Moving XP Pro from a dead PC

[Willy]

I've a PC that died (will not turn on, old laptop not worth fixing) & has XP
Pro on it I purchased back in April of this year from MS. I've the original
CD from MS.
How can I legally move it to another PC?
--
Thanks, Bill
Post replies back to News Group

[Chuck]

Worst case it that you have to call MS and reactivate.
In actual fact, what you propose is quite legal.
Unless you purchased an OEM copy, that is, and that might also be OK, since
you would likely be the OEM.
MS will usually give users some slack when they grovel properly. <G>

"Willy" <jus...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:%23g5eOvF...@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl...

[Pegasus [MVP]]

"Willy" <jus...@hotmail.com> said this in news item
news:#g5eOvFh...@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl...

It depends. If Windows was pre-installed on the PC then it is probably an
OEM version, which is not transferrable. If you purchased a "Retail" version
of Windows then it can be transferred.

[Willy]

I purchased it from MS, not OEM, so what is process?

--
Thanks, Bill
Post replies back to News Group

"Pegasus [MVP]" <ne...@microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:elmTi6Gh...@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl...

[Willy]

Purchased Retail from MS.

--
Thanks, Bill
Post replies back to News Group

"Chuck" <cdk...@msn.com> wrote in message
news:uovBwzFh...@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl...

[Nil]

On 24 Dec 2009, "Willy" <jus...@hotmail.com> wrote in
microsoft.public.windowsxp.general:

> I purchased it from MS, not OEM, so what is process?

Install the disk in another computer and use a third-party disk cloning
program to move the contents of the old disk to the new.

[philo]

No clone

that's only for identical H/W

just perform a fresh install

that's it

[Daave]

Willy wrote:
> I've a PC that died (will not turn on, old laptop not worth fixing) &
> has XP Pro on it I purchased back in April of this year from MS. I've
> the original CD from MS.
> How can I legally move it to another PC?

It doesn't matter where you purchased the CD. All that matters is that
it is a Retail version of Windows XP.

Assuming this is the case...

What do you want to move exactly? Just the license? That is, do you want
to perform a fresh Clean Install of XP on the new PC? If so, just
install it. It may or may not automatically activate over the Internet.
If it doesn't, just call the phone number listed on the screen and
activate over the phone. It's easy.

Do you have a PC in mind? Do you know if there are XP-specific drivers
for its hardware components? If not, you'll have BIG problems!

Or...

Do you want to move the entire contents of the laptop (including all the
installed programs) to the new PC's hard drive? If so, this can probably
be done, but it could be tricky.

[Willy]

That's what I thought.

--
Thanks, Bill
Post replies back to News Group

"philo" <ph...@privacy.net> wrote in message
news:aYKdnXngQ6Id6a7W...@ntd.net...

[Willy]

The PC I want to put the XP on, currently has Win 98 SE on it so basically
want to replace it. Nothing to move from dead laptop as I'd already cleaned
off files I wanted when it started acting strange. Have checked hardware on
Desktop I want to put XP on & it's compatible as it was moved from another
desktop I had with XP on it.
So basically a Clean Install I think would be what I'm wanting to do.

--
Thanks, Bill
Post replies back to News Group

"Daave" <da...@example.com> wrote in message
news:%23AXw8SK...@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl...

[Willy]

Laptop died, won't power up, want to put the XP on a desktop thus hard drive
movement impossible.

--
Thanks, Bill
Post replies back to News Group

"Nil" <redn...@REMOVETHIScomcast.net> wrote in message
news:Xns9CEB4F65...@130.133.4.11...

[philo]

Willy wrote:
> Laptop died, won't power up, want to put the XP on a desktop thus hard drive
> movement impossible.

Once you have XP installed

you can get an adapter for your laptop HD
and (temporarily) put it in your desktop
if there is data on it you need

[Richard in AZ]

Make sure that you can get hardware drivers for XP that work for that computer.
Also double check to see if your have enough hardware power on the 98 PC.

"Willy" <jus...@hotmail.com> wrote in message news:uRD3MVLh...@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl...

[Pegasus [MVP]]

Not quite. Laptop disks *are* removable. With some laptops it is a matter of
removing a few screws at the bottom of the laptop, with others it's like
open heart surgery. After removing it, you could theoretically use an
imaging program to clone the laptop disk onto the desktop disk. Practically
it won't work because Windows XP will almost always fail when ported to
different hardware.

However, it's still worth your while removing the laptop disk. Put it into a
$10.00 USB case, then use it as a backup medium for your desktop. If the
disk is still intact then this would be a very practical thing to have!

"Willy" <jus...@hotmail.com> said this in news item

news:eepYMVLh...@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl...

