window xp product activation

[zak_swan]

say i had 10 homes (i've really got 27) and a pc in each of these homes, would i have to buy a copy of xp for every pc?
how does xp product activation work? what's it all about?

[bazooka]

You would have to buy a license for each one unless you were to buy the corporate volume license version.

Your copy of XP is tied to the machine it is installed on.

It is meant to block out numerous installs on multiple computers.

[BJ_M]

if you own 27 homes -- you should not worry to much about buying 27 copies of winxp .. specially if you buy the oem version ..

[zak_swan]

but say u had a pc and spilled beer on it and it exploded, or cat bit threw cable and it exploded, so you're left with fire house on fire, no pc, no cat/beer, but u find xp disk amongst the ashes.
you then buy a new pc and decide to install xp.
you are telling me i would have to buy new xp cd

[bazooka]

but say u had a pc and spilled beer on it and it exploded, or cat bit threw cable and it exploded, so you're left with fire house on fire, no pc, no cat/beer, but u find xp disk amongst the ashes.
you then buy a new pc and decide to install xp.
you are telling me i would have to buy new xp cd

As long as the other copy is not active, no.

You would just transfer the license to the other computer.

I repeat.....The key is only good for one computer.

[zak_swan]

but i bought cheap pc for my kids put xp in using my product key for other pc and it worked.
is this illegal?
did i miss something in the 10 pages of licence agreement?
why are 2 pc's working with same product key?
is it to do with both from same isp?

[bazooka]

but i bought cheap pc for my kids put xp in using my product key for other pc and it worked.
is this illegal?

Yes

You can install with the key, but you cannot activate both computers with the same key.

After 30 days the computer will be unusable.

[zak_swan]

no i done this a year ago and 2 pc's are working with same key.

You are in breach of the forum rules and are being issued with a formal warning.
/ Moderator lordsmurf

[tekkieman]

but i bought cheap pc for my kids put xp in using my product key for other pc and it worked.
is this illegal?

Yes

You can install with the key, but you cannot activate both computers with the same key.

After 30 days the computer will be unusable.

Actually, if it has been more than 6 months since the first activation, you can activate the second system with the same key.

It is however, still illegal!

[zak_swan]

why do they wait 6 months?
why not make it forever?

[bazooka]

no i done this a year ago and 2 pc's are working with same key.

This is still illegal and is considered warez.

You do not seem too smart to be talking about an illegal activity on an open forum which can get the website in hot water.

[bazooka]

Actually, if it has been more than 6 months since the first activation, you can activate the second system with the same key

I highly doubt that.

XP uses a fingerprint of a machine based on the product ID and serial number. The fingerprint is randomly generated based on characteristics of the computer.

The second computer would have to be identical to the first.

[tekkieman]

no i done this a year ago and 2 pc's are working with same key.

This is still illegal and is considered warez.

You do not seem too smart to be talking about an illegal activity on an open forum which can get the website in hot water.

Agreed. The point has been made. It is illegal. Whether or not it can be done is immaterial.

To answer the question anyway, they know that people upgrade hardware. Since the activation is a combination of the key and a hash created by various pieces of your hardware, it will appear different if you swap out HD, DVDs, etc in your system. They don't make you jump through (many) hoops because of it. If that hash changes every week....well, it's pretty easy to see what you're doing.