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From: mister_friendly on 2 Apr 2010 10:45
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.


From: DL on 2 Apr 2010 10:15
If you buy a retail version of winxp, from a valid supplier, you can install
/ activate as often as necessary.
If an oem version, then its locked to the original hardware.
If you change a motherboard you would need to run a repair installation of
winxp and install the new drivers
Winxp is coming to the end of its support lifecycle

Personally I couldn't see any need or purpose to dual boot win2k and winxp,
unless you have some hardware only supported by win2k. All the software I
had under win2k ran fine on winxp

<mister_friendly(a)the-newzgroups.com> wrote in message
news:cm0cr5pihijuoq0gonr6tvri7f7g4t4n4v(a)4ax.com...
> 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.
>
>
From: Ken Blake, MVP on 2 Apr 2010 12:02
On Fri, 02 Apr 2010 08:45:32 -0600, mister_friendly(a)the-newzgroups.com
wrote:


> One of the main reasons I never upgraded was because of that
> activation. I know that changing hardware invalidates it,


That is *not* correct. You can change hardware as much as and as often
as you need to or want to. With a retail version you can even move it
to a completely different computer. The only restriction is that it
can not be on more than one computer at once.

With an OEM version, you may not put it on a different computer, but
you can still change components as often as you need to or want to.


> and I am
> always adding new hardware, change the motherboard if I get a deal on
> a more powerful one,


Fine.


> and whenever I get a faster (older) computer, I
> often move my harddrive (with all my data) to the newer computer.


Then stay away from an OEM copy. But a retail copy is fine for you.


> 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,


No.


> and reactivate everytime I do a minor upgrade?


No. Reactivation is required only if enough changes within several
months. But reactivation is very easy and should not scare you away.

In my view, going to XP these days makes no sense at all, and Windows
7 is a far better choice now. But you can do whatever you want, and
your concerns over XP are not justified.

--
Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP (Windows Desktop Experience) since 2003
Please Reply to the Newsgroup
From: John Doue on 2 Apr 2010 13:09
On 4/2/2010 5:45 PM, mister_friendly(a)the-newzgroups.com wrote:
> 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.
>
>
Let me try to get to the bottom-line.

You like to change your hardware? Why not buy a used desktop with XP on
it? Since you are technically oriented, at least from a hardware
standpoint, this would be the easiest and cheapest way to update both
your hardware and OS.

Then, inasmuch you become the legitimate owner of a licence, look at it
this way: the requirement to activate is meant to prevent users from
using the same OS on several machines, or even selling the OS to third
parties. Since this is not what you intend to do ... I realize such
phones calls are a nuisance, but do not expect people to tell you here
how to hack you way around activation!

Triple booting. Consider using defunct System Commander, still
relatively easy to obtain I believe. I have personally not gone beyond
double boot but I believe it is feasible.

--
John Doue
From: philo on 2 Apr 2010 18:21
mister_friendly(a)the-newzgroups.com wrote:
> 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.
>
>



You can in fact triple boot==>

you'd need to make sure each OS is on it's own , separate partition.


If you do plan to install XP and dual boot with win2k that's fine...
and should present no problems....assuming your machine has enough RAM.

To run XP well ...ideally you should have 512megs of ram or more
and I'd say 256megs would be the absolute bare minimum.

However before you add XP...
I'm wondering if it's simply your browser that's become obsolete
as IE6 (sp2?) is the highest version of Internet Explorer that you can
run on Win2k


You very well may be able to get a few more years out of your Win2k
machine by simply using another browser such as Kmeleon

http://www.afterdawn.com/software/network/browsers/k-meleon.cfm


As to Win7...
you'd need a new machine to run it...
and for many people, that would not make much sense if your old hardware
is presently doing the job
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