Windows XP reinstall

Hi all - I have a dell desktop with a Windows XP Home edition CD.
I am thinking of buying a laptop when they give you a choice whether you want OS or not. Since my laptop is not going to be from Dell and on the CD it says - "For Use with Dell computers ONLY", do you think it is safe to load this on the laptop and also how hard it is to do so. I think this is the Dell's marketing scam to not load the CD on other computers, which is OK if you do not have it.
Do I just simply put the CD in the tray and follow the instructions or is there something else that I have to do - like partitioning (have no idea what that is)

Please let me know
Thanks

 

Technically its illegal to do that. Unless, you plan to never use your desktop computer. You see, you can't same CD on the both computers, and thats violating copyright law.

JC

 

Dell uses an OEM verison of XP. The OEM EULA only allows XP to be used on the computer it is purchased with. If you move the OS to another computer, Dell or not, you are in violation of the EULA.

If you use the same copy of XP on two machines, you are in violation of the XP EULA, as NetBrakr stated in his post.

 

The only other problem is you would need to get the drivers for your laptop. I am not too sure how hard it is to get them from Dell.
Tim

 

Dell should provide a cd with the drivers.

JC

 

If you don't have the CD, you can always visit the Dell site and download the necessary drivers. Enter in the service tag and boom! All the drivers you need. There's a nice Dell reinstall guide written by SouthernGirl on the Dell board.

 

An OEM cd can legally only be used with the computer it was shipped with.
An OEM cd that is branded for Dell will/should only work with Dell
A license can only be used on 1 computer. If you install it using the key and it works, odds are it wont activate and you will be forced to reinstall anyways. You can purchase a windows os for less than $100. An alternative is Linux. You can purchase an os for less than $10 for download one for free. GL

 

Just a question in reformating;

After you reformat, do you still need to 'activate' windows online?

well since windows was already previously installed its either the manufacturer or the user has registered the serial online, but what if you reformat again; and then *out of sheer bad luck* the microsoft site says that this registration key is already registered in another computer?

 

If you have a branded XP install disk (Dell XP install disk) it will never ask you for a key if you install it on a Dell machine.

For retail versions of XP, every time you reformat you need to enter your key. Unless you reinstall many, many times you should be able to activate over the internet without any problems. You will never get a message stating the key is already in use. If there are substantial differences in the hardware configuration, you will be routed to a human and they will ask you a bunch of questions before activating your copy of XP.

 

hey guys i made a new thread closely related... sorry bout that, but..

i was wondering, can i use any old windows XP home cd because i have the key/serial for my pc. i'm not using this key on any other device, just on my own pc. so i guess what im asking is, does each cd only allow an install with one specific key? and if thats the case, what do i do? i have the genuine serial sticker on my pc and i just want to resintall windows

 

If you are using one serial number, one CD, with ONLY one computer, I guess its ok.

JC

 

nevermind, i found out that my restore cd's have windows on them

i usually keep things organized and was wondering why i couldnt find the actual windows cd... hehe

 

Gee!

I feel like I posted a thread on Federal Anti-Piracy Watch website

I hope I do not get arrested and go to prison for my thread. Oh boy!

Anyway, thanks for the comments!

BTW - if any of the Intel security police is reading this thread - I did buy brand new XP Home when I ordered my new laptop yesterday.

I swear to you, I did.

 

When you first purchased your oem computer, the key used to instal was a volume license key. You can obtain this key with programs like pcwizard. I always make sure I use that key if I ever have to reinstall. This is also the key that gets saved in the restore cds you make on new computers. This key should never need to be activated. Also when I get ready to sell this computer I know the key from the sticker has never been activated.

 

Regarding the original technical question of whether it "can" be installed (as opposed to the legal/ethical question of whether it should be installed) it might not work. I had an old Dell 4100 that shipped with a Dell-branded Windows ME CD. Since I'd reformatted the 4100 with Win 2000, I figured it'd be OK to deploy that ME CD on another computer I was putting together. Dang if when I went to install it, it stopped and said "Sorry Bub, this ain't no Dell PC." (I'm paraphrasing here.)

That was a long time ago and maybe those controls aren't built in anymore, but I'd not be surprised if the Dell-specific OS CD's would refuse to load on non-Dell equipment.

 

Usually its a bios lock that prevents the cd from reinstalling. There are ways around it, but then you get no guarentee of the outcome.