If You Build A Pc Is It Ilegal To Use Your Old Os

Say you buy a pc with XP OS installed.

Then you want to upgrade the PC, keep some componets, buy some new ones.

At the end of the day you have a PC that needs an OS.

Is it illegal to use the OS that came with your old PC?

Nope. When you bought the computer you bought a licence to use the OS on one machine.
If you built a second computer and used your original copy of the OS on both, then you would be breaking copyright laws; you don't necessarily need to sell the old PC.

So its not illegal to use it on the new one and not the old one.
So it is illegal to use it on both.
And its very illegal to use it on the new one and sell it with the old one.

(I am sure this happens a lot)

If I just used it on both is there a way that it can be caught over the internet. Getting XP updates and hot-fixes and such?

The only problem you may have with using the same copy of XP twice is activating it. If it's a pro corp version, then there should be no problems. Windows Update doesn't check your serial.

My PC came with XP home.

So if I build a new PC I will have to activate it? I guess I probably won't be able to do that.

I have the reboot disk or what ever came with it. But unlike my old pc with window 95 I don't think I got one of those oem numbers. Who knows maybe I did.

What does it take to active it?

I'm pretty sure you should've been given a serial number that you use to install XP. That is unless there is an msi file on the rescue disks that inserts it into the setup process during install.
The activation process is pretty straight forward and XP guides you through it either by making a phone call or connecting thru the web.

i would register through the phone as paranoid as i am as they cant trace your ip if your not using a proxy

Quote:

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Originally posted by nanotek@19 November 2003 - 12:49
i would register through the phone as paranoid as i am as they cant trace your ip if your not using a proxy

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That's not just paranoia... that is strait-up phobia.

So to recap

If i build a new PC I can use my same OS with out the feds coming after me?

Quote:

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Originally posted by healimonster@20 November 2003 - 05:06
So to recap

If i build a new PC I can use my same OS with out the feds coming after me?

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Yes.