h1ten

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Hi, i have been 'given' a laptop to sell if i can, anyway my mate has not got any of the disks, so i installed xp pro (every early version not even got SP1) anyway the laptop has a sp2 xp HOME COA on the bottom. Can i transfer the key any way so that it becomes geniuine again, without clean install. If i have to do a clean install has anyone got a file iso or whatever that i can use with the key at the bottom. Thanks for all the help

CWB

is the copy of XP pro legit with it's own serial number ? if it is legit and is a single install and is only on one machine then you might/should be able to transfer the key/activation code ... call up ms and they can help you . if you can't transfer the key you may be able to purchase a key from them .
a new single machine copy of xp home is pretty cheap , there are all kinds of deals on it . i have obtained many copies of it from newegg (as well as other sources) for use on machines i have repaired or built for customers .
for most users xp home w/sp2 works well . if the buyer wants/needs the pro version let them pay for the upgrade ... it keeps you out of a can of worms .

you mentioned selling the comp ... i would make sure that whatever os you have on the comp is legit . it would not bode well to sell the comp and have the buyer come back to you complaining that his os shut down and he got a nastygram from MS ... something about "fraud" .
a friend of mine bought a used comp . the above happend to him . i won't go into the details ... leave it suffice to say that he sued and won .

whatever a person does on/to their own comp/equipment is their business ... when it comes to selling it to someone else that is a whole other story .
i was in the service/repair industry for many years . i have seen some real crappy stuff pulled on customers or had customers try to pull some crappy stuff (read the fine print : warrenty/guarantee is not transferable) ... either way , it was no fun to deal with it .

i would bet that there are a couple of other members here that could expand upon this .

h1ten

sorry if i did not explain it well but the laptop has XP home COA (legit) on the bottom, but before i had it only linux was installed. So for the mean while i put my (non-legit) xp pro on it. Now i just want to go back to xp home (legit sticker on bottom) so i can sell it on for him. Can i do this without a clean install i.e from xp pro (non-leg) to xp home (legit)? because he can not find the restore disks.

CWB

ok ... that's clearer .

i would call ms (play it safe routine) and explain the situation : os wiped out on the machine but you still have the serial/activation code that belongs to the machine and you want to install the os from another disk (they can verify the validity of the code) .
i am not sure if they will allow it , but it is worth a shot . there is something about the key sequence matching as well as OEM software (serial/activation) not being transferable to a new OS ... my guru friend that would know is not available .

barring this or another legitimate method it may be easier/cheaper to get a new single install cd , and tack the price onto the comp .

ps ... if you don't have any of the original discs that have the drivers on them , don't do a total format of the drive unless you copy them or can dl them from the manufacturers site .

Devone16

I just learned something

h1ten

hey could i not just download xp home sp2 install it then use the coa key at the bottom. Would that not become legit and no-one will be able to tell?

CWB

if you got the OS from the original manufacturer that came with the machine so that it matches the key/activation/serial number then it would work/be a legit copy . check with the manufacturer to see if you can obtain their OEM version for that machine .

according to my guru friend (and as best i can recall) the trick is that OEM , single machine , corporate multi-install , etc copies are internally identified as well as the range of acceptable codes . some copies are specifically identified as belonging to a certain organization and have a unique activation sequence(s)/code(s) ; these have to jive .

as far as not being able to tell ... weeeelllll , to my notion if you sell someone a car about the last thing you would want to have is have a bogus title or plates for it . it's not a case of "if" you get caught but "when" .

personally speaking here , try the above . if it can't be done then i would either buy a legit copy (i have seen them for about 85 USD) , remove your OS copy and sell it without "as is" or wash my hands of it .

h1ten

ok thank you very much

h1ten

hi, i have been doing some research and i found out that if i have a oem disk with sp2 then thexp code that i have should be ok and legit.
'You can successfully complete a clean installation of XP Home using a MS systembuilder/OEM CD for XP Home using the Product Key on your Certificate of Authenticity' Just to let you know.

h1ten

p.s lucky i have a oem disk that was for my pc so i used that and it worked