Registering Windows for the second time in a month

[Hussman]

Hi,

I recently purchased a Win Xp Pro Upgrade CD.

I installed it onto my HDD and registers/activated it.

I have now bought a new 150Gb raptor .

I want to remove the old HDD and install the raptor then install the OS on the raptor.

I will then format the old HDD and use it as a data drive on my other PC.

Will I have any problem with microsoft if I try to register/activate the Windows OS again so shorlty after first doing so?

I don't want to get the job half don ethen fine I need to buy another copy of Windows or something stupid.

I did e-mail microsoft to ask them, but five day later still no reply.

Thanks in advance.

Hussman

 

[Memphis]

You will have no issues.

 

[Deleted member 651465]

If you're changing hardware then it might pop up asking to activate again.. not 100% sure about a hard drive (I usually do a re-format in that case) but you always have 3 official activations (through the web system) before you are forced to ring Microsoft and explain your hardware changing shinanigans

 

[Mason64]

u can have over 500000 activations just the case of ringing m/s up and saying i did this or that and they will sort it out for you!

 

[BillytheImpaler]

Why not use a program like ghost to copy one drive to the other? Then all you'd have to do is change the jumper on the master/slave configuration. You'd skip all the mucking about with reinstalling everything.

 

[Dace]

I actually have to reactivate Windows, despite not actually adding any 'new' hardware.

I uninstalled my old Nvidia drivers in order to load on the latest 6.70 drivers and Windows decided that I was adding 'new' devices - result = need to reactivate.

Grr

 

[FatRakoon]

Ghosting the drive may or may not work?

If the original drive is PATA and you are trying to plonk it onto SATA then you will probably get issues!

You will get less issues going from SATA to PATA, but from PATA to SATA you could.

I have gone from one to the other in various ways and I find that if you install the SATA Drivers while you are booting from PATA, you can often get away with it, but also I have noticed that some SATA devices use different drivers if you are booting or using it as a non-booting.

So, to be really honest, I dont think it will work straight off.

As for phoning MS up, I have done it so many times recently its like breathing now.

One thing that has really got me worked up though, is that I got hold of a hookie serial number off a trashed PC and I have reactivated it possibly 20 or mroe times and never had a problem, yet my retail copies of XP that I bought legally have been the opposite.. In fact not that long ago, I was refused a reactivation FFS! - I went ballistic with the cow on the phone, and in the end she put the phone down on me.
a few minutes later, I got back onto the phone and went through the process to talk to someone, I explained and they activated it without a hitch.
Another recent one, I activated it, through the phone again, but, while I used the right serial number etc, I used the wrong CD ( I use customised CDs for each of my PCs ) and my DFI LP was named NF7S-XP3200 instead of NF3-Claw37 and this would have left me with 2 PCs with the same name, so as it was a freshie, I just thought sod it and I reinstalled with the correct CD... I activated it of course, and had greif because I had only just activated it half an hour previously.

Now, here is the nasty part...

I activated it too early and after I had installed the drivers for some of my hardware, it told me that due to too many changes, that I had to reactivate it!!! - 3 activations in less than 2 hours!!!! - got to be a record.

One little trick when it comes to needing to use the phone to talk to the asian people on the other end.... Act thick. If you let them know that you know the score, they will lead you on if it comes to blows, but if you act thick, then they just seem to want to get rid of you and they activate it no matter what.

Hell, I have actiavted HP licences on home-grown kit and had greif, but acting thick seems to make them want to put the phone down quicker, so this usually means activating Windows with numbers like WHYDO-NTYOU-JUSTG-OANDF-KCOFF.

Try it!

 

[Dace]

Hell, I have actiavted HP licences on home-grown kit and had greif, but acting thick seems to make them want to put the phone down quicker, so this usually means activating Windows with numbers like WHYDO-NTYOU-JUSTG-OANDF-KCOFF.

Nice serial key

/back on topic

I'm really not a big fan of reactivation, its an inconvenience I can live without. I was hoping to totally avoid reactivation issues until I reinstall my system with a dual-core CPU.

 

[Hussman]

Thanks for your help Guys.

Off to install win XP.

Cheers!

Hussman out