am i screwed?

S

scolls

Member
ok i'm a noob but i installed a copy of windows xp pro that came with my desktop onto my laptop. according to microsoft, i can only activate it on 1 machine. it says i have 20 days left till activation and i already used my key code on my desktop, so does that mean in 20 days windows is gonna disapear?
 
have u tried activating it on the laptop


i have my xp home disc and i installed it on my old comp 4 times and then i did on this so the protection aint that great
 
You gotta purchase a new license. If the copy of XP came pre-packaged with that computer, it can only be used once...and on that computer.
 
so i have to buy windows basically? what if i got a key code from another copy of windows that hadn't been used?
 
Dunno where you would find that. But technically if you did not PURCHASE that key, and you activate it on your computer...that's illegal.
 
4W4K3 said:
Dunno where you would find that. But technically if you did not PURCHASE that key, and you activate it on your computer...that's illegal.
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i figured it would. so if i went out and bought a copy of xp pro, could i just use the code and not have to install the software again? also if i bought a copy, can i use it more then once?
 
I think you can just use the new key and not have to install it again.

If you buy a single copy of XP, you get one key, and one time to use it. Now, if you have to re-install XP on that SAME computer, you can re-use the code...but you can't use it on another machine. You may have to call M$ and get them to give you a temp key if you re-install, but they won't do it unless it is on the SAME computer.

I've done this a few times, and it's al ong and tedious process over the phone...but it works.
 
damnit. where is the best place i can get a copy from? to be honest this desktop is used soley for going online and nothing else, so windows home edition would be fine for me
 
If you really want to save yourself the money, try running Linux? If you just need internet access, Ubuntu is pretty easy and it's absolutely FREE.

I have bought Home Edition XP from www.newegg.com before and it was real cheap, fast shipping. I've actually spent a ton of money there, very reliable if you live in the United States.
 
4W4K3 said:
If you really want to save yourself the money, try running Linux? If you just need internet access, Ubuntu is pretty easy and it's absolutely FREE.

I have bought Home Edition XP from www.newegg.com before and it was real cheap, fast shipping. I've actually spent a ton of money there, very reliable if you live in the United States.
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i've bought from newegg before. this technically isn't my computer but it just went haywire on me so i figured the brilliant idea of re-installing xp pro would help
 
Well you know...you could try calling up Microsoft and telling them it went crazy, you wiped the drive and re-installed the OS...and now you need to re-activate it. That's the story right?

They should give you a new key, as long as the computer had an existing copy of XP on it that was in good standing (legit).
 
4W4K3 said:
Well you know...you could try calling up Microsoft and telling them it went crazy, you wiped the drive and re-installed the OS...and now you need to re-activate it. That's the story right?

They should give you a new key, as long as the computer had an existing copy of XP on it that was in good standing (legit).
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it originally had xp home and my desktop had xp pro so i decided that since it went screwy and basically locked up, i decided to re-install that copy of xp pro on it
 
scolls said:
how would i get this ubuntu? and is this what i would need to buy for xp home http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16832116056
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That copy looks right. It jsut includes the latest SP and all which is convenient. If they have a non-service packed edition and it's cheaper I'd get that...you can install the SP for free from Microsoft Update it just takes a bit of time.

Ubuntu is available here - http://www.ubuntu.com/download OR https://shipit.ubuntu.com/

The difference is if you download you gotta burn it to a CD and then install it. Or you can have them ship free CD's to your house (but it takes a good month at LEAST, mine took almost 2 months I think).

scolls said:
it originally had xp home and my desktop had xp pro so i decided that since it went screwy and basically locked up, i decided to re-install that copy of xp pro on it
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Oh, well that's semi-not OK. They may let it slide...but technically since it's a different operating system and it wasn't originally on the computer I dunno. If it had been XP Home agai I may be singing a different tune.
 
4W4K3 said:
That copy looks right. It jsut includes the latest SP and all which is convenient. If they have a non-service packed edition and it's cheaper I'd get that...you can install the SP for free from Microsoft Update it just takes a bit of time.

Ubuntu is available here - http://www.ubuntu.com/download OR https://shipit.ubuntu.com/

The difference is if you download you gotta burn it to a CD and then install it. Or you can have them ship free CD's to your house (but it takes a good month at LEAST, mine took almost 2 months I think).



Oh, well that's semi-not OK. They may let it slide...but technically since it's a different operating system and it wasn't originally on the computer I dunno. If it had been XP Home agai I may be singing a different tune.
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i think i better just stick with windows. i'll call microsoft and see what they say.
 
Alright that's cool, I'm a Windows guy as well for now. But I'm just so cheap...I had to give Ubuntu a try lol.
 
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