[BC] Windows XP Question

[Sid Schweiger]

Jeff Glass asketh:  "If I were to buy XP from Ebay, what do I need to make sue I get with the
media disk to be sure I can install it on one of my Dell laptops?"

The product key.  If it's not an OEM CD, you'll need it to activate it.  Worry about getting the drivers for everything after you're done installing Windows.  You may need to get your NIC driver somewhere else and transport it over on a USB drive or CD, but once that's working you can go to Dell's web site and download the rest of the drivers.

"The two or three times I've reinstalled the Win XP O/S on a Dell computer,
I've never been prompted to activate it. Both times however, I had the Dell
O/S reinstallation CD. I'm not sure I understand why activation was needed
in these cases."

The OEM OS, reinstalled on a computer by the same manufacturer as the CD, is self-activating.

Sid Schweiger
IT Manager, Entercom New England
20 Guest St / 3d Floor
Brighton MA  02135-2040