Can I sell a used XP CD? By deactivating it?

I have an old laptop, and it's pretty much shot, so I am going to sell any valuable parts it has. Is it possible to sell Your version of Windows XP once it has been installed and activated? I know it keeps of with hardware changes so you can't intall it more than once.

 

I just read that you can't do this with an OEM. Is this true?

 

Yes it is.

Read the ELUA (licence agreement), that will tell you.

 

Where will I find it? on the CD?

 

Is it an OEM, as in a no frills retail version?

Or OEM, as in Dell, Gateway, IBM etc?


If it's an OEM, but same as retail, then you would have to contact Micro$$oft if it's been activated.

If it's an OEM manufacturer, then the only way I'm aware of is if it's sold with the PC, as it's "tied to the hardware".

Standard EULA.

 

It's an OEM as in I bought it from an eBay seller for $90. It did not come with the thick book or anything extra. I'm thinking it's not resellible. I installed it on two thinkpads that were quite different, and it recognized it and it would not work.

 

Sounds like an OEM for a manufacturer specific computer. Hope that you can get your money back.

 

Yeah, I've had this CD for a couple of years. But it looks like now it's only good for a coaster.

I could find somebody who has a computer exactly like my old one, and sell it to them? If the EULA allowed it, right?

 

What does it say on the CD? DELL? Gateway? If it doesn't say any manufacturer then it may be a generic OEM which should be able to install on anything that supports XP.

You said in your first post that it had been activated. You didn't say if it was registered. Activated and registered are two different things. If it hasn't been registered it could in fact be reactivated on a new machine. If it was registered they may require proof of ownership.

 

It's a generic OEM I bought from eBay. It has been registered and activated.

 

Having been registered it would have little value. The CD itself is worth a little but the COA number would have no value to anyone but you. You should be able to install it on anything you own as long as the COA number is only active on one machine at a time.

 

What is the COA? So I could de-activate it, and put it on another machine?

 

The COA is the colorful sticker with the registration code on it. (5 sets of 5 characters). It doesn't have to be deactivated just reassigned to the new computer.

 

You can under these conditions. Also, the Windows XP CD is never activated. The finished Windows XP operating system installation on the computer's hard drives is activated.

 

So, I can sell it? What do I need to do then, exactly, so it will work on the seller's computer? I can format the harddrive it's on. Do I have to de-activate it? Change the registration?

 

Selling it would be a one-time permanent transfer. Just follow the EULA's instructions. As long as the person you transfer it to has the 25 digit product key and an installation disc, it will work.

 

That's not true, because I tried intsalling on another laptop I had one time, and it would not activate. The OS recognized that I had changed laptops.

 

That is why I responded as I did earlier in the thread! It seems to be a manufacturer specific XP CD.

 

It's in the Microsoft EULA. Go argue with Bill Gates. If you tried to use a manufacturer's restore disc such as those supplied by Dell then, those are tied to the hardware and can't be installed in a different computer. It has nothing to do with Microsoft. The Microsoft EULA only applies to the Windows OS and the official Microsoft installation discs. In the event it was an official Microsoft installation disc, you may have merely been required to call Microsoft support to go through the over-the-phone activation due to the hardware change. I had to do it myself recently when I replaced my mobo, CPU and GFX card and reinstalled.

 

When I did that, I had it on more than one computer. And both laptops were nearly identical. Thinkpad 600 vs 600x. The difference was the motherboard, CPU, Hard drive and so forth.

Or do you mean something different by manufactorer specific? . . . Oh wait, I just found the booklets.

It says for "distrubution only with a new pc" on both booklets. My pc was used though. This means that it's computer specific right? I think the COA is on the CD itself.

 

Both my XP CD's are OEM's. I paid $90 for each of them.

 

If both your XP CD's are OEM with a COA then you shouldn't have any problem selling them. The legalities Just Playin covered!

 

I've read the EULA, but it doesn't tell me how to transfer my license.

 

I contacted Microsoft, and they tell me you can't transfer an OEM, all OEM's are that way.

 

You can not in no way transfer an OEM to another pc-legally.

http://www.microsoft.com/piracy/partners/YourPC_do.mspx