Re: O/T - Windows 7

On Wed, 7 Jan 2009 21:16:35 -0000, "LJM" <not@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

<middlelight@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:mm5am4tp9dm7p2qacl5abtatmgh39l85ad@xxxxxxxxxx
On Wed, 7 Jan 2009 19:42:28 -0000, "LJM" <not@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

"Ed" <Edward.A.Bowden@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:0434c19d-2787-4db5-ae00-6b2dc77c6e97@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
...
No-one should BUY an OS. Your computer comes with one, which works
fine. A fool and his money.

Bull. Try upgrading your motherboard and booting into the operating
system
that came with your PC. It's not gonna happen if it shipped with XP or
Vista. You'll have to buy a new OS.

Well not necessarily. If it came with the OS pre-installed and
nothing but a "recovery" disk then yes, you'll probably have to fork
out for a fully installable copy.

Not true. All OEM versions of XP have the same software license and
activation mechanism, and I'm not sure why the rules are different for you
than everybody else, but a new motherboard (assuming it's not identical to
its predecessor) will absolutely invalidate XP (OEM) -- even if you don't
have to install it again. The Windows Product Activation (WPA) service will
disabled crucial aspects of the OS thirty days after it notices the
motherboard change.

Whether you use HDD recovery or installation disks to get XP (OEM) back on
the system is irrelevant, because WPA decides whether your copy will remain
valid.

Fair enough. I've never had an OEM version of XP (I've had both Home
and Pro, but both were retail) so I wasn't aware that the OEM license
key was tied to the particular hardware.

With an activated copy of XP, you should be able to change a certain
number of components without it requiring re-activation. Even if it
does need re-activating, it's usually not a problem as long as it's
been a certain length of time (I think it's just a few months) since
the last re-activation.

It's not usually a problem provided you haven't changed > x number of
components or the motherboard. Microsoft consider a new motherboard to be a
new computer, and invalid the XP OEM license if you change it.

The PC I'm typing this on now is running the
same copy of XP as its predecessor did, and that PC underwent multiple
hardware changes (including new MB) during its lifetime.

It can't be an OEM version of XP then.

Retail and OEM copies have different licenses, and your version of XP is
definitely behaving like a retail version. The fact that you're running the
same copy on a different PC indicates that.

Indeed it is. I have a laptop which came with XP Home pre-installed,
but because it came with nothing but a recovery disk and a bunch of
other pre-installed crap that I didn't want, I used the retail XP
disks from my previous laptop and installed that instead. From what
you're saying, it sounds like I did the right thing.
.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: omg. Reactivation...............
    ... By any chance are you using an "OEM" version of XP? ... some limit on the total number of changes besides the motherboard. ... should handle the re-activation for you. ... But, assuming that you have the "retail" version of XP, not the OEM version, ...
    (microsoft.public.windowsxp.basics)
  • Re: XP License (Transfering)
    ... supplied OS and retail OS. ... There is no difficulty with activating OEM ... motherboard could be replaced as long as the replacement motherboard was ... didn't show that it's a OEM license. ...
    (microsoft.public.windowsxp.general)
  • Re: OEM XP
    ... >> The reason for reactivation is not becuase the motherboard as a whole was ... >>> MS rep also in the US, the OEM license changed last August. ... >>> OEM cannot open a three pack or 30 pack and sell individual units, ...
    (microsoft.public.windowsxp.general)
  • Re: OEM XP
    ... >> The reason for reactivation is not becuase the motherboard as a whole was ... >>> MS rep also in the US, the OEM license changed last August. ... >>> OEM cannot open a three pack or 30 pack and sell individual units, ...
    (microsoft.public.windowsxp.general)
  • Re: WinXP move to a different motherboard
    ... >> half ago with an OEM version of WinXP, purchased with a new hard drive. ... >> motherboard that I want to change anyway. ... > The OEM license, once installed, becomes tied to the entire computer, ... etc.) to the one on which the WinXP installation was originally ...
    (microsoft.public.windowsxp.general)