XP Pro (legal) install over XP Pro (cracked)?

[Tazzin]

Anyone know of any issues or problems with attempting to install a legal copy of XP Pro over an existing installation of XP Pro (cracked) copy?

Will running the new installation let me change the Product Activation code?

Any help appreciated.

[thronka]

no, you will have to reinstall and use your new cd key. To do that, you must wipe the hard drive clean to use the new key or it will just use the old one. BTW, glad to see you cam to your senses and bought a copy. Man, what would the FBI do?

[Tazzin]

thanks for the info... i don't want to know what they would do!... Yeah... a guy at Fry's yesterday was asking to buy the OEM version.. saying that he bought his computer there and stuff.. they said that all he had to do is buy something else computer related.. so they got him some $0.69 screws.. and sold him the full OEM verison. I was buying a MB and processor .. so I got a version too.

[Tazzin]

Will the Full OEM version boot and install from the CD?

[Bob The Great]

both the upgrade and full versions will install and boot from cd. Congrats on the purchase

[DVNT1]

I would recommend a clean install but there is another way since you bought a legal version. http://www.labmice.net/WindowsXP/articles/changeID.htm

[JPMiller]

Nice link DVNT1!
Helpful!

[nukes]

If you just run the upgrade from setup, it will let you change it so your copy is no longer corp, but retail/oem. You will get to put in your CD key at the end of install.
Congrats on buying it, but hopefully you didn't pay over the odds.

[Tazzin]

I decided to do a clean install. I moved all my data over to another HD.. and ran the setup from the CD. This allowed me to format the boot drive in NTFS (was FAT32 before)... now I am back up and running.. and installing all the software I had on it before.

Thanks for all the replies!!

[RayH]

There may be no need to reinstall anything. More than one person has had to 'fess up their XP. In the activation procedure, choose TELEPHONE activation. There is a feature to allow for the changing of the product key. If the new product key takes, your former bogus copy is now legit. Just continue with activation process.