copy xp to 2nd hdd

[blakemere]

hi there
have just been given an old pc for my sons room which currently has nt 2000 pro on it,but what i want to do is put xp on it.i only have an xp disc that came with my dell 5000.i don,t think i will be able to just pop it in the drive and install from it will i ???????. if not is there any way to copy it from my hard drive onto a reformatted drive in the 2nd pc,or would it be better if i used an external hdd caddy to put the 2nd hdd in!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
hope that all makes sense cos it lost me,and i wrote it

 

[nburg01]

Unfortunately you cannot just copy an OS from one disk to another, either internal or external. If you want to install XP you will have to do it via the XP installation disk. The one that came with your Dell will in theory work but after XP has installed it will give you 30 days to activate, and your activation code won't work as it's assigned to the Dell. You could try phoning the Microsoft Activation Centre and explain you want to install XP on a different machine and not your Dell, but unless you can prove you won't install XP on the Dell, it's unlikely MS will issue a new code, but it may be worth speaking to them.

If this fails then your only option will be to buy a new copy of Windows XP.