I believe that you can change up to 3 major devices within the system w/o having to reactivate. The link here covers how to go about running thru the activation process, although it sounds like you've already gone thru it all. How to activate Windows XP: http://support.microsoft.com/default...07890&sd=techh

The article indicates that at one point you should be able to actualy speak to a support rep at MS, and I understand that you can then explain the issue to them.