help installing xp on my other computer

[sitlet]

i have a few questions so bear with me here. i have a compaq presario desktop that is about 2-3 years old. its got about a 1ghz celeron i believe with 256 ram. it came standard with windows me, and i hate it. lately its crashing every few hours. i would like to reformat and install xp on it. when we got the computer, it was like 2 weeks before xp was released, and they gave us a mail-in form, so when xp was released, we would get a copy to upgrade to. well, to make a long story short, i never received the xp cd. and they wont send me one. so now im stuck with win me.

but, my compaq laptop i bought last summer has xp pro sp1 on it. i was wondering if i could install this onto the other pc? but i have a few questions:

1. the xp pro that came with my laptop has like 3cds, and its not just windows, its all the stuff that came with my laptop too. is there anyway i can use these cds to just install xp pro on the other computer?

2. what about the xp registration thing? ive never installed xp on any computers, but i know there is some kind of protection on xp so you cant install it on other pc's. what the deal with this? i have the cd key that came with my laptop, can i use this or not?

ok, actually its just two questions. but if anyone can help i appreciate it.

[stiltman]

1. If you can find the i386 directory on one of the CDs copy it all to the hard drive. then burn to a CD....wont be bootable, but look here http://www.nu2.nu/bootablecd/

2. your screwed unless you have the corp edition. which nulifies question 1

[tgpo]

Basically what it boils down to is your license for Windows only allows 1 installation. To install it on another computer you'll need to purchase another copy.

[sitlet]

your screwed unless you have the corp edition. which nulifies question 1

alright, thats what i figured. damn microsoft. but i can reinstall it on my laptop though right? like if i ever wanted to reformat it, i should be able to restall it, since it was originally installed on this computer.

[tgpo]

Yeah. Actually you can install 1 copy on any computer, but only that computer. The license is for 1 copy to be installed on a computer, it's not specific. so if you were to buy a new computer you could install it on that comupter, but no others could have that copy of windows on it.

[sitlet]

thanks guys. i guess ill just have to put windows me back onto the other computer.

[Cobra]

I was going to say you can buy Windows XP OEM very cheaply (£66 in the UK) but DAMN! it's expensive for you guys in the USA!

http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products/index.html?action=c2hvd19wcm9kdWN0X292ZXJ2aWV3...duct_uid=97286

You can only ever use that copy on that particular machine - it's non-transferrable so beware!

Don't know if this helps...

Cobra

[gmatov]

Sitlet,

Try again. I don't know if you have tried or explored the possibility beforehand, but all the major OEMS make a disk version of the restore-install that is tied to a BIOS link in the OEM machine.

F'rinstance, if you tried to install to a home built, a screen would come up saying "This Software can only be installed on a XXX (Compaq, Dell, HP machine.) Will quit right there.

It is possible the BIOS is OS specific, came with ME, will only accept Compaq ME Restore Disk. Also possible, will accept any OS restore disk written with the Compaq leaders, for want of a better term.

And, I do not believe an OEM machine requires validation, as they do not think a user who buys an OEM machine has the know how to install ANY OS without handholding, ie, "Insert the Restore Disk, we'll take you back to square 1".

Give it a go. Compaq to Compaq should be a cinch.

Cheers,

George

[sitlet]

Give it a go. Compaq to Compaq should be a cinch.

thats what i was thinking. but the only thing is, the xp cd has all the drivers and stuff for my laptop. i wonder how all that would settle on the desktop, or if xp would just automatically load the drivers and stuff it needs.

[gmatov]

If you mean the actual XP CD, it will have way more drivers than are in either machine. It's why these OS's are "bloatware", besides just plain trying to do everything.

If it is the Compaq restore disk, it will have drivers for almost everything they ever put in their 'puters. It will plug'n'play, and search for the hardware, and the drivers will almost certainly be there.

Again, give it a go, almost a guaranteed go.

Cheers,

George

[sitlet]

alright, im going to give it a try later this week. if it doesnt work, ill just reformat and then use the restore discs with windows me on it.

but if i try this, it wont lock my copy of xp or anything will it? i dont want it to not work if i ever have to reinstall it on my laptop.

[gmatov]

First, look at the disk. If it is an actual Microsoft XP disk, it is going to have a hologram, and many references to MS, TM, etc..

If yours says Compaq upgrade to XP disk or OS disk, or Restore disk, anything with Compaq on it, it is not an MS disk, does not have an install code, relies strictly on the BIOS being Compaq, and refering to the disk to tell you "You cannot install this OS on any but A, A, mind you, Compaq, machine, not a Proliant Mod 234, not a XXX456, but a Compaq.

Compaq disks do not require you to validate, as all compaqs from some time in the past, maybe Day 1, as I am not cognizant of the early models, have a BIOS that tells the disk it may install, or vice versa, if you wish, an algorithm when the disk starts checks the BIOS, finds the wrong return, tells you it ain't gonna do it.

Install the damn thing, already. You do not have an install code, that means the disk is a proprietary burn, or press, of a million disks, and they are all the same.

Cheers,

George

[JLK]

What your talking about is illegal!

[sitlet]

no its not. first, i was just asking if i could use the restore cds from my laptop onto my desktop. i wasnt familiar with how that worked. secondly, i bought my laptop that came with these restore cds, therefor i also own the cds. whether i use them in my laptop or my desktop doesnt matter. thats like saying you bought a dvd, but you can only play it in the dvd player in your living room, not the one in your bedroom.

