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On 23/03/11 22:35, Gordon Henderson wrote:
I know this isn't quite right, but my father in-law is looking for a new system - currently has XP and wants to stick to XP... The system he has is something I built for him some years back 5 or 6. It can't go beyond 1GB of RAM, it's an older AMD Athlon, so it's a bit clunky. It's got a Win XP OEM install on it. The plan is to put a new mobo/processor and eventually disk drive inside it. So is that do-able inside the terms of the OEM license? Cheers, Gordon
You can't 'offically' transfer the original license over to another machine. The license is tied to the machine, when it dies the license dies.
I'm not sure if it's still possible but when Windows 7 first came out if you wanted XP you could order Windows 7 Professional or Ultimate (the more costly ones) and downgrade to Windows XP Professional as long as you had the installation media. When it came to installing you need to call Microsoft to get a CD key to use. Windows 7 Home Premium and Starter editions can't be downgraded to Windows XP (unlike previously where you could downgrade Windows XP to Windows 98).
Might be worth giving Microsoft a call directly to clarify the situation as IIRC it's not very easy to order PCs with XP on now and I doubt there are many XP Pro & Home licenses kicking around in the channel now (although you may be able to find a copy say from eBuyer or Aria maybe?).
Rob -- The Mailing List for the Devon & Cornwall LUG http://mailman.dclug.org.uk/listinfo/list FAQ: http://www.dcglug.org.uk/listfaq