Legal way to replace HDD on an OEM?

[Rockinacoustic]

My friend's HP Desktop has a failing HDD. Is there any way I can legally transfer the OEM Windows XP installation over to a new HDD without violating the EULA? I'd think since I'm not changing systems this shouldn't be illegal nor impossible.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Rockinacoustic]

Follow up question: Would copying the recovery partition over to the new drive work?

 

[theevilsharpie]

The OEM license is tied to the motherboard, not the disk drive.

 

[ViRGE]

The terms of the EULA define the motherboard as the computer, not the hard drive. So you're free to replace the hard drive without running afoul of the EULA.

And copying the partition might work if the drive can still correctly read it, but it's not something I could guarantee.

 

[bruceb]

Presuming the Old Drive is still functioning, then use a program like Norton Ghost or Acronis TruImage to Clone the old drive over to the new one. Then just swap in the new drive and it will boot right up with no issues. You may need a USB to IDE/SATA adapter to connect the new drive to the USB port to run the clone operation. I use a Bytec BT-300
to do the cloning with Ghost.
http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16812156102

You will not have any issues with the OS license.

 

[corkyg]

Cloning the existing drive proportionally to a new, larger drive does not violate your EULA. I can't tell you how many times I have done that - my weapon of choice is Acronis TI 12 for Vista and Win 7.