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CAN I ACTIVATE XP ON MY DAUGHTERS MACHINES

Started by vegassounder , May 09 2009 04:45 PM

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6 replies to this topic

#1 vegassounder

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Posted 09 May 2009 - 04:45 PM

We have 3 desktops in our home. My 2 girls plus my own. We are still running Win 98 on all 3. All are Dell Pentium 3 at 500 mHZ. with 384 megs of RAM. I want to install new 100 gig HD's and upgrade to XP but I've been told that (unlike Win 98) the XP software can only be ACTIVATED on a single machine. So before I make this considerable investment I need to know if this is true and, if so, is there anyway around it?
Thank you for your advice
Chuck

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#2 Animal

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Posted 09 May 2009 - 05:16 PM

Short story, Yes it's true. Is there any way legally around it? Again the answer is no. Will we help you beyond anything legal which will consist of buying 3 copies of an OS for each machine? Again no, as per one of our forum rules which state:

"No subject matter will be allowed whose purpose is to defeat existing copyright or security measures. If a user persists and/or the activity is obviously illegal the staff reserves the right to remove such content and/or ban the user. This would also mean encouraging the use or continued use of pirated software is not permitted, and subject to the same consequences."

Additionally I would have to say that upgrading to XP with only 384MB of RAM and a P3 @ 500Mhz you will be quite disappointed in XP's performance.

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#3 vegassounder

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Posted 09 May 2009 - 06:05 PM

ANIMAL,
Thanks so much for your quick response.
I don't want to do anything that's illegal.
Thought maybe by networking all 3 systems together or something like that I could save some $$$$.
As most AP's today won't even run on Win 98 and M.S. no longer supports it I need to upgrade.
Could replace all 3 with new systems for not much more than M.S. charges for the software alone.
I'm beginning to see why LINUX is so popular.
Given my situation, what direction would you suggest is my best option?
Thanks again
Chuck

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#4 Animal

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Posted 10 May 2009 - 12:37 AM

Which direction would I go? That would depend on needs v.s. budget available? You are correct, financially 3 new machines ready to fly out of the box would not be excessively more than 3 new licenses for XP that would run on 'handicapped' older machines. But is the nominal price difference within your budget? Only you can answer that.

Me personally? I'd look for the best machine for my needs within a set budget allowed. Now if you happen to have a very 'flexible' budget, then by all means 'indulge' yourself. :thumbsup:

Unfortunately, I have trouble with one OS, much less trying to learn 'Penguin' (Linux) also. :flowers:

So I cannot give you an unbiased response in that area.

The Internet is so big, so powerful and pointless that for some people it is a complete substitute for life.
Andrew Brown (1938-1994)

A learning experience is one of those things that say, "You know that thing you just did? Don't do that." Douglas Adams (1952-2001)

"Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination circles the world." Albert Einstein (1879-1955)

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#5 garmanma

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Posted 10 May 2009 - 05:09 PM

My thoughts are to save your money
Upgrading those old boxes is not worth it and you would not be able to upgrade that much
Ubuntu is fairly easy to learn. Let's face it, if you bought a new computer with Vista there would be a learning curve there also
Ubuntu should install on those boxes with no problem
There are many support forums for Linux including our own
I could suggest a few if you like

Mark

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#6 rosiesdad

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Posted 10 May 2009 - 08:06 PM

I agree those boxes are not up to par and worth spending $$ for a new OS.

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#7 hamluis

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Posted 11 May 2009 - 09:46 AM

There are plenty of systems available...that are superior to those you have...and available for circa $300.

These systems also come with an O/S and license.

All you have to do is a little searching via Google and/or go to www.pricewatch.com.

Louis

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