Re: Installing XP, Activation, Product Key, etc
- From: "Ken Blake, MVP" <kblake@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Fri, 11 Jul 2008 12:24:35 -0700
On Thu, 10 Jul 2008 22:55:00 -0700, Peter
<Peter@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Hi All, This is my first Question/s ever, so be nice to a first timer. please.
This is my story. I bought a second hand computer with WinXp Home on it.
Acer Veriton 5500. I wiped the Hard Drive clean because I didn't want any
virus's, etc.
Good. That's the best thing to do with a used computer.
I didn't understand to much about Re-Installing, Activation's.
So I bought another WinXp Home SP1 OEM Cd brand new(unused). I?ve installed
it & its all working great (much better than my Win98).
But I believe I've read in your newsgroups that I didn't "need" to do this.
I could have used the Product Key that was on the side of my computer to
re-install Wimp Home with the Cod they gave me. (I know I'm real dumb in this
area).
Yes, you could have.
Is there a way to find out over the net if my Original Product Key on the
computer is still useable on the Acer Computer?
There's no need to "find out." Yes, it's still usable. It's usable on
that computer forever.
I believe in principal your laws seem to say the Product Key can be used
limitlessly if no hardware changes (i.e. Mother Board).
No, it can be used limitlessly as long as it's on that original
computer. Hardware changes *are* permitted. Only a move to a different
computer is forbidden.
Future Questions if the answer is "Yes" - I can use the Original Product Key
on the side of the Acer Computer.
Would this allow me to use the existing WinXp Home (I bought new) that I
have on this computer now on another computer(that?s not been not working for
6 months now - has Win 98 on it)?
No. The biggest disadvantage of the OEM CD you bought is that its
license ties it permanently to the original computer it's installed on
and it may never be moved to another. That's the reason I almost
always recommend a Retail Upgrade copy instead, which usually costs
only slightly more than an OEM copy, can be moved to another computer
as desired, and *can* do a clean installation (despite what many
people think) as long as you have a CD of a previous qualifying
version (such as Windows 98) to show it when installing.
If you say that I "can't" use my newly bought WinXp Home CD on the other
computer. If the reason be because it's locked to the Acer 5500 computer now
& can't be De-activated.
Yes.
What about in the other newsgroups some people seem
to say something about "if I don't activate for 120 days" I can use the
Product Key again, etc. Please explain the 120 days without activation. Would
it work for me?
Are you asking about whether you can get away with violating the rules
in the EULA? Yes, there are people who have gotten away with doing so.
That doesn't change the fact that what you are suggesting is against
the rules. Some people get away with driving through red lights, too,
but that doesn't make it legal to do so.
I believe I've stuffed up. Is there any way out of this. I don't think I'm
doing anything illegal - I have the original product key on the Acer
computer. I've paid for the right to use the WinXp Home Cd I bought. Please
guide me on the right path.
You've paid for the right to use the CD you bought, but your right is
only to use it in accordance with the terms of the EULA. What you
propose, unfortunately, is in violation of those terms.
--
Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP - Windows Desktop Experience
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