home installed on it. OK.
Now he wants to upgrade his laptop (which also has XP Home on it) using the
same CD set and license key.
Is that legal and practical for activation under the terms of the Retail XP
Upgrade license or should he buy another copy?
He'll need to purchase a separate WinXP Pro Upgrade license for each
computer on which you install it. As long as you have multiple
identical licenses, it doesn't matter if you use the same CD for the
installations, as long as you use a different license (Product Key) on
each installation.
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
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