Replacing bootleg with real version of XP

Thirdfox

Hi guys,

my laptop broke down in China and they only did bootleg versions of the English XP there but now that I'm back in Ireland I want to restore it to my legitimate version again, before I begin I was wondering is there I should be aware of? Can one XP pro be "upgraded" to another XP pro?

Also my restore CD is windows XP home and I have a separately bought XP Pro upgrade - they should work perfectly fine right? (I remember something about only being allowed to install 3 times or something...)

I'm just trying to find out the best way to restore my computer to legitimate status

Thanks for your advice.

Simplicity

As far as I am aware you just need to change the license/Serial key. That is what I had to do once before.

Google is your friend.

If you do go over the three times (Like I did with Office 2007 due to reformats) you can just ring MS and they will give you a code.

cance

most cracked versions have custom system files and are prone to failing eventually. to top it off eventually it will stop receiving updates.

just take it on the chin and reinstall, it'll be easier in the long run.

SickBoy

I did something similar to this for someone a year or two ago.
I think if you go to http://www.microsoft.com/genuine/ and follow the prompts, you get an option to change your product key.
There's also a file you can download from microsoft that will let you change your key.
Once you've changed the key then you will be able to apply updates and service packs which will correct any modified files that the 'bootleg' copy installed.
Reinstall is the better option but it's not the only option.

Thirdfox

^ Thanks a lot for that info - I don't want to have to reinstall all the applications and re-sync my calendar/contacts etc.