M
mister_friendly@the-newzgroups.com
Flightless Bird
I have been running Win2000Pro for years. I really dont want to
upgrade, but I am seeing more and more things that do not run on 2K
anymore. I do not have the hardware to run Win7, and wont go near
Vista for any reason. I guess XP is my only choice. I have no
intention to buy another computer.
The problem I am having is understanding the activation. First off, I
would guess the only way I can buy XP now, is a used copy from ebay or
something like that. BUt can I activate a used copy? And even if I
was able to find an unopened new copy. what happens if MS abandons XP,
which I have a feeling they will do soon, just like they did with 2K
and 95 and 98. Will they still activate it, or is buying XP now just
a waste of money.
One of the main reasons I never upgraded was because of that
activation. I know that changing hardware invalidates it, and I am
always adding new hardware, change the motherboard if I get a deal on
a more powerful one, and whenever I get a faster (older) computer, I
often move my harddrive (with all my data) to the newer computer.
Doing this was easy with Win98, and I have done it with Win2k, but it
takes a little more fussing around. I heard that this is not possible
with XP, mostly because of the activation.
With this in mind, does this mean I will have to buy a new copy of XP
everytime I do a major upgrade of my hardware, and reactivate
everytime I do a minor upgrade? This all sounds like a big hassle,
which I am not all that willing to do, not to mention the fact that I
do not like giving out personal information to ANY company, in this
day and age of identity theft. But it looks like I have no other
choice other than getting a Macintosh computer, or installing Linux
(neither which I want to do).
Is there any way around this? Is there any version of XP, or "hack"
that eliminates the need to activate? I'm not trying to get XP for
free, but at the same time I am not pleased about being treated like a
criminal by MS.
When I say "upgrade" I do not mean to actually "upgrade 2K". I intend
to keep 2K and dual boot to XP. Presently I dual boot to 98se and
2Kpro, but I'll move 98 to another computer, since I dont think it's
possible to triple boot.
upgrade, but I am seeing more and more things that do not run on 2K
anymore. I do not have the hardware to run Win7, and wont go near
Vista for any reason. I guess XP is my only choice. I have no
intention to buy another computer.
The problem I am having is understanding the activation. First off, I
would guess the only way I can buy XP now, is a used copy from ebay or
something like that. BUt can I activate a used copy? And even if I
was able to find an unopened new copy. what happens if MS abandons XP,
which I have a feeling they will do soon, just like they did with 2K
and 95 and 98. Will they still activate it, or is buying XP now just
a waste of money.
One of the main reasons I never upgraded was because of that
activation. I know that changing hardware invalidates it, and I am
always adding new hardware, change the motherboard if I get a deal on
a more powerful one, and whenever I get a faster (older) computer, I
often move my harddrive (with all my data) to the newer computer.
Doing this was easy with Win98, and I have done it with Win2k, but it
takes a little more fussing around. I heard that this is not possible
with XP, mostly because of the activation.
With this in mind, does this mean I will have to buy a new copy of XP
everytime I do a major upgrade of my hardware, and reactivate
everytime I do a minor upgrade? This all sounds like a big hassle,
which I am not all that willing to do, not to mention the fact that I
do not like giving out personal information to ANY company, in this
day and age of identity theft. But it looks like I have no other
choice other than getting a Macintosh computer, or installing Linux
(neither which I want to do).
Is there any way around this? Is there any version of XP, or "hack"
that eliminates the need to activate? I'm not trying to get XP for
free, but at the same time I am not pleased about being treated like a
criminal by MS.
When I say "upgrade" I do not mean to actually "upgrade 2K". I intend
to keep 2K and dual boot to XP. Presently I dual boot to 98se and
2Kpro, but I'll move 98 to another computer, since I dont think it's
possible to triple boot.