Using windows on new computer

After re-reading my first post, i relize that it wasn't very clear. I wont be installing windows xp on 2 computers. When i stated

Will this recovery disk allow me to re-install windows on a totaly new computer?

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I meant the computer will have completly different hardware, but the hard-drive will be the hard drive from my old computer, but i am not sure whether the hard drive will work on the new system without me formating it first; And if i do format it,will i be able to re-install windows with the recovery disk, or will it think that its a totaly new compter and not allow me.

as far as the recovery disk i highly dought it has an os on it. sry..

twite said:

After re-reading my first post, i relize that it wasn't very clear. I wont be installing windows xp on 2 computers. When i stated



I meant the computer will have completly different hardware, but the hard-drive will be the hard drive from my old computer, but i am not sure whether the hard drive will work on the new system without me formating it first; And if i do format it,will i be able to re-install windows with the recovery disk, or will it think that its a totaly new compter and not allow me.

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So you are putting your old harddrive in your new machine and setting it as the master drive? The only thing i can see going wrong is when you activate a copy of windows it associates that copy of windows with a lot of details about your hardware setup, but i assume if your are not reinstalling you dont need to reactivate. You can get Windows XP pretty cheap now from several online stores, try overclockers.co.uk or ebuyer.com

no OEM MS can be transfered to a diff motherboard
most machines with bundled oem sticker on case is not transferable (legally)
unless you use the same MB
you can change anything else but not this
urbon mith is this licinse is good for a pc and a laptop ,not true
you can call them and cry all day and you will not get a new activation

now if it's retail then yes with a little effort it will activate on new machine
the recovery will have the OS on it it will look for the MB and may look for a hidden partition with the image on it
or main origin OS

Translating Samstoned's gibberish.. You are allowed to use the stickered OEM Windows copy only on the computer it shipped with. It doesn't matter if you are going to throw away the old machine or not.

It's the changing of parts in a computer. It's not like a brush where you can have it a lifetime if you just keep changing the handle and the head whenever one of them wears out. It's tied to the BIOS on the motherboard, which is kinda half way between what Samstoned and Nodsu said.

It's an interesting service we offer here - Tech advice for people of various fluencies in the language of Gibberish.

The truth is, Nodsu's answer is probably the best to go with. It's tied to your machine, and there is no legal way to use it on another.

if i'm not mistaken, MS EULA says one machine not original machine or same machine it shipped with. i have had MS validate activation when everything on a pc changed except hdd. mobo, nic, modem, cd, graphics card, floppy, was changed. and yet, MS validated the activation. you're not locked to a mobo, or the same machine, original machine shipped with. it states ONE machine.

more on EULA

The SOFTWARE may not
be used by more than two (2) processors at any one time
on the COMPUTER, unless a higher number is indicated
on the Certificate of Authenticity.

here's another part of EULA:

TRANSFER-Internal. You may move the Product to a different
Workstation Computer. After the transfer, you must
completely remove the Product from the former Workstation
Computer. Transfer to Third Party. The initial user of the
Product may make a one-time transfer of the Product to
another end user. The transfer has to include all
component parts, media, printed materials, this EULA, and
if applicable, the Certificate of Authenticity. The
transfer may not be an indirect transfer, such as a
consignment. Prior to the transfer, the end user receiving
the transferred Product must agree to all the EULA terms.
No Rental. You may not rent, lease, lend or provide
commercial hosting services to third parties with the
Product.

OK. That sounds promising, but isn't really. You're reading a retail EULA, whereas OEM versions have a different EULA. It wasn't long ago that I know for definite that there was a provision in the EULA about keeping it on the same machine, though I understand there was some question ove whether it could apply in the EU.

However, please check THIS page from Microsoft. In particular, the "Q. May I transfer software from one PC to another?", under the legal questions heading. It states the following...

Pre-installed software
If the software is pre-installed, the software lives and dies with the PC and can never be transferred to another PC

Full packaged product
With full packaged product software bought from resellers, you can transfer the software to another PC. As long as it is uninstalled from the first PC and everything is transferred with it (the EULA, the COA, the CD and everything contained in the box). You can transfer the full packaged Product licence outside the organisation, as long as it is transferred complete with discs and documentation and the software is uninstalled from the original PC.

Volume licences
With Microsoft volume licence programmes, you can transfer the software from one PC to another, as long as you have uninstalled it from the first PC and you only use the permitted number of copies of each licensed product you have bought. Operating system licenses acquired through OEM, cannot be transferred, even if upgraded through a volume licence agreement.

For more information, please read this white paper which summarises Microsoft's transferring of licences.

Download the 'Principles of Transferring licences' as a Word document (56.5KB / 8 secs at 56 KBps

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For confirmation of this, could somebody please attach %systemroot%/system32/eula.txt to a new post here from an OEM XPSP2 system. Hopefully we can then lay this one to rest, pending a check on the law.

I don't have my XPSP2 machine here so I'll have to find text later unless someone beats me to it. However, this is the fundamental difference between retail and OEM versions of Windows. Retail you can transfer (per post above) but OEM is tied to the original machine it is installed on even if you throw it away.

