chrome

My win2k Pro install is getting creaky, and some of the games I have been buying struggle on win2k (compared with my mine at home and win xp at work) ...

any advice on the cheapest place I can pick up a LEGAL version of XP Pro?
Thanks.

andymar00

Have a look here www.ebuyer.com £97.00, unless you really need to connect to a domain go with XP Home only £59.00.

Or www.bluesolutions.co.uk but you will need to setup a trade account

Andy

jowl

You are only allowed to buy the OEM version if you buy certain hardware (m/b memory / cpu etc) But in my experience retailers are never that bothered about it.

andymar00

Thats right buy a mouse at 67p also

Andy

boomer

If you want to be legal, you will need a Full Packaged Product (shrink wrapped and boxed) version at getting on for £300 for XP Pro!!!

If you obtain a licence via "OEM", you can only ever run that copy of XP on the hardware that it came on, so if you did buy a 67p mouse with OEM XP Pro on it (which you can't), then you could only run it on that mouse, and no other mice or CPUs or whatever.

Prolly cheaper to buy a whole new computer with OEM software on it in the first place. BTW, of the DELL website, upgrading from XP Home to Pro costs an extra fifty quid!

mb

Daz34

I bought an OEM copy of XP Pro a few years back & have changed umpteen major components and done lots of reinstalls and have never had an issue with activating my copy.

andymar00

"If you obtain a licence via "OEM", you can only ever run that copy of XP on the hardware that it came on, so if you did buy a 67p mouse with OEM XP Pro on it (which you can't), then you could only run it on that mouse, and no other mice or CPUs or whatever."

even though the original OEM software unit may have been distributed with a component, like a mouse or hard drive, it isn't until the software is installed on a fully-assembled computer system that it becomes "married" to the hardware.

Daz
you can change any components as you like excluding the Motherboard and still keep withing licensing agreement

Daz34

I bought a genuine OEM copy from a local retailer together with a new sound card. They would only sell the OEM copy If I bought hardware.
I have since changed my motherboard & like I say, have had no problems activating it.

chrome

Cheers guys.


Sounds like XP Home might be the one to go for.
Which SP are MS up to now? 2? 3?

Is it nice and stable these days? I tried XP Pro when it first came out and it was shockingly unstable (registry mainly)...
Thats why I stuck stubbornly to win2kPro.
SO is it worth shelling out for?

jowl

I'd say so. We're on SP2 now.

My XP system is rock solid (for a windows OS!). Just make sure you have a min 512mb memory.

andymar00

You will be able to activate but when you change the motherboard the licence is no longer valid for that pc, so if you ever need to activate by phone I would not mention the MB Change.



The latest version comes with service pack 2 but you will need to download the latest windows updates

badcompany

£300 for xp pro THANK **** for a local bloke that builds my pc

always fixs it when i kill it ...formats & reinstalls xp pro for 40 sheets

Scooby-Doo

or buy norton ghost for 10 sheets and do it yourself in 10 minutes

jowl

Shhhhhhhhh! Don't give our secrets away!

Mick

iTrader: (1)

I've changed setups quite alot and on 2 machines at home - If I need to phone to re-activate I just explain that I have 2 WINXP COAs with seperate numbers and that I have changed whatever it is in this particular machine - it is a tedious process 7 lots of 6 letters to tell them and 7 lots of 6 numbers for them to tell you (I think) - but I have not had any problems changing drives or motherboards... or mice


Apparently there is some sort of points system that the check up system runs through to see if the machine is the same one. If you don't make the required No. of points you have to activate by phone. Once activation is done it is re-set to the current machine. If you have enough points not to require phone activation after 120 days the default full numbers will be allocated to your current setup... I was looking into this a couple of weeks ago - found a great web page that explained it well - but can't find it again now... sorry.

HTH
Mick

andymar00

The original post was how to get a legal copy of XP, once you have installed and registered a license to a machine if you change the motherboard it is no longer legal to use the license and you should buy another licensed copy.

You can get the corner shop to reinstall, make a ghost image or phone with some excuse and keep reregistering but it still dose not mean you are within the license agreement and can be prosecuted, This is from Microsoft Licensing

This only applies to motherboards; by the way i'm not suggesting that you should buy a new copy every time just stating a fact

Mick

iTrader: (1)

You're probably right Andy - this legal speak can be very confusing... But it would seem to me if you have bought an OS and have a valid 1 user licence for a particular machine - then you change the machine and contact MS to say I've got my licence but made these changes to the hardware... They say OK and give you a new code to make the software work - I don't understand how that could be illegal. they are going beyond what they legaly have to supply to you - but if they do agree it is OK and give you the code to make the software work... - I think MS are more user friendly than most people give them credit for.

Mick (the optimist )

James Neill

iTrader: (1)

Try ebay. You can usually find a good seller that's selling a legal copy (look for positive feedback on similar items). Got mine for £40 with a legit license key.