How do I Buy Windows XP for Three Computers?
- 1). Identify the version that fits your needs. Both Home and Pro versions will suffice for a basic home user and may be upgraded to SP3.
It's more important to pay attention to whether the product is a full, OEM or upgrade version. An upgrade version is meant to upgrade an existing, earlier version of Windows. There are two kinds of OEM purchases: branded and unbranded. Branded OEM is designed to come with hardware of a specific manufacturer, such as Dell or HP. It is otherwise functionally identical to the unbranded OEM version. The difference between OEM and full versions is that OEM does not come with access to free Microsoft tech support and only activate on one machine. Full versions can be installed on several computers in sequence, although to activate any one copy on more than one machine at a time is a violation of the user license. - 2). Find a seller. An easy way to do this is to go to clearinghouse sites like eBay or Amazon.com that allow buyers to rate and review sellers. As of April 2011, both eBay and Amazon.com have copies of Windows XP for sale. PriceGrabber and Nextag also link to vendors offering Windows XP.
- 3). Research a vendor before committing to your purchase. The advantage of using a clearinghouse site over a Web search engine is the consumer reviews and ratings. All four sites mentioned in the previous step allow purchasers to rate and comment on the merchants. Buyer beware!
- 4). Purchase three copies of the software. Microsoft's end-user license agreement (EULA) states: "You may install, use, access, display and run one copy of the Software on a single computer, such as a workstation, terminal or other device ('Workstation Computer'). The Software may not be used by more than one processor at any one time on any single Workstation Computer." If you want to legally use Windows XP on three computers, you must buy three copies.
