XP OEM Home WGA/Activation

Post by **JulesWinnfield** » Tue Jun 05, 2007 2:06 am

Originally posted this in the mac forum but figured it was probably better moved here.

--
Just bought a new Macbook Pro.

So I installed Bootcamp to also install my old copy of XP Home (Windows XP Home Edition OEM - hologram disc, product key sticker, etc - never shared, legit).

XP works fine, but I haven't tried the Activation or the Windows Update/WGA stuff yet. This was originally installed on an old DIY PC (which has since been trashed) and it's not currently installed anywhere. I did have to call Microsoft in the past to activate. Is this going to cause me problems now?

Not interested in upgrading to Vista unless I have to.

Post by **Underpants?** » Tue Jun 05, 2007 4:22 am

Not unless you a. don't have an active interweb connection, which you obviously do
or
b. it's been validated on completely different hardware through the relatively recent process--and I can't recall for certain but that may be a multiple thing, as well.

Post by **Foo** » Tue Jun 05, 2007 11:36 am

When you try to activate it it will probably fail and you'll have to call a customer representative. When they ask you what's changed, don't be too specific, say that you've replaced your motherboard and upgraded components.

If you let on that its a totally different machine, they can refuse to activate it because the OEM license ties it to a single PC... but they're usually quite forgiving if you're upgrading.

Also, make sure all your device drivers are installed before you activate. Sometimes activation before and after device installations enumerates to a totally different PC setup, in the eyes of the activation wizard. Nothing like activation, then installing some drivers, then having to activate again.

Post by **JulesWinnfield** » Tue Jun 05, 2007 1:56 pm

Thanks!

Figures.. I bought my Macbook June 1 (17", 2.33ghz core 2, Radeon, 1680x1050, etc) and today, June 5, they release a new model (17", 2.4ghz core 2, Geforce, 1920x1200, etc).