Installing XP Pro MCE 2005 on 2 Machines

[deepgrewal22]

I purchased an OEM copy of Windows XP Professional Media Center 2005 Edition about 2 years ago. I installed it on my computer and now I want to install it on another computer in my house (total installations will equal 2). I only have one product key, since I only bought one copy.

Will installing this on the second machine, and re-using the original serial key cause any problems for me? (Will WGA and other Microsoft updates install correctly on both machines?)

Deep Grewal
"Microsoft Works" - oxymoron

 

[cmeagan656]

I'm confused. XP Pro and MCE are two separate versions of XP. Which one do you have?

If its an OEM copy then it can only be installed on the machine that it was purchased with. If you install it on any other machine and re-use the original serial key then you'll have problems activating the product before you even get to worrying about WGA and updates.

Cheers.

 

[linney]

The short answer is that if you have used the Product Key on one machine, you should not use that Product Key on any other machine.

See if this helps you?

Should you purchase an OEM license version of XP?
faq779-4004

Also read the EULA text file in C:/Windows/System32

 

[deepgrewal22]

It actually is called Windows XP Professional Media Center Edition 2005. I suppose that Media Center Edition is a Professional version as opposed to a Home edition. I bought the OEM from newegg.com. I installed it on a machine which I have owned for years.

I'm assuming that I will have to purchase another product key. This is ridiculous. I paid about $100 for the software itself (WXPMCE) and now need to pay more money to install it on a different computer simply because Vista sucks.

Deep Grewal
"Microsoft Works" - oxymoron

 

[linney]

Do you have a copy of Vista around the place?

Have you aired your views of Vista in the Vista Forum?

http://www.tek-tips.com/threadminder.cfm?pid=1583&page=1

 

[cmeagan656]

If you paid around $100 for the software then that is about right for an OEM version. A retail version would have been more expensive.

An OEM version is cheaper because it has to stay with the machine that it is originally installed on. A retail version is transferable to another machine but even the retail version can't be on two machines at the same time.

Cheers.

 

[Sympology]

If you were allowed to install it on another machine without removing it from the old one, then they would only sell one copy and the whole world could share it.

Only the truly stupid believe they know everything.
Stu.. 2004

 

[deepgrewal22]

Do you have a copy of Vista around the place?

Have you aired your views of Vista in the Vista Forum?

http://www.tek-tips.com/threadminder.cfm?pid=1583&page=1

No, I never purchased Vista. The computer I am trying to install to is my gf's machine. If it were mine, I would just put Kubuntu or OpenSuSE on it. However, I have a feeling she prefers something she is more familiar with. And, no, I haven't taken the time to share my views on the Vista forum. There probably isn't any value or anything new I could contribute to that forum thread, but thanx for letting me know that a thread like that exists.

In the days of Windows 98/2K, one copy of the O/S could be installed on multiple machines without any issues. I used to do this all the time on my home computers. Perhaps one day, the regulations associated with XP will also ease and allow similar installation patterns; I'm skipping Vista.



Deep Grewal
"Microsoft Works" - oxymoron

 

[MasterRacker]

You may have been "able" to do multiple installations, but it was not "legal".

_____
Jeff
[small][purple]It's never too early to begin preparing for [/purple]International Talk Like a Pirate Day
"The software I buy sucks, The software I write sucks. It's time to give up and have a beer..." - Me[/small]

 

[deepgrewal22]

No, it wasn't legal, but buying a separate copy of Windows 2000 (or separate licenses) for 3 machines within one home seemed unnecessary.

Deep Grewal
"Microsoft Works" - oxymoron

 

[MasterRacker]

And this is where this thread should move to the ethics forum.

Pirating software is personal choice and it's fine to be angry if you think the licensing costs are too high,however it's hypocritical to also be angry when the vendor takes
steps to protect their product.

I find many posted speed limits unnecessarily low, but I follow them anyway most of the time. If I don't and were to get a ticket, it's all on me - it would be foolish to get angry at the cop.

_____
Jeff
[small][purple]It's never too early to begin preparing for [/purple]International Talk Like a Pirate Day
"The software I buy sucks, The software I write sucks. It's time to give up and have a beer..." - Me[/small]

 

[deepgrewal22]

I don't mind paying money for good software. It just bugs me when I have to pay money for software from a multi-billion dollar organization that takes shortcuts in every phase of the SDLC process and then over-prices and over-evaluates their products.

For example, Tim Berners-Lee (inventor of the Web) evaluated Safari, Internet Explorer, and Firefox this summer. Of the three browsers, he mentioned that IE was the worst equipped to handle the newer web technologies. SVG (scalable vector graphics) support is embedded and enabled within Safari and Firefox. However, Microsoft never bothered to add any code within IE to handle these types of graphics. They are currently using a plug-in supplied by Adobe which will soon be discontinued by Adobe. True, Microsoft did use VML (vector markup language) in the past, but when the W3 Consortium recommended SVG in 2001, the software giant very little to incorporate this recommendation in the past 8 years.

This is just one of many countless examples of how a software giant has monopolized the market with inferior products.

I am angry at an even more foolish cop.

Deep Grewal
"Microsoft Works" - oxymoron

 

[smah]

If you dislike the MS software & don't think that you should pay for something that you don't like, why not use linux. It's open source and does not include IE - you can be happy and legal.

 

[biglebowski]

Why don't you give your GF your XP copy and install linux on your machine if you're happy with it.

When I was born I was so suprised I didn't talk for 18 months

 

[cmeagan656]

Biglebowski:

He can't give his girlfriend his XP copy unless he gives her his machine. The software is OEM which means that it has to stay with the machine it was originally installed on. He wouldn't be able to activate it on another machine with different hardware without phoning MS. I doubt that MS would give him a new activation key since what he would be doing would be against the EULA.

Cheers.

 

[deepgrewal22]

CMeagan656, thanx for the previous comment/clarificaction.

smah (MIS)
If you dislike the MS software & don't think that you should pay for something that you don't like, why not use linux. It's open source and does not include IE - you can be happy and legal.

Smah, unfortunately I have to use Windows because I take my work home with me (VB programming) on rare occassions. Normally, I keep the Linux hard disk in the hdd bay and only swap it out when I have to work from home.

Thank you all for your comments, suggestions, editorials, and ethical evaluations of this thread. Most of the input in this thread has resolved the question which was originally posed.

Deep Grewal
"Microsoft Works" - oxymoron