Hi there,

I bought my brother a barebones system without the OS. Their other computer
had swollen capacitors and needs the MOBO and CPU replaced so this was a
better value. I will be swapping most of the hardware including the HDD.
They have their Windows XP Pro SP2 CD and I want to install this on the new
system with the HDD that was from the old system. Everything (Data) has been
backed up, so I would look to formatting the HDD by doing a fresh install
with Windows. From what I know, I just insert the CD as I would have in the
past to format and re-install. When I enter the Product Key, will there be
any concerns? The MOBO, RAM, Video Card & CPU are all new and updated so
everything is different. The other system is dead and will have nothing
really left in it after I swap.

Will Windows still work after I install it and am I missing anything?

Thanks,
Sam

Sam, if the WinXP Pro CD is a Retail Version then you will not have any
problems.
If OEM Version which means that it was issued with their last computer
then it will not
work on the new machine. It is tied to that computer. If an Upgrade CD,
then if they still have the CD with the OS that they upgraded from then yes
you will be able to
install WinXP. You need the older OS CD to just verify the upgrade.
"dreamer" <safer@home.net> wrote in message
news:eAI_i.208282$Da.207797@pd7urf1no...
> Hi there,
>
> I bought my brother a barebones system without the OS. Their other
> computer had swollen capacitors and needs the MOBO and CPU replaced so
> this was a better value. I will be swapping most of the hardware including
> the HDD. They have their Windows XP Pro SP2 CD and I want to install this
> on the new system with the HDD that was from the old system. Everything
> (Data) has been backed up, so I would look to formatting the HDD by doing
> a fresh install with Windows. From what I know, I just insert the CD as I
> would have in the past to format and re-install. When I enter the Product
> Key, will there be any concerns? The MOBO, RAM, Video Card & CPU are all
> new and updated so everything is different. The other system is dead and
> will have nothing really left in it after I swap.
>
> Will Windows still work after I install it and am I missing anything?
>
> Thanks,
> Sam
>