[gitreel]

the only catch is with xp it is only meant for one computer and one computer only. comparing that to a dvd is irrelevant

[housepig]

thats like saying you bought a dvd, but you can only play it in the dvd player in your living room, not the one in your bedroom.

well, if you buy a DVD and then click on an End User License Agreement (EULA) that includes the line "I agree to only play this DVD in my living room", then yes, you would be violating the EULA, and your right to use the DVD would probably be forfeit.

you've seen the EULA - it's that thing you didn't read before clicking "I Agree".

I don't agree with it, I don't think it's right, but at some point with that computer or those install discs, there's going to be a line that says that copy of XP is only for that one machine.

[subclubkid]

I bought a Labtop three years ago. With it came Windows XP....since then I have bought about...shit about 5 other computers, for family and stuff.. I have never bought another copy of XP...sure when I install it I have to call some number and talk to microsoft, and I just tell them I had reformatted. They give me another key number, and boom. Your all set, also the whole "cant install Dell CD's on anything but a Dell" is wrong too. I have three puters now that are "Dells" yet I built them myself. A hard drive is a hard drive.

[sitlet]

i already should have had windows xp installed on my desktop. if anyone erad my first post, i said that i bought the desktop a week or so before win xp was released. so when i bought it, i was given a form to fill out and send in, so that when it was released, i would be sent a copy. i filled out the form and sent it in to compaq and to this day have not received my copy. i have argued with compaq many times about this, but they still will not send me a copy. so i definetly think that i am entitled to use the copy that came with my laptop on my desktop

[indolikaa]

I bought a Labtop three years ago. With it came Windows XP....since then I have bought about...shit about 5 other computers, for family and stuff.. I have never bought another copy of XP...sure when I install it I have to call some number and talk to microsoft, and I just tell them I had reformatted. They give me another key number, and boom. Your all set, also the whole "cant install Dell CD's on anything but a Dell" is wrong too. I have three puters now that are "Dells" yet I built them myself. A hard drive is a hard drive.

1) Gross violation of Microsoft EULA. What you do with the disc is your business, and I ain't gonna point fingers, but the issue is covered in depth in the EULA.

2) Microcoding. In my younger days, Compaq and IBM both did it. I had a bench full of CD-ROMs from Compaq and IBM, and each disc was for a very specific model number. It wouldn't work on anything else because the installer checked the microcode embedded by Compaq and IBM into their hardware before the disc could continue.

(The last set of Dell XP Home discs I came across were not microcoded, and would perform an install upon verification of the COA, or whatever Microsoft calls it now.)

[housepig]

i already should have had windows xp installed on my desktop. ...i was given a form to fill out and send in, so that when it was released, i would be sent a copy. i filled out the form and sent it in to compaq and to this day have not received my copy.

yes, but that's between you and Compaq. When you install XP in violation of the EULA, that's between you and Microsoft.

I won a Cadillac from McDonald's, but McDonald's hasn't delivered it yet, so I'm sick of waiting, I'm going to go down to the Caddy dealership and take one.... there's a major flaw in the logic. You may be entitled to a legit copy from Compaq, but that doesn't entitle you to break the EULA and pirate a copy, even your own.

[rallynavvie]

Getting the OEM version of XP is expensive here in the US. There is currently a class action lawsuit against MS in Minnesota to refund some money to folks who purchased an OS independently of any OEM manufacturer (like Dell, Gateway, etc.). I purchased my copies (yes, more than one) of XP from online distributors. If you buy a piece of hardware, say like a LiteOn DVD-ROM drive for $30 or whatever they are these days you could get an OEM XP install disc for $150 or something.

Maybe I'll get some cash back for the copies of XP I purchased. Silly MS trying to win a lawsuit in MN
http://www.startribune.com/stories/535/4730066.html

[handyguy]

In Calif we get $$$ back soon. They give you $100 if you bought windows a few times.

I'd install XP on the laptop as a dual boot system that way I could see if it works right, it should give that option when you install it.

[Hardcoreruss]

I was going to say you can buy Windows XP OEM very cheaply (£66 in the UK) but DAMN! it's expensive for you guys in the USA!

http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products/index.html?action=c2hvd19wcm9kdWN0X292ZXJ2aWV3...duct_uid=97286

You can only ever use that copy on that particular machine - it's non-transferrable so beware!

Don't know if this helps...

Cobra

£66 ?, for pro ?, I paid around the ton mark for pro from overclockers.

[gmatov]

http://www.microsoft.com/resources/documentation/windows/xp/all/proddocs/en-us/lic_mak..._2nd_copy.mspx

Follow the link above to read MS policy on installing ONE owned copy of MS product on a second machine, specifically noted, a laptop which would be used by the primary user..

I should have left Dell out of my list of proprietary disks, as I have not had one of those for repair with restore disks. May not have had them, and was rebuilding an upgraded machine.

Compaq and Gateway definitely do. Hell, I even have a CD burner that came with Nero and said this OEM disk can only be used with the machine it was packaged with.

I hope the link doesn't stretch the text on this thread, I hate scrolling to read, but when I split a link, it goes dead after the split. Sorry.

Cheers,

George

Hey, it shortened the link. Great! Is this a new feature since the last update of the site? If it is, it's a great one.