New Hard Drive Old XP

I bought a version of XP from school for five dollars because that is the cap on how much i will spend on microsoft products. So i loaded it on my old computer and everthing was as good as could be expected.... I bought a new computer and loaded xp i entered the "activation code" and it is still telling me that i need to activate in 3 day (it has been counting down for some time now i am just lazy) does anyone know what is going to happen and if there is anyway around this. I tryed to call billy bob center but was put on hold for longer then i cared to wait. Is all this stuff on the web about it being cracked true? is it worth my search?

XP will only load on one computer...if you want it on the new one then you have to get it off the old one, call MS (tell 'em you did a hardware upgrade) to get it activated. Bill fixed this one in a way that it is 'married' to the first system you installed it on, and can't be installed on a second system.

Once the activation is up, you're pretty much S.O.L. You have a few options.

1) Go and buy another copy of XP from your school for $5 and activate it
2) Uninstall the copy on the old computer, call Microsoft and get a new key for the new computer
3) Deal with it use a different OS on the new computer.

The reason your new computer says that it still needs to be activated is because you activated it on the old computer, and you're only allowed to activate each product once. The activation code is basically a snapshot of the hardware installed on your computer, so there really isn't anyway to use an old code on a different machine. There are ways around the activation, but if you plan to do one of those, realize that what you are doing is illegally using software. Also, if you do plan to do that, I recommend you find another community to become part of because many of us here are professionals who do not condone pirating of any type.

AJ

smogz, buying Windows XP for five dollars probably means you got a pirated version. To make WindowsXP work, you must get a copy that is legit and that way you will not have so many problems with it.

Furthermore, if you are not willing to spend the money for Microsoft products, have you ever considered other operating systems such as BSD, Linux, OS/2, OSX, etc? There are many alternatives out there that might serve your needs.

As for finding a way to get around the activation routine, that is a violation of copyright law, which is illegal, and we cannot direct you on how to do that. Sorry.

alittlebitnumb, although it was very inexpensive, it may not have been pirated. My university, for instance, has a license agreement with Microsoft for students to be able to purchase their software for a very inexpensive price (I think Windows and Office XP are each $20 or so). Granted, it's the academic edition, but most students I know don't do any commercial work from home (they hate their normal jobs enough... they wouldn't even consider working from home. lol).

But, I do agree with you about an alternative OS. smogz, since you already have one machine with XP, why not try out Mandrake or Red Hat Linux on your new one? If you're interested in computers and/or security, it'll be an absolutely great learning experience.

AJ

Ok some more questions then. If i own and paid for this version of xp then if i "cracked" it would that still be "pirating" or "illegal" i dont get it i have a license to own and use this copy of xp. i gave them my name and addres just to obtain a copy and it only one copy per student. so every time i change a component on my pc or say i want to change my pc altogether i have to call Microsoft and tell them. Maybe they should change there colors to red and gold..

You own that version of XP for one computer. In order to use XP on more machines, you need to have an individual license for each computer. That's why many families are upset about the new licensing agreement because they can no longer buy one copy and install it on all of the family's computers (which was illegal as well, but no one really thought of it as being illegal since they had already paid for one copy). Basically, with nearly any program, one CD means you can install it on one computer. No questions asked. Anything beyond that is pirating.

As for hardware changes, it's a little more than just changing one hardware component. There is a list on Microsoft of the hardware components that XP tracks. Generally (unless you change the network card as well as something else) you can get away with changing quite a few hardware components without re-activating the product. I recently upgraded all of my machines to gigabit ethernet adapters, and when I did that, I also installed a new hard drive into my XP machine and had to reactivate it, but I didn't mind. I was done with the entire process in about 3 minutes.

AJ

Quote:

---

Ok some more questions then. If i own and paid for this version of xp then if i "cracked" it would that still be "pirating" or "illegal"

---

Yes, it would. Under the DMCA, it is illegal to circumvent any copy protection, and is in violation of the EULA. Hope this helps.

This whole activation scheme is just another great reason to switch to Linux.

I use a cracked version of XP(corp), but I also have RedHat 7.3 which is what I use mostly now after I had a HD crash.

Pick up the RedHat Linux 7.3 Bible at your bookstore, it will run you about 50 bucks but once you learn it you'll never want to go back to windows. The book will cover absolutely everything you need to know, and if not you can always turn to the internet. The only downsides to using Linux is gaming (for now, its on its way) and some ISPs use windows/mac only software. But if you're connected through a university network that shouldn't be a problem.