Re: Moving a hard drive w/ a Gateway-installed OEM Windows XP to a new mobo

[Bill <bubbzbill@xxxxxxxxx>]

Glad it's all working for you.  Your experience was quite different from 
another user's in a similar situation.  Ed Foster's Gripe Line told of 
an eMachine user that had to replace his mother board due to CPU 
problems.  When he called Microsoft to have the activation processed, 
they refused since it was an OEM software installation; they told him to 
get it from eMachines.  eMachines wouldn't do it since from their 
viewpoint the license was tied to the old CPU and he basically didn't 
have an eMachine any more due to the new motherboard.

Bill

Dan wrote:
> A final update to this thread...
>
> Got the PC up and running by reinstalling using the Gateway CD.  That got
> rid of the BSOD, but when I tried to logon, XP made me reactivate, but the
> online reactivation failed.  I figured that was the Gateway OEM not being
> allowed on a new mobo.
>
> While I was out shopping at our local MicroCenter, I was looking for an OEM
> XP, per this thread.  Long story made short, the rep helping me suggested
> that I follow through on the reactivation by calling the Microsoft number
> for activating over the phone, and just tell them that the dog knocked over
> the PC and cracked the mobo.  For some reason, they buy that as a valid
> excuse.  And that's exactly what I did.  The Microsoft rep asked if that
> license for XP was installed on any other system, I said no, and he gave me
> a new activation code.  Plugged that in, and voila, we're up and running!
>
> Back at the office, we speculated that blaming it on the dog rather than
> admitting that I (actually my friend) fried the mobo when I reinserted the
> CPU incorrectly, gave the appearance that I was a hapless home user, and not
> a hacker trying to score another XP license.  That doesn't quite jive with
> me, but I am at a loss to explain otherwise.
>
> - Dan
>