[Daave]

Then you're good to go. :-)

Willy wrote:
> The PC I want to put the XP on, currently has Win 98 SE on it so
> basically want to replace it. Nothing to move from dead laptop as
> I'd already cleaned off files I wanted when it started acting
> strange. Have checked hardware on Desktop I want to put XP on & it's
> compatible as it was moved from another desktop I had with XP on it.
> So basically a Clean Install I think would be what I'm wanting to do.
>

[PA Bear [MS MVP]]

How did you obtain the necessary, computer-specific drivers?

Willy wrote:
> I purchased it from MS, not OEM, so what is process?
>

[Gordon]

Willy wrote:
> Laptop died, won't power up, want to put the XP on a desktop thus hard drive
> movement impossible.

Why? Remove the drive and put it into a USB enclosure.
The machine not powering up usually means a dud power supply, not a dud
HDD...

[Ken Blake, MVP]

On Thu, 24 Dec 2009 00:41:45 -0500, "Willy" <jus...@hotmail.com>
wrote:

> I've a PC that died (will not turn on, old laptop not worth fixing) & has XP
> Pro on it I purchased back in April of this year from MS. I've the original
> CD from MS.
> How can I legally move it to another PC?

This is a retail copy, not an OEM copy?

You can do it, and do it as many times as you want. The only
restriction is that it may not be on two computers at once.

How to do it? Nothing special; simply install it. When you activate
you may be prompted to do it by telephone. If so, no problem; just
follow the prompts.

--
Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP (Windows Desktop Experience) since 2003
Please Reply to the Newsgroup

[Willy]

I have as it's an identical twin to another HP Pavilion I have with XP on
it.

--
Thanks, Bill
Post replies back to News Group

"Richard in AZ" <m...@mailinator.com> wrote in message
news:u$TiqgLhK...@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl...

[Willy]

It's an HP Pavilion with a HP Printer that I had on another PC with XP.

--
Thanks, Bill
Post replies back to News Group

"PA Bear [MS MVP]" <PABe...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:O3xoHvLh...@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl...

[Willy]

The Laptop hard drive is kinda molded to match front of Laptop (old Compaq
Armanda) contours and really has nothing put the XP on it I need, but I have
the Original XP CDs from MS. I mainly used it for Yahoo Messenger to chat
with my son in Afghanistan.

--
Thanks, Bill
Post replies back to News Group

"Pegasus [MVP]" <ne...@microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:eYuhzlLh...@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl...

[Willy]

Thanks Daave, Bill

Post replies back to News Group

"Daave" <da...@example.com> wrote in message
news:%23SoN6pL...@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl...

[Willy]

See previous post regarding laptop hard drive & it's only 500M.

--
Thanks, Bill
Post replies back to News Group

"The Seabat" <sea...@NOSPAMboardermail.com> wrote in message
news:5m67j5ltf4pfl2ast...@4ax.com...

> On Thu, 24 Dec 2009 11:22:21 -0500, "Willy" <jus...@hotmail.com>
> wrote:
>
>>>The PC I want to put the XP on, currently has Win 98 SE on it so
>>>basically
>>>want to replace it. Nothing to move from dead laptop as I'd already
>>>cleaned
>>>off files I wanted when it started acting strange. Have checked hardware
>>>on
>>>Desktop I want to put XP on & it's compatible as it was moved from
>>>another
>>>desktop I had with XP on it.
>>>So basically a Clean Install I think would be what I'm wanting to do.
>

> If there is nothing wrong with the 2.5" hdd from the laptop, you could
> pull it and use it with a USB external adapter (about $20-30) for a
> back up disk or extra storage. I'm just sayin'.
>
> --
> The seabat
> Filtering GoogleGroups & Goobers with extreme prejudice!
> Usenet Improvement Project: R.I.P. Lee aka Blinky the Shark

[Willy]

No data on it I need.

--
Thanks, Bill
Post replies back to News Group

"philo" <ph...@privacy.net> wrote in message
news:TeadnZUrjOS3Ba7W...@ntd.net...

[JacobH]

Willy wrote:
> Laptop died, won't power up, want to put the XP on a desktop thus
> hard drive movement impossible.

Not impossible, certainly not straightforward unless you put it in a USB
ext drive enclosure whence it is easy!

>
> "Nil" <redn...@REMOVETHIScomcast.net> wrote in message
> news:Xns9CEB4F65...@130.133.4.11...
>> On 24 Dec 2009, "Willy" <jus...@hotmail.com> wrote in
>> microsoft.public.windowsxp.general:
>>
>>> I purchased it from MS, not OEM, so what is process?
>>
>> Install the disk in another computer and use a third-party disk
>> cloning program to move the contents of the old disk to the new.

