XP recovery disc

[henpecked2]

hi, I have a XP recovery disc for my pc,it can only be used to install XP back on to the pc that it came with because the cd recognises the motherboard or the other way round.
my question is- if i put a new hard drive in the pc could I install XP to the new hard drive using the recovery disc then put the new hard drive into my older second computer.

[rojash]

No, because the recovery disk will also install all the motherboard-specific drivers. The chances are that when you put the hard drive in the other machine and try to boot, you will get an instant BSOD. In those circumstances, the normal next step would be to boot in safe mode, remove all the drivers, then perform a repair install with the Windows CD - which you don't have! (It is of course, also illegal).

[vehelpfulguy]

Also if you tried to run the same Windows on two disks you would get warnings from Microsoft that you were running illegal software.

Doing this may well reduce the functionality of Windows and it may eventually stop working.

Microsoft have put a lot of work into stopping people running the same version of Windows on more than one PC and the minute you try you will start getting warnings.

[henpecked2]

hi and thanks for the replies.
it's not because i want to do naughty things with microsoft's os.i thought about building my own pc and have heard it was legal to change hdd in your pc and re-install xp.i kind of wanted to do the hard drive to see if i was capable of the upgrade but dont want to lose the functionality of the old pc.
the second pc was more of a test machine as its realy old and doesn't get used so i can afford to wreck it while learning.
so am i right in thinking i can not buy a copy of xp,put it in the old pc then if alls ok put the new hdd into the newer pc then change motherboard.
never done this sort of thing before so wanted to lern on the old pc without the wife having a go at me for wrecking the computer and broadband net.

[peanut]

It is legal to change your HDD and reinstall windows. After about 3 times activating the same code, you will need to call Microsoft to get a new code. If you just want to try the new install with your old drive, then remove it from the old pc, put it in the new one and do your install. Just don't activate it or register with Microsoft. They will never know you did it if you don't register. You may also want to be sure automatic update is disabled. If you are happy with your install then do it on the new machine with the original HDD and register with Microsoft. This will of course leave your older machine without a working OS. Basically, the hard drive will only work in the computer it was in when the OS was installed. Unless the machines are identical.

[peanut]

By the way, there is a patch to bypass the activation of windows and another patch for the WGA. All of my machines are fully legal installs but as an IT student, you learn about these things.