Thoughts on cheating Bill Gates

[Bearabald]

OKay, building another system...

Have Windows XP and Office XP

I know you are able to put either on another machine but.. bought two copies already and dont want to buy a third set :) So if you like Mr Gates, you might want to leave now, lol.

I heard that if you format your hard drive you are able to reinstall Windows and Office because during registration Windows sends a snapshot of you hardware, so as long as you dont do major upgrades, you should be able to reactivate the software.

So... what if I put new hardrive in old computer, install windows, install office, take harddrive out of old machine and install it in new machine? Will it trick it?

My thoughts are that Windows might not work due to all the updating that you have to do on a regular basis, but I am hoping that atleast Office XP is tricked.

Any ideas? IS there an easier way around this? Or no way around this?

This new machine is just another machine for me.. If I cant trick it I will probably just set up a virtual desktop or something to run Office XP over the network and will just buy another Windows XP. I just think its crap that I need to buy everything again because I own more then one machine... personally feel that you should install software as many times and on as many of personal machines you want as long as it is not commercial in any way.

[Elvtin]

hehe... You'll be fine, There are plenty of people out there who only buy 1 copy of windows and use it on multiple PC's at home.

Af for the updating you'll be fine with it since you have valid CD Keys.

There's no tricking involved really, all you have to do is just install either of the copy of windows onto the computer and you shouldn't have any problems...

[Slicks]

i have done it a few times myself.

I had one copy of Xp and have used it on 2 different comps and upgraded one comp completely. I have yet to have a problem with it.

[Rooster]

A) if you're MOVING the installation from one computer to another, you'll likely just need to call MS and tell them you're decommisioning the old PC.

B) If you're trying a new install and keeping the other one up, you'll probably run into problems down the road (updating, error reporting, etc..)

C) There are key components to activation issues. It's a scorecard like system, where some components are worth more than others. Once you reach a certain score in a certain timeframe, it will flag the activation issue.

D) Many people are using XP Pro Corporate, which requires no activation.