--
--
Geoff
ExploitEd

Wisdom and experience come with age, they say, but I do wish I could
remember the darn question

[Willy]

Yes Ken, it is Retail as I purchased from MS over the Internet from their
Web Site, then they sent me CDs with License. Understand the "no 2
computers at once"

--
Thanks, Bill
Post replies back to News Group

"Ken Blake, MVP" <kbl...@this.is.an.invalid.domain> wrote in message
news:sj97j5l0ab6oc5pgo...@4ax.com...

[Pegasus [MVP]]

The case might be molded to the laptop but the disk inside the case there
would be a standard 2.5" IDE disk. Disk manufacture is an expensive process
that becomes cheap in very large quantities. I have never heard of any PC
manufacturer using a custom-made disk.

"Willy" <jus...@hotmail.com> said this in news item

news:eZXkPKMh...@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl...

[Mark Adams]

"Willy" wrote:

> See previous post regarding laptop hard drive & it's only 500M.
> --

500 MB hard drive and you have XP on it? Installs of XP use over 1 GB of
hard drive space. How did you cram XP into a .5 GB drive?

> .
>

[Willy]

Mark,
Sorry, it's 5GB HHD and it comes out of a case but a standard PC IDE Cable
will not fit it nor does it have receptacle for power. You'd have to see it
to understand what I'm saying about it.
--

Thanks, Bill
Post replies back to News Group

"Mark Adams" <Mark...@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:039B5821-F1F0-4801...@microsoft.com...

[Kevin]

You just need to install XP on your new machine and activate it online without
problems. M$ isn't bothered with old OS and activation shouldn't be a problem.

Let us know how you got on.

Willy wrote:

> I've a PC that died (will not turn on, old laptop not worth fixing) & has XP
> Pro on it I purchased back in April of this year from MS. I've the original
> CD from MS.
> How can I legally move it to another PC?

[Kevin]

"PA Bear [MS MVP]" wrote:

> How did you obtain the necessary, computer-specific drivers?
>

Oh! he must have knicked it from your sister. Why are you bothered about this?
Are you mad?

[Willy]

No sister, bothered by what, mad about what? You hittin the Egg-Nog so soon
Kevin, lol

"Kevin" <Ke...@Nowhere.com> wrote in message
news:4B33D022...@Nowhere.com...

[Willy]

Will do Kevin. Merry CHRISTmas to all.

--
Thanks, Bill
Post replies back to News Group

"Kevin" <Ke...@Nowhere.com> wrote in message
news:4B33CEDC...@Nowhere.com...

[Pegasus [MVP]]

You need a 2.5" USB case. It will have the correct connector, including the
power connector. However, since it is only 5 GBytes I would not bother.

"Willy" <jus...@hotmail.com> said this in news item

news:eGD206Mh...@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl...

[Nil]

On 24 Dec 2009, philo <ph...@privacy.net> wrote in
microsoft.public.windowsxp.general:

> No clone
> that's only for identical H/W
> just perform a fresh install

A clone to different hardware sometimes works for me. I always try it
before doing a fresh re-install, just in case I get lucky.

[philo]

Unless the H/W is the same there is a small chance it will work

otherwise a repair install usually does the trick

[Nil]

On 24 Dec 2009, philo <ph...@privacy.net> wrote in
microsoft.public.windowsxp.general:

> Unless the H/W is the same there is a small chance it will work

I've had a greater-than-50% success rate - I wouldn't call that "small"
in this situation.

> otherwise a repair install usually does the trick

That's the next thing to try.

[PA Bear]

<bite me>

[Shenan Stanley]

<snip>

Nil wrote:
> I've had a greater-than-50% success rate - I wouldn't call that
> "small" in this situation.

Depends - if the '3 times' (how many times have you done it - why didn't you
say?) you did it resulted in your greater-than-50% success rate, I would
call that small because of the few thousand I have done it and had to do the
repair installation in order to fix it. ;-)

--
Shenan Stanley
MS-MVP
--
How To Ask Questions The Smart Way
http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html

[Doum]

"Pegasus [MVP]" <ne...@microsoft.com> �crivait
news:ewSOWuMh...@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl:

> The case might be molded to the laptop but the disk inside the case
> there would be a standard 2.5" IDE disk. Disk manufacture is an
> expensive process that becomes cheap in very large quantities. I have
> never heard of any PC manufacturer using a custom-made disk.
>

I think IBM did that in the old days (PS/2), their HD had proprietary
connectors, and every add-on card too.

[Nil]

On 24 Dec 2009, "Shenan Stanley" <newsh...@gmail.com> wrote in
microsoft.public.windowsxp.general:

> Depends - if the '3 times' (how many times have you done it - why
> didn't you say?)

Nobody asked.

> you did it resulted in your greater-than-50% success rate, I would
> call that small because of the few thousand I have done it and had
> to do the repair installation in order to fix it. ;-)

Maybe I'm just lucky.

But if it hasn't worked for you, I'm surprised to hear that you
still kept trying for a few thousand times. If it were me, I'd give
up after about 20.

