New Dell Computer - Can I load Win Pro Instead

[Epinephrine]

I was wanting to put Win XP Pro on the Dell I just got (as I would rather have pro than Home on this 8250) Can I forgo registering the software and put it on another machine??

Thanks for any advise!!

 

[MGMorden]

I could be wrong, but I think that your OEM copy of XP Home is only legal for the machine it was included with (sucks, but that's the way it is). Really sucks because I just bought an HP laptop (I mentioned earlier that I was getting an iBook, and I really did want to . . . . but at $1600 + tax for the iBook vs $1050 for an equivalent HP with a free carrying case, I just had to go with the HP). I will be loading Linux on the laptop and would really like to run the copy of Xp Home included with it on another machine, but I don't think I can, so I guess that's just wasted money (paid for an OS that I didn't want). Oh well.

 

[Tash]

The way the Dell XP Home is set up, it checks the bios for a Dell motherboard. If it finds it, no activation is necessary. If it doesn't, you have to activate.

 

[Epinephrine]

In that is the case, can you call microsoft to unactivate it or just never boot up the machine??

The problem I am running into is the Hard Drive isn't the best in the machine and I was going to use a different one. I could use the Home XP, but if I didn't have to, then I wouldn't....

 

[Epinephrine]

Any other thoughts??