So... my copy of XP isn't genuine

[nikebee]

just performed an XP upgrade and have now been told my copy of XP isn't genuine... horray for me.

i'm (supposedly) using XP Pro here, and have now been told i can't upgrade/update windows any more until i use a genuine product.

so the money i spent on this copy of xp has gone to waste...

ridiculous question but the copies OcUK sell are proper copies (despite them being OEM obviously)... and whats the main difference from Home to Pro?
shall be shelling out for which ever is cheaper/more suited for me...

is there anyway i can *convert* my "fake" copy of XP into a real copy after purchasing a legit copy? i don't particularly want to format and lose most of the stuff on my raptor

suppose i should have created a small windows only partition and the problem would have been solved from the get go... hey-ho nevermind.
don't suppose there is any way i can do this now (without borking up XP)?

cheers for the advice/help

 

[nikebee]

snip

emailed your trust addy

 

[nikebee]

If you've been told by the Windows Genuine Notification program that your version of Windows isn't legal, then if you buy through that then you get, it seems, a full retail license for Windows (ie, unlike the OEM, can be transferred between PCs), and you get given instructions immediately on how to convert your installation. I think it also runs a check that your install is generally valid.

i did notice this, but i'm not paying £90 for XP when i can purchase an OEM version for £50

can you backup all your files then do a fresh format then install, best way to do imo

yeah i've got my raptor (74gb windows) and my seagate (120gb storage/backup) so it wouldn't be too much trouble... it's just the hastle of having to reinstall everything and then copy all the files back over