[Willy]

I'll try after Christmas.

--
Thanks, Bill
Post replies back to News Group

"The Seabat" <sea...@NOSPAMboardermail.com> wrote in message

news:l4k8j5tsbfhpab139...@4ax.com...

> On Thu, 24 Dec 2009 12:55:09 -0500, "Willy" <jus...@hotmail.com>
> wrote:
>
>>>See previous post regarding laptop hard drive & it's only 500M.
>

> I have an old Compaq Armada, also. You have to take the drive out of
> the carrier. It's a regular IDE 2.5" laptop drive. SATA, no! But
> there's nothing strange about it. Take the aluminum cover off that
> carrier and you will see the drive.

[Willy]

PA, Whom was this directed? I didn't write the post relating to
"............sister...................."

--
Thanks, Bill
Post replies back to News Group

"PA Bear" <pabe...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:d3db640b-1d75-4b40...@a21g2000yqc.googlegroups.com...

[PA Bear [MS MVP]]

Did I quote your post? No.

Willy wrote:
> PA, Whom was this directed? I didn't write the post relating to
> "............sister...................."
>

[Daave]

Another limitation of top-posting IMHO (since we tend to ignore the
history as it is further down in the post). But since that is the
pattern in this sub-thread, I will keep it consistent.

Willy, look at the end of this post (and the attributions more
carefully). PA Bear was replying to Kevin, not you. It only appears he
is replying to himself (!) when you and I look at the thread outline
since apparently both of us have placed Kevin in our killfiles. :-)

"Willy" <jus...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:%23slNGfW...@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl...

[Willy]

Sorry PA Bear, but I assumed since it fell under my original post, it was
meant for me.
Merry Christmas............Willy

"PA Bear [MS MVP]" <PABe...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:OaD9sJYh...@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl...

[Shenan Stanley]

Different machines over 9 years.

[HeyBub]

Which is why IBM ultimately failed in the PC market. Remember when PCs were
called IBM-PCs?

[Nil]

On 25 Dec 2009, "Shenan Stanley" <newsh...@gmail.com> wrote in
microsoft.public.windowsxp.general:

> Different machines over 9 years.

Still... if a method were unsuccessful, I would think one would abandon
it and try something else. What's that definition of "neurosis",
something about repeating one's actions, hoping in vain for a different
result?

[Shenan Stanley]

<snip>

Nil wrote:
> I've had a greater-than-50% success rate - I wouldn't call that
> "small" in this situation.

Nil wrote:
> Nobody asked.

>
> Maybe I'm just lucky.
>
> But if it hasn't worked for you, I'm surprised to hear that you
> still kept trying for a few thousand times. If it were me, I'd give
> up after about 20.

Shenan Stanley wrote:
> Different machines over 9 years.

Nil wrote:
> Still... if a method were unsuccessful, I would think one would
> abandon it and try something else. What's that definition of
> "neurosis", something about repeating one's actions, hoping in vain
> for a different result?

No.

I'm sorry you are having trouble understanding.

It's simple - what doesn't work more often than not is a straight trade of
hard disk drive to the new machine or of the disk image. What does fix it
usually (rarely does it not) is the repair installation of Windows XP. This
is what I have seen. In all those times I usually do boot once (either on
purpose or sometimes accidentally) and see what happens - often a
bluescreen, sometimes boot and I can sometimes properly shut-down to do the
repair install - sometimes I cannot (although it still does a repair
install - actually an 'in-place upgrade' - just fine.) That's why I can
give my experience on many machines like that.

*shrug*

I see no reason to waste the time hoping it might boot and continue to work
without the repair installation. Even if it *seemingly* works - the HAL may
not be 100% correct and it *may* cause problems in the future.

It's called making the customer happy. I even changed the product key to
their new product key when necessary. Their look and feel and all of their
stuff was still there - just faster and with all the proper drivers and
underlying install for sure in place - not 'maybe' or 'just working' - but
for sure.

I'd say a greater than 99% success rate is worth the extra few minutes it
takes to do a repair installation over just hoping it works and then living
with the possible future consequences (may never come, but the chance is
there) if it happens to 'work' without the repair installation. Maybe
that's just me and those I have done work for/with/etc. ;-)

Have good Christmas and a happy New Year, Nil.

[Nil]

On 25 Dec 2009, "Shenan Stanley" <newsh...@gmail.com> wrote in
microsoft.public.windowsxp.general:

> I'm sorry you are having trouble understanding.

No need to be sorry, I understand what you're saying, and I don't
disagree. But my experience has been different. I've had pretty good
luck restoring an image of one XP system to a different system. It has
worked more often than not, by a slight margin. If it boots up I will
usually re-install sound and display drivers and check the Device List
and logs for anything that might be malfunctioning. Once the hardware
seems to be responding properly, I don't find a repair install to be
necessary.