Dougie_forum,
First let me pass along the following link regarding software licensing that may or may not be of help to you.
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Software Licensing |
http://www.microsoft.com/piracy/knowthefacts/licensing.aspx |
Second, I must say this is out of the scope for the Windows Genuine Advantage (WGA) program forum. Your OEM license for XP comes with certain restrictions that make it less flexible, and therefore less expensive, than the retail license for XP. One of the limitations is that the license is "married" to the computer onto which it is first installed, and the End User Licensing Agreement (EULA) states it is not permitted to be moved to any another computer. To read your EULA, click Start>Run, type winver and click OK, then click on the link for the license terms or EULA.
The interpretation and enforcement of the OEM EULA regards a change in motherboard for the reason of upgrading to get new features, enhanced performance, etc. Motherboard changing in this fashion constitutes a "new computer." The best resolution would be purchasing a retail version of XP Professional. The retail version has much more flexibility. For instance this would alleviate you from purchasing another XP Professional OEM version should you want to perform an upgrade in the future. The cost for retail is much more but it appears you would benefit because you upgrade the systems which you own. You would have to remove any and all previous versions from a previous machine then you may install to the upgraded machine.
I can understand that you want to save money as well as laborious hours performing a fresh installation of the operating system. Keep in mind you probably will run into various conflicts regarding the various hardware drivers. It is always a good recommendation for completing wiping out the hard drive when major upgrades are performed. Please keep this in mind :-). Should you need any assistance with reformatting the hard drive please reference the following link:
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/setup/winxp/default.mspx
The method of enforcement of this policy is the Telephonic Activation. If your Telephonic Activation attempt is rejected by the automated system, you are asked if you want to speak with a live Activation Representative. The rep asks you some questions to see if you are still using your copy of XP in accordance with the EULA.
Here is a great reference link for Product Activation Details:
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb457054.aspx
Also, I am told of a Windows XP OEM System builders license that I am told is a little cheaper. See above for the license terms. I hope was aloud to pass that information on to you! :)
Once again, thank you for contacting us in the WGA program forum.
Rick, MS
