Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.general (
More info?)
"Marcus Carter" <Marcus@myaddress.com> wrote in message
news:B1F748FC-913E-4575-8B74-9533664F460F@microsoft.com...
> It is retail, and yes it is the sticker, sorry for the typo!
>
> "Carey Frisch [MVP]" wrote:
>
>> If you have a "Retail Version", yes. If you have an "OEM Version",
>> no.
>>
>> If unable to activate via the internet, then simply choose the
>> alternative option to "activate by phone".
>>
>> How to activate Windows XP
>>
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;307890
Are you sure it is a FULL *retail* version? Does "OEM" appear anywhere
in the product CODE? The product code is generated by the product key.
The product key may not have "OEM" in it but the product code generated
by the product key might. There are retail full-version copies of
Windows (from Microsoft); however, there are also retail OEM version
versus the brand-specific OEM versions (like Dell's OEM version, or
Gateway's, or Toshiba's, etc.). That is, you can buy a retail version
of an OEM version separate of the computer (as long as qualifying
hardware was included with the purchase of the *retail* OEM version).
It is still an OEM version and its license is tied to the qualifying
hardware. If the qualifying hardware was the entire computer in which
it was installed instead of a hardware component then that license is
tied to that computer and cannot be transferred. The EULA only ties the
license to the qualifying hardware included in the purchase and never
mentions that a larger system (i.e., the computer) usurps the license
away from the qualifying hardware. Many users read more in the EULA
than is actually there (i.e., they infer rather than cite). For
example, I purchased a *retail* OEM version separate of my computer.
The qualifying hardware was a SATA cable for the hard drive. Its
product *code* (not the product key used during installation) contains
"OEM". That means that license has to stick with whatever was the
qualifying hardware (the SATA cable) that was included in the retail
Windows XP Pro OEM purchase.
There is retail full (Microsoft) version and there is retail OEM version
(where you buy it with qualifying hardware instead of the jobber that
built your entire system). If your laptop is "broke" (whatever that
means) then maybe you cannot see your product code; otherwise,
right-click on My Computer, select Properties from the context menu, and
look under the General tab. You can also look at the 'ticker' to see if
it has "OEM" anywhere printed on it. It is HIGHLY UNLIKELY that the
sticker is not for an OEM version. You said it was a laptop. That
means the maker of that laptop installed their OEM version on it. It is
possible that you later wiped that pre-installed OEM version and
installed your own separately purchased non-OEM retail version (or a
retail OEM version with qualifying hardware that you can move to your
desktop), but you didn't mention that so it probably never happened.
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