But really, how would they know if i reinstalled it on another computer. I have had to call microsoft numerous times to reactivate windows because "The hardware had been changed on my computer" because i had put a new video card in, or had put more memory in, and when calling them, they didn't ask any questions, they simply gave me an activation code, i plugged it in, and it worked. Its amazing what people do..I see no reason why i should have to purchase a new copy of windows..billion dollar businesses screwing people over just to add a penny to their pocket.

You will need to reformat and reinstall windows if you recycle the hard drive. It is illegal to use xp on more than one machine and it violates the license agreement. When you reinstall, you will be asked to call M$ during installation to get a new key. And yes- M$ will know it's installed on more than 1 machine if you try to do so. Windows updates and validation will show it to be if you aren't following the rules. Let's stop piracy and do the right thing. Piracy hurts everyone.
Heck I just bought a $20 game yesterday that I downloaded because I liked it.

twite said:

But really, how would they know if i reinstalled it on another computer.

I see no reason why i should have to purchase a new copy of windows..billion dollar businesses screwing people over just to add a penny to their pocket.

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There are special and unique (to the OEM manufacturer at least) codes written into the BIOS of you motherboard that are tied to both your installation, and your installation media. If you were able to put the installation into a computer with a different mobo, the codes wouldn't be present in the bios, Windows will flag up that fact and even if you could still use it, it would still fail WGA validation.

On your second question, it's because you never actually bought a copy of Windows. What you bought was a computer that was preinstalled with windows. Windows was part of an OEM product, and is actually licensed to the OEM manufacturer in an agreement with MS that allows them to use Windows on their machines as a feature of the full product, not to yourself. The End User License Agreement in this sense is effectively an extention of MSs agreement with the OEMs which tells you, the End User, what you can and can't do with that aspect of the product.

Technically speaking, even though MS may well be complicit in this common misconception, MS have done nothing to "screw people over" in this instance, at least not directly. If anybody is responsible, it's both the OEM retailer that doesn't make these terms clear and understandable, and the customer that doesn't make absolutely sure of exactly what it is that they are buying, and what the terms of the purchase actually are. It all comes down to experience though.

On your second question, it's because you never actually bought a copy of Windows. What you bought was a computer that was preinstalled with windows. Windows was part of an OEM product, and is actually licensed to the OEM manufacturer in an agreement with MS that allows them to use Windows on their machines as a feature of the full product, not to yourself.

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Well, these big companies all have their way of getting money out of people. Instead of charging you for the copy of windows, they pay microsoft instead, then jack up the price of the comp $50 or so. They could have easily made it instead were they give you the option of buying a non OEM version for a mere $20 more..but instead they make you buy the OEM version (but don't actually say that your buying it)..and then make you pay another $100 when you want to upgrade...ridiculous.

...thought that $50 is the price of an OEM copy of windows, and I'm sure you'll agree that it is far cheaper than the full retail price. The lesser price is used as a means of getting Windows on more systems, but if you choose an OEM version of the OS, you aren't going to have the full reign to use it as you would a retail version.

A non OEM version option would cost the non-OEM price. It really is that simple. It's a way of getting Windows to you for less cost, meaning a lesser price on the system. The almost symbiotic relationship between OEMs and MS is a way for both the OEMs and for MS to win out in market share.

There's really nothing unfair about it. No more unfair than to the rest of us anyway. Even to those of use who have non-OEM versions of XP.

Well..i guess im just angry about the fact that i have to purchase the same thing twice. Instead of being presented with the option of buying the non-OEM which with wholesale manufactuter prices would probably only be a little more then the OEM, I have to buy the OEM, and the non OEM..Well i guess the only option for avoiding buying a stupid OEM copy of windows is by building your own computer in the first place and not having to deal with with a manufacturer..But at the time i wasn't technologically capable of doing so...But thanks to you wonderful helpers here at techspot..and a couple years of experience, now i am :slurp: ..but still mad that i have to buy another copy of windows :dead:

No problem Twite. We're glad to have been of help

From Newegg anyway, an OEM copy of XP Home is about $90 and a retail version is about $199. It's a bit less expensive if you buy volume. Anyway, you can see why they install OEM instead of retail. Also, I don't begrudge companies who make computers from making a buck. That's the whole reason they're in business. They don't make money selling at cost. And this is one of the reasons people build their own computer which is to save the money that companies want to make.

I don't begrudge companies who make computers from making a buck.

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Their is a difference between making a buck, and making a billion bucks.
If it was a local small gain company, i would understand. With a billion dollar empire like microsoft..It is more then making a buck..IMO, it is greed..but, i guess that is what a business is all about, and thats why microsoft is so succesful.

Actually I was talking more about the company who built the computer who installed and charged for the OEM version of Windows, not so much Microsoft itself. But with regard to Microsoft, you're right. It's just business.

Actually I was talking more about the company who built the computer who installed and charged for the OEM version of Windows

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Yeh..i agree with you on that..i just feel that they should give you the choice of buying the non OEM version of windows...but as you said, i don't begrade those companies for costs...most of their parts are retail prices, or less..they make most of their money buying the products wholesale.