Windows XP Activation?

[BlindingLights]

Home is designed for a Single CPU machine. Always has been. So that explains that. As long as you have the Full Install of Home or Pro, You can reinstall it on another machine as long as you take it off your existing machine. When activating, you may have to talk to a Microsoft person and they will give you a new number. They will ask you if you are running it on any other machine. I used to change motherboards and CPU's all the time so am no stranger with talking to Microsoft.

okay so I'm in the clear if I take it off of one machine then put it on another?

or do I HAVE to call Microsoft to get a new number?

 

[dtravis7]

okay so I'm in the clear if I take it off of one machine then put it on another?

or do I HAVE to call Microsoft to get a new number?

If this is not the OEM but the full install of Pro or Home, you can zap it off the one machine and install it on the other. When it gets to the desktop, the activation warning will come up. Follow the prompts. Sometimes you may not have to call it. Trust me, it will let you know. Sometimes it will just activate on the net without a call. If you do have to call, tell them what they want to know and assure them it's only on one system. All should be fine. I have done it a few times but usually it's me changing things like the motherboard, Video Card Etc but sometimes even with just the Video card and maybe one other item I had to talk to someone.

 

[wind_man]

I'm probably not the best one to say this I started the debate in the first place. But Microsoft will allow you to transfer an OEM version of Windows under certain circumstances. They allowed me when I upgraded my mum's computer from an old Pentium3 to a new AMD64. They said as long as I deactivated it on my old Hard Drive I was able to reactivate it once they got a signal from my old computer that it had been deactivated.

 

[dtravis7]

http://blogs.msdn.com/mssmallbiz/archive/2005/09/07/461950.aspx

 

[Mathiau]

for the CPU limits

when they say CPU - they are refering to the physical socket NOT the number of cores.

Home can handle a quad core CPU, but it can not handle a dual socket system

when you see things like 1-2CPU license, it means it can be used on a computer with 1-2 pysical sockets for CPU, now those CPU cna have as many cores.

However with multi-core processosors becoming the norm, MS is to be revising their licensing to reflect more around multi cores.

 

[dtravis7]

I said CPU's, not cores. Not tring to be rude in case it sounds that way.

 

[Mathiau]

^^^ no rudeness was taken

this is a confusing subject with multi cores coming out now simply alot of people dont know the diff between a core and a cpu, tend to be the same people who call their computer case the CPU