From: Randall Parker 

Frank Haber wrote:
>> The price difference between XP Pro and a computer which has XP Pro
>> installed is so small that buying XP Pro retail to install on an
>> existing older machine is absurd.
>
> Contra:
>
> 1) The OEM installs of XP for boxen from Dell, Compaq, et. al. have no
> individual license key, are keyed to that mfr's BIOSes, and won't
> install on another brand (or on generic).

But how often do you want to do that?  I suppose I could buy XP Pro now, install it
on an old machine now, and then get some other box that also did not have XP on it
and want to install XP on it. But if I do that I'm betting that I will come across
another such box and not buy a new box that has XP  on it already.

> 2) You frequently get no CD with one meatball, only a restore-and-nuke
> "restore partition."  A few years ago, you got just a nuke-install CD,
> again keyed to the BIOS.

That's definitely a downside of getting a new PC.

> 3. Technically, generic OEM CD installs of XP (to a white box) are not
> transferable.  MS is usually merciful in the case of machine failure,
> but.... And they're getting feisty with small builders lately.  MS holds
> the VAR's eldest hostage, etc., and will expose same on the hillside if
> the VAR cheats. You can see the bones on many WA hillsides.  Just joking.

Then we get into WGA hell. "You already have this installed somewhere
else". So do we
even know we'll be able to install the CD in a seond box at some future
date? Probably. But not definitely.

I'm thinking the money on the new PC now is better because it also pushes off the day
when you have to buy another machine. Installing XP Pro on an old machine means you
are installing on a machine that won't last as long.

Again, we are talking about a $70 difference between XP Pro and the new machine with
XP Pro. Why not spend the extra $70?  You get so much more.

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