Windows o/s Retail

[Pghpooh]

Good Morning
It's 2:30 am and the brain is about to fall asleep on me!!!
I am going to build a new system and was thinking of buying the retail version of Win XP Pro.
Once the system is built you have to register and activate the os.
Now, lets say several months pass and the motherboard crashes and or I decide to replace the cpu and motherboard.
Can I replace a failed motherboard and or build a new system and then reactivate the same o/s that was previously installed?
I am assuming that if I buy retail I own the license and can use the same software every time I build new or upgrade the system..

Thanks
Pghpooh

 

[RebateMonger]

With XP Retail Version, you can re-install on the same system or move it to another system as many times as you want. If you have to activate more than once every 120 days, you'll probably have to do a telephone activation, which shouldn't be a big deal for a retail version.

 

[engineereeyore]

Originally posted by: RebateMonger
With XP Retail Version, you can re-install on the same system or move it to another system as many times as you want. If you have to activate more than once every 120 days, you'll probably have to do a telephone activation, which shouldn't be a big deal for a retail version.

This is true, and it starts to become a pain in the butt to keep calling in.

 

[RebateMonger]

Originally posted by: engineereeyore
This is true, and it starts to become a pain in the butt to keep calling in.

Yeah, calling in is always a pain in the butt, but, at least, it usually doesn't take long.

 

[JWMiddleton]

I put XP Home on a box I built for my step-father. Had prolems with moving his data and had to rebuild it two days in a row. I activated the first day, so when I tried to reactivate the next day it didn't like it and give me a HUGE string of numbers and told me to call MS. I did and got a guy in India. I gave him the numbers and he made me take an oath that I only have the OS on one computer. Then he gave me a number that I typed into the new installation and all was well. It was a pain, but the system worked.

 

[aloser]

Depends on what you choose to "upgrade" as to whether you have to reactivate. A new hard drive automatically requires activation UNLESS you can get an image of your old drive and copy it onto the new drive. Motherboard/cpu depends on whether you UPGRADE (completely different brand) or REPLACE (if, as you speculate, it fails and you get the same exact brand and model, you'll not need to reactivate); upgrading your motherboard automatically requires activation, as XP sees it as being a "new" computer.

 

[Saint Nick]

I did the same thing that JWMiddleton did. I had changed my hardware many times, I went from a Dell Dimension, to a custom built PC, and later on changed out the processor and the motherboard (among other things) and eventually hit a wall in the activation. I had to go call them up and do the same things that JWMiddleton had to do, it was a bit of a pain, but it did activate.

 

[Pghpooh]

HI
Thanks for all the answers.
Between watching my grand kids and the Pittsburgh Steelers win today I completely forgot that I had a post here!!!

Correct me is I am wrong, If I install the retail version I can upgrade hardware or build a new pc and load the o/s into the new pc and will not have problems as long as I do it say maybe once or twice a year or so.

And, if I buy a oem, I can only use it once on the new pc I build????

Thanks
Pghpooh

 

[RebateMonger]

Correct on both counts.

 

[Nothinman]

This is true, and it starts to become a pain in the butt to keep calling in.

So stop activating so quickly or stop reloading your machine so often.

 

[Smilin]

Originally posted by: engineereeyore

Originally posted by: RebateMonger
With XP Retail Version, you can re-install on the same system or move it to another system as many times as you want. If you have to activate more than once every 120 days, you'll probably have to do a telephone activation, which shouldn't be a big deal for a retail version.

This is true, and it starts to become a pain in the butt to keep calling in.

You just got done replacing a mobo and either running a full repair or reinstall on an OS and you think a phone call is a pain???

😕