Question on windows XP Home (OEM)

[howem01]

Could some one please tell me if the (OEM) copy of XP Home Edition has a
limit on the amount of times it can be Re-Installed & Re-Activated.

The reason is:
1. The first time I installed and Activated XP was not a pleasant
experience, As I had to change my CPU & Motherboard and Re-Install &
Re-Activate XP (Due to hardware Faults).
2. Now I have just discovered over 300 Reg errors, trouble keeping Explorer
open, .COM Errors exc.

For me the easiest option would be to put up with 8 hours of software
re-loading, but I don't know how many times I can do it with XP Home SP2,
Nor that horrible O/S Vista Prem I've had to re-install that over 6 times
so-fare !!!!.

--
Michael

 

[Shenan Stanley]

howem01 wrote:
> Could some one please tell me if the (OEM) copy of XP Home Edition
> has a limit on the amount of times it can be Re-Installed &
> Re-Activated.
> The reason is:
> 1. The first time I installed and Activated XP was not a pleasant
> experience, As I had to change my CPU & Motherboard and Re-Install &
> Re-Activate XP (Due to hardware Faults).
> 2. Now I have just discovered over 300 Reg errors, trouble keeping
> Explorer open, .COM Errors exc.
>
> For me the easiest option would be to put up with 8 hours of
> software re-loading, but I don't know how many times I can do it
> with XP Home SP2, Nor that horrible O/S Vista Prem I've had to
> re-install that over 6 times so-fare !!!!.

Multi-posted (but with more details here)... Please cross-post in the
future if
you feel your topic needs to be in more than one newsgroup.

Windows XP (all versions) in the OEM/Retail format has no limit on how many
times you can install/activate it. You may have to use telephone activation
and you may run into a message that is so badly worded it makes you think
you have reached some limit - but the truth is - you have not.

OEM licenses have a restriction where they cannot be transferred from one
computer to another - tied to the first computer they are
installed/activated
upon by the EULA.

--
Shenan Stanley
MS-MVP
--
How To Ask Questions The Smart Way
http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html

 

[Big Al]

howem01 wrote:
> Could some one please tell me if the (OEM) copy of XP Home Edition has a
> limit on the amount of times it can be Re-Installed & Re-Activated.
>
> The reason is:
> 1. The first time I installed and Activated XP was not a pleasant
> experience, As I had to change my CPU & Motherboard and Re-Install &
> Re-Activate XP (Due to hardware Faults).
> 2. Now I have just discovered over 300 Reg errors, trouble keeping
> Explorer open, .COM Errors exc.
>
> For me the easiest option would be to put up with 8 hours of software
> re-loading, but I don't know how many times I can do it with XP Home
> SP2, Nor that horrible O/S Vista Prem I've had to re-install that over 6
> times so-fare !!!!.
>
You can load XP as many times as you want. The only issue I've seen is
doing XP retail 8 times in week, and I had to call Microsoft to explain
this. I was trying to get it configured in a special way and it took
that many times to get the right setup, partition, drive, hardware etc.
They understood and reset the activation. I think after 10 times in
a short period they kinda question it.
My OEM software for my laptop has no activation!. No load limit then.

 

[Colin Barnhorst]

There is no limit on the machine on which it was originally installed. OEM
licensing prohibits installation on any other machine, however.

"howem01" <howem01@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:07F4BC9C-2CD6-4ADB-AEF8-CD7B4027DFF6@microsoft.com...
> Could some one please tell me if the (OEM) copy of XP Home Edition has a
> limit on the amount of times it can be Re-Installed & Re-Activated.
>
> The reason is:
> 1. The first time I installed and Activated XP was not a pleasant
> experience, As I had to change my CPU & Motherboard and Re-Install &
> Re-Activate XP (Due to hardware Faults).
> 2. Now I have just discovered over 300 Reg errors, trouble keeping
> Explorer open, .COM Errors exc.
>
> For me the easiest option would be to put up with 8 hours of software
> re-loading, but I don't know how many times I can do it with XP Home SP2,
> Nor that horrible O/S Vista Prem I've had to re-install that over 6 times
> so-fare !!!!.
>
> --
> Michael

 

[lowster11]

There is a limit to the amount of times you can re-activate your copy of
Windows XP, then you have to purchase another license that's about the
same price as buying a new copy.
This is not mentioned anywhere in the EULA that I can find.

Here's a way around reactivation. Windows XP maintains the activation
information in the file Wpa.dbl, which you'll find in the
WindowsSystem32 folder. After you activate, and any time you add
hardware to your system, back up the file to another disk. If you need
to reinstall Windows XP for any reason, go through the installation
routine, then copy the latest version of Wpa.dbl to the Windowssystem32
folder.

 

[Malke]

lowster11 wrote:

>
> There is a limit to the amount of times you can re-activate your copy of
> Windows XP, then you have to purchase another license that's about the
> same price as buying a new copy.
> This is not mentioned anywhere in the EULA that I can find.

This is 100% incorrect which is why you can't find anything mentioned about
it in the EULA. You may trigger a need to call for reactivation, but that
only takes a few minutes and you will be able to activate. Non-issue.

Malke
--
MS-MVP
Elephant Boy Computers
www.elephantboycomputers.com
Don't Panic!

 

[Bruce Chambers]

lowster11 wrote:
> There is a limit to the amount of times you can re-activate your copy of
> Windows XP, then you have to purchase another license that's about the
> same price as buying a new copy.
> This is not mentioned anywhere in the EULA that I can find.
>

It's not mentioned anywhere in the EULA for the simple rweason that it
is completely untrue.

There's no limit to the number of times you can reinstall and
activate the same WinXP license (retail or OEM) on the same PC. Nor is
there ever a charge. Nor does a Product Key (so long as it's not an
evaluation license) ever expire. If it's been more than 120 days since
you last activated that specific Product Key, you'll most likely be able
to activate via the Internet without problem. If it's been less, you
might have to make a 5 minute phone call.

Here are the facts pertaining to activation:

Piracy Basics - Microsoft Product Activation
http://www.microsoft.com/piracy/basics/activation/

Windows Product Activation (WPA)
http://www.aumha.org/a/wpa.htm


> Here's a way around reactivation. Windows XP maintains the activation
> information in the file Wpa.dbl, which you'll find in the
> WindowsSystem32 folder. After you activate, and any time you add
> hardware to your system, back up the file to another disk. If you need
> to reinstall Windows XP for any reason, go through the installation
> routine, then copy the latest version of Wpa.dbl to the Windowssystem32
> folder.
>
>


And that method is both useless and unnecessary.

--

Bruce Chambers

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