Is it possible to activate OEM after addition of hard drive.

Hi,

This might be a really dumb question, so I apologise in advance, but I really don't have much idea. have attached a report of sys specs.

I was reading a doc earlier about WPA and it said that an OEM is licenced to the hardware it comes with and can't be put onto another sys. That's fine, but is there anything I can do about putting it onto a new additional hard drive in the existing sys (it's a few years old now)? It's just that the original is a FAT32 drive which we want it to change to NTFS (the new drive is NTFS format). We were actually trying to put a regular version of XP (borrowed a friends disk) onto the new hard drive and use the product key we have to validate it (trying to avoid having all the Acer stuff that is on the recovery disk), but it won't work.

Is the problem that it's on a different hard drive to the original or that we're trying to put it on an NTFS drive when originally it was activated on a FAT32 or is it that the "key" will only work with the 'recovery disk' and if it will only work with the recovery disk, will that just put the old drive back into FAT32 format again or is there some way to use it and change it to NTFS. (Would really rather reformat than try to convert it)

Sorry for so many questions, but like I said, I have very little knowledge of this stuff.

Thanks heaps.

 

If you just want to install the second hard drive for extra storage, just install it as a slave. As long as there are no major changes like a replacement motherboard, it should be no problem. Also, with Windows XP, you can convert FAT32 to NTFS. You do not need to reinstall to do it.

If the disk you borrowed is a Microsoft issued OEM version of your OS (you can't use another manufacturers or a retail disk), you should be able to use your MS product key issued with your Acer to activate the installation. I do it with my Compaq to avoid their bloat also.

 

Thanks for that JP. I'm taking a look at the conversion info atm. I had been told however that conversion is not optimal - is that true?

Also, another stupid question I'm sure, but when you say

do you mean an OEM from another Acer? If not, what would define one that is suitable and where might I get it from? Obviously, not one that came with someones branded, preinstalled sys and not one that someone has purchased retail

.

Sorry for not having a clue and thanks heaps for your help.
Smiles
Shanna

 

Did you try an install from your original Recovery CD?

My PC originally came with XP pre-installed plus all the bloat from the manufacturer. When I did a reinstall using the OEM Recovery Disk, XP installed clean without any of the extra stuff. It only took about 40mins.

When you do the install there should be an option to choose NTFS or FAT32.

If you do a reinstall don't forget you will have to reinstall all Windows updates (SP2 etc.) and all your software and change all your settings to how you like them. This can take a long time.

 

Just Playin is right - as long as the Windows XP disk you borrowed is an OEM
(Original Equipment Manufacturer) version, you should be able to install it on the new drive, and then use your key code that came with the PC. I did that on an E-machines pc a while back - but I had to re-activate XP on the phone.

If you have the recovery disk, just put the new drive in as the main drive, and then use the recovery disk. Then convert the drive as Just Playin said.

Or, you could install the new drive as a secondary (slave) drive and then use a free utility - such as:

http://www.majorgeeks.com/HDClone_Free_Edition_d3809.html

to "mirror" the partition to the new drive. Then set the new drive as your primary and the old as slave - make sure it boots up ok this way - then erase the old hard drive and use it for storage. You may have to use a Partition utility to reset the partition sizes (which are also available on this site).

I know that doesn't solve the "garbage" situation, but it may be safer . . . with a bit of work and a good registry cleaner you can weed out the crap that comes with commercial computers.

 

Sorry - tried to add this but I was too late.

Honestly, if you actually have a restore disk, the easiest route would to be just add the New drive as the master disk, and then boot up with the restore disk. Once you have done the "restore" and make sure the PC boots up as before, you can then convert the drive from fat32, and weed out the unneeded bundled software that comes with the PC. One neat thing about restore disks is that (in my experience) no matter what size the new drive is, the restore sets the partition size to the max. I just went from a 40 gig drive to a 120gig on my PIII system using the restore disk that came with it.

Anyway, good luck!

 

No. I mean the installation disc that comes from Microsoft itself as part of a direct OEM license package. You would be required to activate through Microsoft by internet or phone , which may not have been required using the Acer disc. I purchased an OEM license with software when I built a custom computer and used one of the parts as qualifying hardware. That is why I had the Microsoft OEM disc. You could do that too or perhaps borrow a disc from someone who has one. Technically MS frowns on the practice of borrowing, but have no way of checking what physical CD you use and are primarily concerned with a valid license and product key, which Acer issued to you. It might just be easier for you to stick with the Acer disc and clean out the bloat afterwards. Contact Acer, there should be a way to reinstall with the recovery disc to an NTFS partition instead of FAT32.

 

Hi all,

Thanks so much for all the advice - it is sooo apreciated!! I'll read over it all again a couple times and then decide what to do. It very possibly is going to take me a while regardless of what I do, since I'm kinda winging it, but will post how it goes eventually. I have the problem that it's my uncle that's been doing the work on the sys and he won't explain anything to me cause he thinks I couldn't possibly understand it. *shrug* anyway...

Thanks again - you're all awesome!
Shanna