Activating windows with a different license key.

Here's what we did. I had an old computer in the attic. I told my buddy that it needed just a couple of parts and Windows and it would work great for him. We ordered a copy of Windows XP and today went down to get him a monitor and stuff. When we got home I put it all together and loaded my own copy of XP on it to see if it would work. It runs great and he took it home to get it set up. I told him it would work fine but we would have to wipe it clean again when his copy of XP got here. But would we?

I'm thinking that we could activate the loaded Windows with his license key over the phone without having to dump all the stuff on the hard drive again. The last time I did this over the phone, they simply asked for my key and then gave me a code to type into the activation form and the computer ran fine. I hope that's the case. It would simplify things.

this should work if you have the same versions.

Step1
Click "Start" and go to "Run." Enter the following string:

%systemroot%\system32\oobe\msoobe.exe /a
Step2
Click "Yes, I want to telephone a customer service representative to activate Windows" and then click "Next."
Step3
Click "Change Product Key."
Step4
You will now be able to enter the valid serial number for your Windows XP.
Step5
Press "Update" and close the window.
Step6
Now restart your computer. Your version of Windows XP should now be updated with the new serial number.