Windows XP Professional Key with another CD

[Ploobers]

I got Windows XP Professional preinstalled on my laptop and I have a product key, but I don't have an installation disk. Can I use a friend's OEM CD, install it on my machine but use my code? It seems like it should work since the activation info hasn't changed, but I want to make sure before I format my hard drive.

[Dave Beauvais]

As far as I know, it's the license that really matters, not the media the software was installed from. As long as the license is for WinXP Pro, the OS you're installing is WinXP Pro, and it's being installed on the same system the original OEM license was purchased with, you should be okay from a legal standpoint.

Strictly speaking, if you were to use a retail WinXP CD rather than an OEM version, that might be in violation of the letter of the law since technically an OEM license is often tied to the hardware it was purchased with, and requires an OEM version of the OS.

I am not a lawyer, however, so take the above statements with an appropriate amount of salt.

[Ploobers]

I'm not so much worried about the 'legality' according to the letter of the law, since all I want to do is reinstall Windows on my machine that I have a legal license for. I just want to know if the OEM install program is going to reject my code since it wasn't the original one for the CD.

[emuelle1]

If you have a legal license, it doesn't matter who's CD you install it from. Your computer doesn't know the difference. All it knows is that the license number you enter matches up with it's database and then you're good to go.

[Sven Johannsen]

Is your friend's OEM CD from the same model of laptop though? That's not a legal question, that's a suitability question. If it is not, and it is also not just an vanilla XP installation, you could have a lot of fun trying to get the drivers straightened out. I'm thinking more of the restore CDs that come with a lot of systems, that essentially reimage the machine. Most of those likely wouldn't even load on a different machine though.

[Ploobers]

It is just a normal Windows OEM CD, not a System Restore. I have a Norton Ghosted image of my original computer, but it has a lot of crap installed that I don't want. I love running sleek.

As for drivers, I've already downloaded all those so I should be good to go.

Thanks!

[KimVette]

It is just a normal Windows OEM CD, not a System Restore. I have a Norton Ghosted image of my original computer, but it has a lot of crap installed that I don't want. I love running sleek.

As for drivers, I've already downloaded all those so I should be good to go.

Thanks!

--In General --

One OEM key will work with another OEM disc providing that the service pack level is the same. Some OEMs differ in this regard but if both are the standard OEM build that clone manufacturers distribute, you should be fine. Licensing with the OEM version of Windows XP is covered by the sticker the OEM placed on the machine.