# Installing XP on more than 1 computer. **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 30, 2003, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/installing-xp-on-more-than-1-computer/221761 "2003-12-30T14:07:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Lady\_Venom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9fc348/32.png) [@Lady\_Venom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lady_Venom)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2003, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/installing-xp-on-more-than-1-computer/221761/1 "2003-12-30T14:07:04Z")
My dad just bought a used computer from my Step-Monster’s work. Can I use my legal and registered copy to install on his computer? Also, if I can, do I have to register it? He doesn’t have internet access. Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![Amp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Amp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amp)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2003, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/installing-xp-on-more-than-1-computer/221761/2 "2003-12-30T14:35:14Z")
Nope, license is only good for one PC at a time. You’ll need to buy an additional license for his PC. ---
**Author:** ![FatBaldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecd19e/32.png) [@FatBaldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FatBaldGuy)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2003, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/installing-xp-on-more-than-1-computer/221761/3 "2003-12-30T14:43:29Z")
If you did install your copy on his PC you would get constant reminders to activate, and at the end of 60 days (or 30?) it would stop working unless you activated it. ---
**Author:** ![Qwisp](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qwisp/32/397_2.png) [@Qwisp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qwisp)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2003, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/installing-xp-on-more-than-1-computer/221761/4 "2003-12-30T14:49:00Z")
I installed my copy of xp on a second computer in my home with out a problem,of course when it was registered the first computers IP was the one Microsoft “saw” ---
**Author:** ![Dog80](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/6bbea6/32.png) [@Dog80](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dog80)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2003, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/installing-xp-on-more-than-1-computer/221761/5 "2003-12-30T14:50:30Z")
What actually Microsoft sells you when you buy XP is not the software, but the license to use it! In case you have no Internet you have to telephone their helpdesk to do the activation. ---
**Author:** ![ajfrod](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c6cbf5/32.png) [@ajfrod](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ajfrod)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2003, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/installing-xp-on-more-than-1-computer/221761/6 "2003-12-30T14:55:49Z")
If you have the cd key when you activated it. It might work? ---
**Author:** ![Lady\_Venom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9fc348/32.png) [@Lady\_Venom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lady_Venom)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2003, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/installing-xp-on-more-than-1-computer/221761/7 "2003-12-30T14:56:10Z")
Alrighty then, thank you both. Hmm…now what? LOL I guess he’s gunna have to buy either a license or his own copy. ---
**Author:** ![Amp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Amp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amp)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2003, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/installing-xp-on-more-than-1-computer/221761/8 "2003-12-30T15:04:46Z")
But if you did activate it then the copy on your machine wold be in violation of the licesnsing agreement. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2003, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/installing-xp-on-more-than-1-computer/221761/9 "2003-12-30T15:40:32Z")
If the computer isn’t on the internet, you phone MS for activation - and there’s no way of them proving it’s not the first computer you installed it on, just tell them it is 😉 ---
**Author:** ![FatBaldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecd19e/32.png) [@FatBaldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FatBaldGuy)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2003, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/installing-xp-on-more-than-1-computer/221761/10 "2003-12-30T16:01:21Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by GorillaMan \* > \*\*If the computer isn’t on the internet, you phone MS for activation - and there’s no way of them proving it’s not the first computer you installed it on, just tell them it is 😉 \*\* Actually, there is. When you activate over the phone, the install process generates some huge number (36 digits or so) based on the hardware configuration of your system (Motherboard ID, MAC id of your NIC, hard disk drive, etc) which you have to enter on your phone pad, then you get back another number to enter in your system. If you have previously activated another computer, and the hardware profiles don’t match, they can tell. Whether or not they’ll take any action is another question. ---
**Author:** ![wet\_marble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e0b2c6/32.png) [@wet\_marble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wet_marble)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2003, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/installing-xp-on-more-than-1-computer/221761/11 "2003-12-30T16:12:50Z")
They can’t reasonably prevent you from installing your copy of XP. If you own a legal license, you can put it on any machine you want. (although you should only have it on 1 machine at a time) You can call them up ad infinitum and request new activation codes for different hardware profiles and they will gladly give you a new activation number each time. Think about it. They can’t tell you that you are never allowed to upgrade your hardware or move your license from machine to machine. ---
**Author:** ![leenmi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f1d935/32.png) [@leenmi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leenmi)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2003, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/installing-xp-on-more-than-1-computer/221761/12 "2003-12-30T16:15:20Z")
Legally, you have a license for one computer. You have to buy another copy of the software. After the 60 days, if you haven’t activated, some functions may stop working. [Explanation](http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/home/evaluation/overviews/activation.asp) of the activation policy. When XP came out, I remember that the Office products were one of the areas that would be deprecated without activation. The link also says that online updates will be disabled. This is a problem for XP. Out of the box, it is buggy but the online updates do a lot of good work fixing things. Not to mention security updates. If you are connected to the internet with XP, it will manage to get a message home. It do love to talk to Microsoft. ---
**Author:** ![Crown\_Prince\_of\_Irony](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ed655f/32.png) [@Crown\_Prince\_of\_Irony](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crown_Prince_of_Irony)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2003, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/installing-xp-on-more-than-1-computer/221761/13 "2003-12-30T18:50:56Z")
If the original, legal copy came preinstalled with another computer as an OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) license, you most definitely cannot (from a legal standpoint) install said copy on a second PC - even if you buy another PC and wish to decommission the first PC. The license agreement for OEM XP states that the included software is for use only on the hardware with which it shipped, and is not transferrable to another PC. If it is a store-bought, full boxed copy, this is still for the most part true. If the first PC is decommissioned, then the license can transfer to another, but you would have to call Microsoft to release the hardware hash (a unique identifier that the installation routine locally generates using the hardware components on your PC) attached to the license - which they will **not** do if your XP serial # indicates it’s an OEM license. If the first PC is not decomm’ed, and you have arranged with Microsoft to change the hardware hash with the intent to run XP on the two PCs simultaneously, they may (or may not) technically function, but it is in direct violation of their license agreement - which the license owner has explicitly agreed to by installing the software in the first place. ---
**Author:** ![Lady\_Venom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9fc348/32.png) [@Lady\_Venom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lady_Venom)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2003, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/installing-xp-on-more-than-1-computer/221761/14 "2003-12-30T19:48:42Z")
So, what you’re all saying is **legally** I can not do this, correct? Theoretically, it would work, but it wouldn’t be legal. Fair enough, I won’t do it. Last thing I want is to have my brand new computer repo’d or something! Mods, feel free to close up this thread.